112 days to go!

Yes the countdown is on in earnest now for AMQ Festival 2014.

We are delighted to let you know that the wonderful Otto Windler from Otto & Penny’s Sewing Centre, will be providing Bernina sewing machines in 2 classrooms this year. So for those who have booked in or were considering booking hands on classes with the following teachers – you will not need to bring your own machine.

Pam Holland

Helen Stubbings

Rachelle Denneny

Carla Barrett

Michelle Bouchier

Lee Vause

Patti Hempen

We will ensure that all the necessary feet will be available on the day for each class.

It will be hard not to want to purchase one of these special machines once you have stitched with it in your classes….

thank you Otto!

Teacher Profiles

Carla Barrett is a quilting and mixed media teacher, artist and designer

Carla Barrett lives in the Northern California foothills east of San Francisco near where the California Gold rush started. She has been machine quilting for over 10 years now. “After my kids became older, I thought briefly about applying for law school. Instead, I bought myself a longarm machine and started quilting for customers. I am so much happier working from home and creating!”

Carla's favourite style of quilting is textural, freehand custom quilting, combined with more exacting design patterns for added interest. She loves all types of quilts - traditional, art quilts and modern quilts.

She also loves to combine quilting with other mediums - including freeform beading, water solubles with fibres, illustration, and of course mixing quilting with her computer tablet PC and software. In Carla's Quilt Whisperer quilting design class, she has a creative exercise helping students to find their own inspiration, since inspiration is found all around us. Personally she finds inspiration visually in the environment, or in historical design found in museums, in nature, furniture design, at the grocery store, or even pulled from a fabric design, out of a magazine, or discovered while searching online.

Carla started teaching machine quilting in 2008, and started teaching online quilting design classes in 2009. Prior to that, she taught paper and rubber stamp art classes in the 1990’s

“I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Australia, so I am very excited to be teaching at the AMQ Festival this year”. While visiting Adelaide, she wants to see native animals, visit Kangaroo Island, and spend a few days in Sydney seeing the sights. “I also have plans for a future trip to AU with my family in a few years. My husband and I plan to one day travel to AU by sailboat, where we can get to know the people and country better- and at a slower pace”. Carla’s must-see list: Great Barrier Reef, Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Norfolk Island, Tasmania, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Whitsunday Islands, and Uluru/Ayers Rock to name just a few locations…. mmm not sure if she will fit all that into one trip!!

Carla’s classes are: (click on the table below to view images for all her classes & be totally inspired!)

REGISTER NOW!

Volunteers

How can I become a volunteer?

As you know, all events need lots of volunteers in order to operate smoothly.  AMQ Festival is no exception.  Anyone may now sign up to volunteer. If YOU would like to be a volunteer, please let us know as soon as possible so that you may have first choice of jobs.

Thank YOU to all those that already have signed up. Sharon is still looking for more volunteers to be involved in all the fun in many areas

There are many opportunities to volunteer including:

• Judging assistance

• Scribes

• Quilt hanging and taking down for the show

• White glove host/hostess

• Reception assistance

• Door greeters

• Classroom assistance

• Demos

• Quilt award presentations

• Speaker assistance

• Passing quilts to owners who are present at take down

• Packing and shipping of quilts at take down

Teacher's Angel Volunteers

AMQF has an exciting way for you to volunteer this year. Our teachers need your help to greet the students, check off names, hand out and collect evaluation forms and class handouts and help when/if the need arises. These treasured helpers are our Teacher's Angels.

If you are interested in gaining some fabulous hands-on experience as a volunteer, contact us at  volunteer@amqfestival.com.au  to be added to our volunteer list or preferably complete the online volunteer form here.

For every 2 hours you volunteer, you are eligible to enter your name into the exclusive, volunteer only, door prize drawings. We do several drawings throughout the day, and then all the names go back into the "pot" for the GRAND PRIZE, given away at the end of the show. You do not need to be present to win. Some lucky winner will walk away with a basket of goodies!