five Emerald Sponsors. To be at this second level of sponsorship, (our platinum sponsor, Gammill, is the highest level), an organization donates $5,000. Their generous contribution goes toward prize money for the quilt show contest as well as help fund other aspects of the event. Each Emerald Sponsor will also have a vendor booth on the main floor.
This year’s Emerald Sponsors include:
Babylock has been dedicated to the love of sewing for over 40 years by creating machines for sewing, embroidery, quilting and serging – all with ease-of-use, high quality and a touch of elegance. In addition to easy-to-thread sergers and machines for sewers of any level, Baby Lock enhances the love of sewing with an extensive line of sewing supplies including feet, accessories, software and stabilizer. A family business with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, all Baby Lock machines and products are sold exclusively through Independent Authorized Baby Lock Retailers that can be found throughout the United States and Canada. Babylock products are never sold online.
Teachers whose students will be using Babylock machines in their classes include Jodi Barrows, Jenny Doan, Carmen Geddes, Sheila McKay, Cindy Meyers, and Helen Robinson.
Handi Quilter makes a reliable, low-maintenance longarm quilting machine. Its innovative technology and quality engineering provide the functionality that quilters demand along with the smoothest stitch in the industry. Every machine is backed by their trusted HQ warranty. They have over 300 trained HQ local retailers, plus offer HQ customer service, education, and technical support. They will be providing machines for classes taught by Suzanne Hyland and Margaret Solomon-Gunn.
Janome’s mission is to produce machines which inspire creativity and innovation, yet are simple to use. In Japanese, the word Janome (pronounced Ja-NO-me) means “eye of the snake.” The company earned the name in the 1920s when founder Yosaku Ose, a pioneer in Japanese sewing manufacturing, began to use a round metal bobbin system instead of the traditional long shuttle. The Japanese thought the new round bobbin looked like a snake’s eye, and from the innovative design, a name was born.
Janome products have been at the cutting edge of sewing technology since the earliest days of their founding. They were the first to develop a computerized machine for home use (the Memory 7, in 1979), the first to offer professional style embroidery to the home market (the Memory Craft 8000, in 1990) and the first to offer a long-arm quilting machine for home use (the Memory Craft 6500P, in 2003). Today, their flagship model, the Horizon Memory Craft 15000, is redefining the way sewists enjoy their hobby. This revolutionary machine is the first-ever wireless-enabled sewing machine. Janome machines will be made available to students in classes taught by Karla Alexander, Bonnie Browning, Gundrun Erla, and Lora Kennedy.
