Paducah 2026

Last Sunday Lori and I headed down to the 40th annual AQS quilt show in Paducah, KY! It’s been such a warm Spring that the ornamental pear trees that line our driveway were blooming 3 weeks early (see photo above). That meant the dogwoods were not blooming in Paducah, but the roses were!

And they smelled heavenly. Everything was beautiful and green. We unpacked and set up our “studio” in the kitchen of our the second story guest house as usual (note all 4 quilt sissies hanging around on the mirror top center 😁).

Our deck and the patio nextdoor were busy with squirrels – yes squirrels. Perhaps they showed up after reading last week’s post.

We enjoyed their antics, and I’ve always thought they were cute… until I discovered they were living in the attic above my third floor bedroom. They woke me at sunrise with their scurrying around. Grrrr!

Late that morning we headed over to the convention center and helped to hang the quilts. Once they were up it was time to pin the miniature quilts into the cases. We really enjoy doing this. Even the glamorous parts, like cleaning the glass:

Well actually, arranging the quilts is a lot more fun.

And I can’t wait to show you the “Best of Show” miniature because it’s filled with mini mariner’s compasses. Just look at the points in the center compass! The narrowest ones were less than 1/8″ wide!

It’s always an exhausting day, but I wouldn’t miss it – and I haven’t for 36 years. What a blessing! Whenever I travel to quilt events the quilts themselves are a wonderful focus, and yet I find meeting the quilters and their friends to be just as wonderful if not more so. So please watch for a few “It’s the people” insets as you read.

It’s the people! The next day my friend Susan arrived from Wisconsin and we all went to the awards ceremony. We sat at a table with 5 women who had just arrived from China. They were delightful, and so excited to be at their first AQS show. On Wednesday I met up with two of them at the show and we exchanged contact information. New quilting friends – what fun!

The first day of the show Susan and I attended a lecture on yarn couching by Bethanne Nemesh. Wow! Not only is she a creative and talented quilter, she adorns clothing and home accessories with yarn couched animals and botanicals. Just look at some of the coats she shared with us.

While explaining her technique she kept saying that it was actually quite easy. Susan and I are hoping to get together and do a bit of couching ourselves. Will let you know just how “easy” it really is. Stay tuned.

There were 400 contest quilts on display at the show, and many more in special exhibits. It’s much too much to take in all in one day. So, after the lecture I headed to the wall quilts and vendors on the second floor of the convention center. I hope you’ll enjoy my sharing a few of my favorites quilts with you from that day.

One of the first quilts that caught my eye was “Out of Chaos” by Judy Zoelzer Levine. Judy and I have been friends for years and of all her quilts, this is my favorite. I love orange – and the design is captivating.

I am often attracted to quilts with dimensional perspective and “Visual Voyage” by Inger Blood has such depth.

I was surprised to find that “MONA Perspective” was made by Caryl Bryer Fallert Gentry. She is one of my favorite quilters and teachers, but this isn’t her typical style. As with all her quilts, everything is done to perfection.

For some reason I’m drawn to nautical quilts, and there were quite a few amazing ones in this show. “Harraseeket” by Carol Russell captured this calming scene so well. Just look at the reflections in the water.

A little farther down the aisle I found “Beyond the Seas” by Isabel Munoz. I’m quite sure it’s a wholecloth, meaning there is a white fabric background and everything else is thread painted in black. Stunning!

Solitude by Judith Phelps won the Brother Best Wall Stationary Machine Workmanship Award. It is also heavily thread painted,

and because she changed her bobbin thread with each change of the top, the back is just as gorgeous as the front.

But of all the quilts on the second floor “Storm of the Soul” by Laura Franci was my favorite. It’s all raw-edged appliqué and her attention to detail blew me away!

It’s the people! As I was wandering through the wall quilts Jacqueline approached me and said “Hi Chris, I was hoping I’d run into you. I took your free motion quilting class here 2 years ago and I was short $3 to purchase your book. You gave me the book anyways and I’ve been wanting to pay you back with interest ever since.” She handed me a $5 bill. What a sweet lady! When I tried to decline she wouldn’t let me, and then she said that she was a long arm quilter and she is still using some of the techniques she learned in that class. I was joyful and humbled. A teacher can’t hear anything better than that a student is using what they learned in class. Thank you Jacqueline!

At this point I was only part way through the small wall quilts, so here are a few more. I loved the vintage feel of “Swinging Bonnet Babes” by Rhea Mowery, and her quilting added so much motion.

“Wagon Train” by Karen Lambdin is a lovely grandmother’s flower garden quilt with stunning quilting. What a wonderful backdrop for the sweet wagon train. Charming.

Katie Henrich made “Flight of Wonder” from a photograph she took of her sons on the beach. The “geese” flying along with the boys against the beautiful seaside backdrop makes this quilt special.

And speaking of capturing special moments, “First Look” by Paula Longshore is just too sweet!

When I walked up to “Small Town USA” by Christine Gillespie I found the buildings charming, but then I noticed that the trees are what are holding the horizontal rows together. The black curtain behind is showing through. How clever.

And since we’re on the subject of clever… my final quilt from the upstairs gallery is “Let’s Open the Zip” by Noriko Nozawa. The “open” areas are filled with buttons, notions, yarns and threads. Sew very clever.

I hope you enjoyed some early parts of this wonderful trip. Stay tuned next week for even more inspiration.