Linzi Upton, The Quilt Quine, will present a quilted yurt to Paducah representatives at Paducah City Hall at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2015.
Upton approached Mayor Gayle Kaler in hopes of donating the quilted Mongolian style tent to Paducah, a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts & Folk Art known for connecting cultures through quilting during her visit to AQS QuiltWeek – Paducah. An award-winning longarm quilter residing in rural North East Scotland, Upton is best known as the creator of Quilted Yurts.
“The idea of a making a quilted Yurt had first occurred to me while considering how to insulate the canvas of the one that I have in my garden in the “den” where my crafty friends and I meet,” said Upton. “I decided that quilted panels would add warmth and look interesting.”
Yurts are Mongolian tribal dwellings based on a 5,000 year-old design consisting of a circular wooden frame with a covering made of felt. They are built to withstand high winds and low temperatures in a beautifully desolate landscape, and are easily transported for nomadic living.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Paducah, Kentucky the world’s seventh City of Crafts & Folk Art in November 2013 for the City’s important role in the connectivity of cultures through creativity, particularly quilting.