If you’re a quilter, crafter or simply want to enjoy the works of others, you may want to take in one of the many quilt shows that will be held in the upcoming months in the Great Lakes area. Whether on vacation or enjoying leisure time you may find yourself at one of the following events.

The Greater Ann Arbor Quilting Guild will be hosting the 2011 Quilting Unlimited event in Ypsilanti, Michigan. This event will be held the last weekend of July. Classes and slideshows will be available. Whether you want to learn about quilting, embroidery, speed quilt piecing, or simply organizing your quilting space, get signed up for one of the classes. There are too many classes to list them all.

Another quilting event that may be of interest to you is the Wisconsin Quilt Expo. This event is held in Madison, Wisconsin during early September in the Alliant Energy Center Exposition Mall. Sewing and quilting workshops will be available to those who attend. Whether you are new to this craft or an expert, you should find something of interest.

In mid September, the Northwest Suburban Quilters Guild will be hosting Festival of Quilts in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Over 300 quilts and wall hangings will be on hand to look at and enjoy. A miniature quilt auction will be held during this event. Quilt books and magazines will be available for purchase.

If you are looking towards the fall season, Duluth, Minnesota will be hosting, “Quilting on the Waterfront.” The three-day event starts mid October and will have over 500 quilts available to view and 150 workshops to attend. Quilting vendors will be on hand if you want to purchase supplies.

Quilting has been a work of art for centuries, mostly by women who years ago put together blankets out of necessity to keep their families warm. While many quilters continue to make quilts for this purpose, they also quilt solely for the creativity and enjoyment of it all.

Whether you are a quilter yourself or simply want to attend a show and enjoy the works of others, you are sure to see a variety of creativity that has been put together with hard work and effort by many enthusiastic and artistic quilters.

Remember, a stitch in time saves nine. I wasn’t sure what the nine stood for so I checked it out. It means that if you sew up a hole right away it will only require one stitch. If you put it off until another time, the hole might get larger and require ten stitches. Ten stitches minus one = nine stitches. An interesting tidbit I thought I’d share!