MQX Quilt Festivals / Machine Quilters Exposition, LLC, Hampton Falls, NH
MQX Quilt Festivals (Machine Quilters Exposition, LLC) is an annual quilt show and conference founded by machine quilters, Janet-Lee Santeusanio and Mary Schilke.
What began as a get-together for longarm quilters in New England, rapidly morphed into the largest convention of this type in the United States. Well-known for its friendliness, attention to detail, top educators, and dedication to their students, vendors and faculty, certainly had humble beginnings.
After seeing several women invest in large quilting machines, then sell them due to the solitary nature of a home based business, a get together idea was born. On April 15, 2000, Janet-Lee organized a group of quilters to hang out, eat, chat, eat some more, and share their machine quilting experiences in her home. Forty women showed up and it is there that Mary and Janet-Lee met. It was a fortuitous meeting as they have been best friends and business partners since that day.
Living and working over 150 miles apart from one another didn't stop these two as they have created the largest and most anticipated machine quilting conventions in the United States.