A nonrefundable entry fee of $20 (USD) per quilt entered.
Timeline
May 16, 2024 Call closes
June 6, 2024 All entrants notified
June 28, 2024 All accepted quilts due
You will be asked if your quilt can travel.
Size of Entries: The quilt must be at least 36" wide. The quilt can be NO LONGER than 110” ON A SIDE. Only quilts should be submitted. Garments or other 3D items will not be considered. Each entry must have a 4” (10 cm) finished sleeve or casing sewn to the top back edge of the quilt (please include a minimum ease of .25”(.635 cm) but can be as large as .5" (1.27cm) ease in the sleeve or casing). Sleeves should be secured with stitching at the top and bottom edges.
Any quilt measuring longer than 92 inches must have a second double 4-inch sleeve sewn to the full width of the quilt below the top sleeve, as follows. The top of the second sleeve should be between 82 inches (208 cm) and 86 inches (218 cm) from the BOTTOM of the quilt and must not overlap the top sleeve.(If your quilt is more than 92 inches in length, your quilt may be folded over at the top and may be hung using the second sleeve.
A cloth label with the entrant’s name, address, telephone number, and email must be securely sewn to the bottom left side back of the quilt. There is no “made after” date requirement. Please do not submit quilts made from kits.
Colors in quilt: Quilt must read as red, white and blue. Small areas of other colors may be in the design of a fabric but the colors of the quilt must read as Red, White, and Blue. If in doubt send a picture to special exhibits with your question. We will also be excepting Red and White and Blue and White quilts but the majority of quilts accepted will read red, white and blue.
Glitter: Due to transfer issues with glitter, any glitter glued, sprayed, or applied onto quilts will cause the quilt to be disqualified. If the fabric purchased has glitter on it that is flaking off it will be disqualified.
Printed metallics and fabrics with metallic painted surfaces are acceptable as long as the metallic does not migrate to another surface from the surface to which it is applied. It is helpful, though not required, if the fabric name and manufacturer is listed under the materials section the submission form.
Who may enter: The entries may be the work of one person or more than one person, as long as proper recognition is given to all involved in the actual completion of the quilt. This includes piecing, quilting, and embellishment. The person entering the quilt does not need to be directly involved in the quilt’s creation. Vintage and antique quilts are welcome. In the case of vintage or antique quilts if the artist's name is known, they must be credited.
In this call, the top may be pieced by one person and the quilting may be done by another. The quilting may be paid for, but the quilter must be acknowledged on the submission form under Additional Quilters.
Number of entries: You may submit a total of three (3) quilts for our consideration.
Entry fee: A nonrefundable entry fee of $20 (USD) will be paid per quilt entered.
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, the 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. There will be no compensation paid for any such use.
Completed submissions with visuals must be received online by midnight CST, May 16, 2024. You will be notified no later than June 6, 2024, 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 28, 2024.
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.
Condition of quilt:
Due to transfer issues with glitter on quilts, glitter fabric or any type of attached glitter on quilts will be disqualified.
Printed metallics and fabrics with metallic painted surfaces are acceptable as long as the metallic does not migrate to another surface from the surface to which it is applied. It is helpful, though not required, if the fabric name and manufacturer is listed under the materials section the submission form.
Printed metallics and fabrics with metallic painted surfaces are acceptable as long as the metallic does not migrate to another surface from the surface to which it is applied. It is helpful, though not required, if the fabric name and manufacturer is listed under the materials section the submission form.
The majority of the quilt must consist of three (3) distinct layers—top, middle layer, and backing. Quilts must be quilted by hand and/or machine with three exceptions—Crazy quilts, which can be tied or quilted, Cathedral Windows-style quilts, and Yo-Yo quilts.
All quilts must arrive clean, undamaged, and free of strong odors in order to be shown. Special Exhibits reserves the right to omit an entry from display if the quality or condition does not meet standards upon hands-on inspection.
Your quilt must be able to be stacked with other quilts and boxed and/or rolled with other quilts without potential damage to your quilt or any other quilt in the show. This determination is at the sole discretion of Special Exhibits and can result in disqualification from exhibition. If this is the case, entrant will be notified.
Odd-shaped quilts and quilts with multiple panels must be mounted on black fabric containing a sleeve. The top half of these quilts must be sewn securely to the black fabric. The bottom half should be loose. The black fabric must not extend past the outermost edges of your quilt. Quilts with multiple panels hanging side-by-side horizontally may be mounted to a single black sleeve, but the quilt measurements should be taken after the sleeve is added.
Copyright: It is the entrant’s responsibility to obtain all necessary copyright releases for work that is covered under the copyright laws of the United States. This may include work derived from or copied from the photo or art of another, quilts made from patterns, etc. You must also give proper credit for the design on the entry form. Entrant will provide Special Exhibits with a copy of the copyright release upon request.
Length of exhibit: The exhibit may travel to other Quilts, Inc. venues after the show. Quilts will be returned by the end of January 2025 if quilt maker does not want it to travel to other venues. If you need it sooner than January 2025, please email special exhibits. If you agree to allow your quilt to travel, your quilt will be returned by the end of September 2025.
Selling Your Quilt: You may choose to offer your quilt for sale while on exhibition. If you do, 25% of the selling price will be donated to the Texas Quilt Museum. The Museum is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Please check with your tax advisor 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. https://www.quilts.com/photographing-your-quilt/
Each entry requires you to upload one full view of the quilt and one detail view.
The full view image should show all edges of the finished quilt. The edges on all sides must be clearly seen in the photograph.
Please remove any previous show labels or ribbons that may be attached to the front of the quilt before taking a photograph.
Please take a new photograph for the detail image. Focus on a portion of the quilt that relates to the category theme and/or an important part of the quilt, as well as some of the quilting stitches.
A neutral background is preferred.
As our policy is to blind jury, you may not identify your photographs with a watermark or put your name on the photograph itself.
Please crop the photo(s) so that there is minimal background. Please leave a clear edge around the total overall image.
If you open your photos in image-editing software to crop the background, you will be asked how to save the photo when you are done. Save as a JPEG, RGB color (the default setting in most image-editing programs), standard or baseline setting, and set the quality to maximum. No CMYK images or progressive setting JPEGs will be accepted.
The finished image should not be less than 1500 pixels and be not more than 2400 pixels. If it is not the correct size, do not increase it within the software program. Instead, take another picture that has a higher resolution.
Image size should not exceed 3MB.
There is no requirement to label the image file names. The system will automatically rename them after they are uploaded.
Timeline for quilt registration:
Announcement and preview: April 2023
Registration open: April 10, 2023
Registration closes: May 16, 2024
Notification by: June 6, 2024
Deadline for Receiving Quilts: Selected quilts are to arrive in Houston by June 28, 2024. The selected works should be sent by the participant, at his/her own expense, to arrive no later than June 28, 2024, at the offices of Quilts, Inc. in Houston, Texas, USA. DO NOT SEND QUILTS PRIOR TO NOTIFICATION.
Quilts returned to owner: by the end of January 2025 (unless traveling) then it will be returned by the end of September 2025.
Shipping information:
Complete shipping information will be sent when your entry is juried into the exhibition. DO NOT SEND QUILTS PRIOR TO NOTIFICATION.
Shipping boxes are not kept unless requested. Since there is very limited space a $20.00 (USD) fee will be assessed for boxes/tubes that are to be kept. The fee is due before the show date.
RETURN SHIPPING: Payment of the return shipping fees are the responsibility of the artist. Payment and shipping arrangements for return shipping will be explained in the acceptance letter. The link to complete the return shipping will be emailed in October. The artist will be asked to verify the shipping address and phone number and their availability to receive the quilt. Payment will be made prior to shipping.
Return shipping labels from UPS, Federal Express or other shipping companies will not be accepted.
There is limited availability for show pickup.
Arrangements must be made for show pickup by October 17, 2024.
Additional pickup requests will not be accepted after October 17, 2024.
Quilts will be available for pickup from 8pm through 9pm Sunday. November 3, 2024.
Any quilts specifically pulled but not picked up on Sunday will be subject to an extra $20.00 handling fee applied at the time of shipping or paid before office pickup
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 $10 (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 $10, you will need to reimburse us for any such expense. If you claim less than $10 for customs purposes, and we still incur customs charges, we will pay those charges in full and will not expect reimbursement.
LIABILITY/INSURANCE INFORMATION
Accepted quilts should be insured through the owner’s individual insurance company. Quilts, Inc. will insure each quilt from the time we receive the quilt until it is shipped back.
Quilts, Inc. shall not be held liable for any damages or loss beyond the insurance limitations specified in the rules. Furthermore, that such insurance shall be the sole remedy of Artist.
Quilts, Inc. will insure each quilt as follows: large quilts for $500, small quilts for $300, and miniature quilts for $125.
Large quilt: one length + one width of the quilt must be greater than 120 inches (305 cm), but not greater than 200 inches (508 cm). The total width must not exceed 100 inches (254 cm).
Small quilt: one length + one width of the quilt must be 120 inches (305 cm) or smaller, unless it is a miniature quilt.
Miniature quilt: measures less than or equal to 24 inches (61 cm) on each side.
Example: side A (length) = 60 inches (152 cm); Side B (width) = 40 inches (101 cm); A + B = 100 inches (254 cm). It is a small quilt.
Publicity: All publicity must be arranged through our Publications and Public Information Department.