Quiltweek in Paducah, hosted by the American Quilter’s Society, was held during the week of April 22, 2025. I attended because my quilt, Sunshiny Day, was juried into the show! I’ve never been to the show or even to Paducah. Many people have asked me about my experience…EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS! Everything was so good – Paducah, our airbnb, food, classes and of course quilts – what an adventure. I spent the week with my friend Betsy (Preposition Quilt), who custom quilted Sunshiny Day. Here is the quilt:

Betsy and I arrived on Tuesday afternoon and went to the awards show. It was hosted by Alex Anderson who was witty and entertaining. It was fun to preview the winning quilts and be able to anticipate seeing them in person. As a bonus, we ran into our mutual friend, Cassandra Beaver (The Not So Dramatic Life). One of Cassandra’s quilts won a Juror’s award!

The following day Betsy and I attended the quilt show and also went to the quilt museum. What a treat to see so many works of art up close and personal. It is hard to quantify my thoughts and feelings about the quilts because there was so much to see and absorb. I was very inspired by seeing hand crafted, intricate works of fabric art. The quilts were amazing!

Here are a few of my favorites from the show. Pictures really do not convey the artistry and beauty of these works.

We visited the The National Quilt Museum and ran into Cassandra again. She is such a talented artist. We were able to snap a picture in front of one of her quilts displayed in the museum.

I really liked the miniature quilts in the museum. I’m adding this to my list of must makes. The far right picture is a wood carving of a quilt. It was awesome! I’d like to make one of those too but I will have to wait for another lifetime when I can buy woodworking tools – haha.

Betsy and I took two classes. Glorious Grids by Jenny Lyon was a three hour evening class. We had access to sit down longarm Bernina machines and we each had our own fabric grid. Jenny is a meticulous and thorough teacher. We were given written instructions, then Jenny would demo on the whiteboard, then at the sewing machine, and then send us back to make our designs. It was a fast paced class that I enjoyed. I saw so many winning quilts in the show that had what I’m calling “micro stitching” and I wondered how the quilter makers rendered those stitches and designs. Jenny’s class gave me hands on experience and insight into how to execute that technique. Additionally, the grid skills can translate to my longarm. Our second class was all day on Wednesday. Lori Miller taught a beyond beginnings class for EQ8. This was another great class! Lori is an effective teacher with good command of the class. We were able to create so many patterns while learning shortcuts and a variety of options with the EQ8 software. I love learning! I recommend both of these ladies.

I did not go hungry in Paducah! The quilt themed cookies are from Kirchoff’s, which Betsy and I went to a couple of times. In addition to the baked goods, they have a deli and ready made food for a quick bite. We had dinner one evening at the Freight House. I had the braised pork shoulder – hands down one of the best southern meals I’ve ever had.

I got stabbed at Paper Pieces – haha! It was so fun to go to the store in person and meet the owners and see the beautiful quilts. The whole week flew by. I’m looking forward to going back.

Happy quilting and crafting! ▶︎ ▶︎ ▶︎