I was honored and surprised to have my quilt ‘Let’s talk Color” selected to be one of the 84 quilts in the Quilt National 2025 exhibit. This is a show of Contemporary art quilts that is a bi-annual, prestigious show. It is held at the Dairy Barn in Athens, Ohio. I have just returned from the opening weekend, which was a celebration for the artists with many activities. I think 50-60 artists must have been there and it was such an honor to meet many of them and hear the stories behind their quilts. I will share a few of the quilts but I really have too many photos to share here. If you follow quiltnational on Instagram; you will see many more photos.

Me and Shin-Hee Chin with her Best of Show quilt, Viriditas (Greenness)

Cindy Grisdela, Musings II, from Virginia. Jungeun Tark, Tea-bowl of Mama from South Korea. Beth Schnellenberger, Double Phoenix Rising form Indiana, Ann Houle, Bio-sphere on Fire from CA

The Quilt National exhibit is held at The Dairy Barn which is located in Athens, Ohio and is very close to Ohio University. Having never visited this area before I did enjoy the history of the area as we got to explore the University with its brick buildings and brick pavements. Another interesting area was The Ridges. These buildings were built as Athens Insane Asylum in 1874. They are now part of the University complex and house the Kennedy Art Museum. The Dairy Barn was part of this complex also and dates from 1914. There is a lot of fascinating history in this area.

As an exhibiting artist I was able to attend the opening reception, award ceremony, artists banquet, private viewing of the exhibit and artists talks. Many of us finally met up again at a local winery which was another fun event. It was great to meet artists that previously I had only met through their work on social media. I now have new friends from Germany, Switzerland, Australia, South Korea, China, as well as USA and California.

I travel a lot with my teaching and it was a treat for me to have two friends from my guild here in Auburn, CA travel with me. As art quilters, attending Quilt National was on their bucket list but to be able to attend with an exhibiting artist and friend was extra special. I enjoyed the company and the support. What fun chicken vests they made!

Exploring Athens was unexpected we found a great Farmers Market, Pleasant Hill Winery, the Kennedy Art Museum and Lancaster, OH was an interesting historic town. My favorite place was the Passion Works Studio and Gallery. It is haven of art, color and creativity. Passion Works Studio creates opportunities for all people to explore and socially connect through the process of making art.

With all that color and pattern I couldn’t help but take many photos and buy a few items to bring home.

Finally when it was time to come home I did something very foolish and while hand carrying my newly created Poppy jacket, I set it down somewhere and lost it! Who knows if it will be ever found again but I guess someone somewhere will have a nice colorful jacket that I hope they will treasure. It could possibly be in the Columbus airport!

It was an honor to have one of my quilts selected for this art quilt show and now I have attended this event once I am now thinking about applying again for the next show in 2 years time!