SMOKY MOUNTAIN QUILTERS OF TENNESSEE HOST

36th ANNUAL QUILT SHOW JUNE 17-18 AT KNOXVILLE EXPO CENTER

 

KNOXVILLE, TN -- Nearly 200 stunning quilts will be on display June 17-18 in the Knoxville Expo Center at 5441 Clinton Highway (at Merchant Drive) in Knoxville, TN 37912.  Hosted by the Smoky Mountain Quilters of Tennessee (SMQ), the 36th Annual Quilt Show will take place from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Friday and from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday. 

 

“Quilts are no longer just bedcovers,” said Leslie Hinson, President of SMQ.  “We welcome everyone in the community to come and enjoy these beautiful pieces of art.”

Merikay Waldvogel, 2009 Quilters Hall of Fame inductee, will present an antique quilt bed turning and discuss the history of the quilts on Friday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.  Friday also will feature quilt appraisals by a certified appraiser from 9 - 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 - 6 p.m.  The cost is $50.  To introduce the public to the pleasures of quilting, attendees on Saturday are invited to spend a few minutes helping members make quilt blocks for Quilts of Valor, which will be presented to service members and veterans touched by war.

“You’ll find that it is easy, fun and a gratifying way to contribute to a great cause,” said Dennis Taylor, SMQ Show Chair and East Tennessee State Coordinator, Quilts of Valor.

Throughout the show, attendees may shop the more than 30 vendors, a small quilt sale benefiting the guild’s charitable work, and the SMQ Boutique, which offers a unique selection of handcrafted items.  Scissor sharpening also will be offered.

The recently renovated Expo Center has free parking and is accessible to the disabled.  Admission is $7; a two-day pass is $10.  For more information about the show and the guild, please visit www.smokymtnquilters.com or follow us on Facebook.

About Smoky Mountain Quilters

The Smoky Mountain Quilters of Tennessee meet on the first Tuesday of each month at Messiah Lutheran Church, at the intersection of Papermill Drive and Kingston Pike in Knoxville.  A 6:30 p.m. social time precedes the formal meeting, which begins at 7 p.m.  SMQ’s primary goals are to promote and encourage the knowledge of quilt making as an art and a craft, to study its history as an integral part of our past, and to promote friendship through shared activities.  Guild activities include workshops, block drawings, exhibits, and quilts made for Ronald McDonald House.  The guild’s more than 100 members are as diverse as the quilts they love -- traditional and art quilts, complex and minimalist modern designs, miniatures and bed-sized, and hand or machine stitched.

 

 

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