Could Your Favorite Quilt Win National Honors?

It’s likely that some of the country’s 15.5 million quilters will celebrate National Quilting Day on March 17.

To mark the occasion, Good Housekeeping is sponsoring the AllAmerican Quilt Contest. More than $20,000 in prizes will be awarded (which may come in handy since quilters spend an estimated $1.56 billion a year on their hobby).

Last year, more than 4,500 quilters entered.

To enter, contestants must submit photographs or slides of original quilts and an essay of 100 words or less to: The All-American Quilt Contest, One Lands’ End Lane, Dodgeville, WI, 53595. Call (800) 345-3696 for an entry form or more information.

There’s no time to waste: Entries must be postmarked by midnight on March 28. Winners will be announced in the October issue of Good Housekeeping and the September issue of Coming Home catalog.

Cheney gardeners: The new Gardeners of Cheney Club meets the second Tuesday of every month and March is no exception.

This group formed in the fall but was chartered by The Gardeners of America in January. Meetings are at the Cheney Care Center, 2219 N. Sixth. Anyone who gardens or is interested in gardening is welcome.

Workshop update: The spring workshop and class schedule at Corbin Art Center includes the usual wreath and garden basket lineup.

Those who want a different craft project can sign up for the two-hour Moss Topiary Bunny class. Don’t plan on this as an Easter project, though; the holiday is April 16, but bunny class is April 20. Fee is $19. For a lineup of other workshops, call Corbin Art Center at 625-6677.

Looking for home: A new book published by Wildcate Canyon Press celebrates the concept of home though the voices of more than 100 writers.

“Where the Heart Is: A Celebration of Home,” edited by Julienne Bennett and Mimi Luebbermann ($11.95), includes essays, poetry, blessings, meditations and quotes. Some are from people who have lost their homes to natural disasters; others just long for their hometowns or a special landscape.

A percentage of the book’s profits will be donated to the East Bay Habitat for Humanity in Oakland, Calif.

To order the book, contact New World Library, 58 Paul Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903; (510) 848-3600.