Quilting as Therapy

Size of Entries: Each work must measure at least 36” x 36” on each side.Maximum width and length is 86”.  Each entry must have a 4” (10 cm) finished sleeve or casing sewn to the top back edge of the quilt (please include a .125”/.377 cm ease in the sleeve or casing). Sleeves should be secured with stitching at the top and bottom edge. A cloth label with the entrant’s name, address, telephone number, and email must be securely sewn to the back of the quilt, bottom left side. There is no made by date. Please do not submit quilts made from kits. 

Who may enter: The entries may be the work of one person or more than one person as long as proper credit is given to all involved in the actual completion of the quilt. The person entering the quilt must have been directly involved in the quilt’s creation. You may submit a total of three (3) quilts for our consideration.

Photo/Image permission: Entry into the exhibition automatically grants permission for the image of the quilt and/or all or part of the Artist’s Statement about the quilt to be used in articles, ads, promotions, catalogs, books, magazines, websites (including any webcast coverage), blogs, CDs, news coverage, television,online and/or multimedia productions for and about this exhibit, the International Quilt Festival, International Quilt Market, or for and about quilting and developing creativity. The quilt artist retains copyright to the quilt and will be credited in any usage.

Completed submissions with visuals must be received online by midnight CDT, April 27, 2020. You will be notified no later than May 14, 2020, regarding the quilts to be included in this exhibit along with shipping instructions. If selected, the quilts will need to arrive in Houston no later than May 28, 2020.

Jury: A qualified jury will select the works. The jury’s decision is final. Entries selected from digital images are subject to additional evaluation when the actual quilt arrives in Houston. If the actual quilt is found to differ significantly from the digital image submitted for jurying, the selection committee reserves the right to reject the entry and override the jurors’ initial decision. The decision as to whether the difference is significant is entirely the prerogative of the committee.

Length of exhibit: Quilts will be returned by the end of January 2021.

Selling Your Quilt: You may choose to offer your quilt for sale while on exhibition. If you do, 12.5% of the selling price will be donated to the International Quilt Association (IQA) and 12.5% of the selling price will be donated to the Texas Quilt Museum. Both the Association and the Museum are 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. Please check with your tax attorney for information on how to deduct the donation.

Visual Instructions: Please read carefully the information for your digital images. The complete instructions may be downloaded here. Visual Instructions (PDF).

Timeline for quilt registration:

Announcement and preview: November 2019

Registration open: February 28-April 27, 2020

Notification by: May 14, 2020

Selected quilts arrive in Houston by May 28, 2020. The selected works should be sent by the participant, at his/her own expense, to arrive no later than May 28, 2020 at the offices of Quilts, Inc. in Houston, Texas, USA.

Quilts returned to owner: End of January 2021

Shipping information: Complete shipping information will be sent when your entry is juried into the exhibition. DO NOT SEND QUILTS PRIOR TO NOTIFICATION.

Important Special Note to quilters shipping from foreign countries: While we encourage you to insure your work for its full value for insurance purposes, we must ask you to value it for customs declaration purposes only at no more than $30 (USD). A higher customs value may require an expensive bond that may not be refunded upon your quilt’s return to its home country. Also mark the customs document with “for exhibition and return, not for sale, no commercial value.” We hope you understand that this is for practical purposes only, and certainly does not reflect on Quilt Festival’s estimation of your work. If you wish to claim full value for customs purposes, we recommend that you arrange a carnet A.T.A. for your quilt at your expense. If we incur customs expenses due to a decision on your part to declare the customs value of your quilt as more than $30, you will need to reimburse us for any such expense. If you claim less than $30 for customs purposes, and we still incur customs charges, we will pay those charges in full and will not expect reimbursement.

Insurance: Each work will be insured door to door (from the time you ship it to us until it is returned to you) under the Fine Arts Policy maintained by Quilts, Inc.