Fine Feathered Quilts: Princess Feathers and Feathered Stars

Size of entries: Each work must measure at least 50” (130 cm) on each side. There is no LARGER THAN size. However, it is preferred that the quilt be no taller than 86” (218.44 cm). 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”/.337 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 after” date requirement. Please do not submit quilts made from kits.

Categories:  Two Categories

  1. Yesteryear – quilts made prior to 1930
  2. Today – quilts made in 1930 and after

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. Limit five (5) entries per person or group.

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 the special exhibit “Princess Feathers and Feathered Stars;” 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, May 7, 2020. You will be notified no later than June 4, 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 June 19, 2020.

Jury: A qualified jury will select the finalist works. The jury’s decision is final. Upon viewing the final quilts, the organizers reserve the right to decide which quilts will be included in the exhibition. The organizers reserve the right to refuse any work that does not match the digital photos submitted to the jury.

Length of exhibit: We would like the participating works to be available for three years of travel, from June 2020 through August 2023. The Texas Quilt Museum will handle the traveling of the exhibition, and receive any profit from the travel. This is optional.

Definite venues for the exhibition include:

  • International Quilt Market/Houston, October 2020 (not open to the public) Houston, Texas USA
  • International Quilt Festival/Houston, October 29-November 1, 2020 Houston, Texas USA
  • Texas Quilt Museum, Summer 2021
  • Entrants will be notified of all other venues.

Official language: The official language of the exhibition is English.

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: March 3-May 7, 2020

Notification by: June 4, 2020

Selected quilts arrive in Houston by: June 19, 2020

The selected works should be sent by the participant, at his/her own expense, to arrive no later than June 19, 2020 at the offices of Quilts, Inc. in Houston, Texas, USA.

Quilts returned to owner: End of January 2021 (unless traveling)

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.