AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Quilts will open to the public Thursday, July 26, with a Champagne Reception. More than 675 quilts, antique to contemporary, will be on display through Sunday, July 29, at the Augusta Civic Center. Three hundred and forty-nine individuals, from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Florida, Texas and New Brunswick, have entered small wall hangings to king-sized bed quilts that range from simple to spectacular, entirely hand done to all machine work.

A Merchants Mall will features 40 vendors from across the United States selling fabric, tools and other items. There will be free demonstrations, daily lectures, quilt appraisals, workshops and a silent auction of small quilts, quilted bags, wall hangings and table runners. Proceeds from the silent auction will be donated to the WomenHeart of Maine.

Continuing a tradition started in 2003, Pine Tree Quilters Guild selected a member to have work showcased as the featured quilter at Maine Quilts. The 2012 “Meet the Quilters” are Ethel DuBois and Carole Cohen Pettinelli of Lewiston.

Other special exhibits include an Art Bra Collection created by Maine Mountain Quilters from the Farmington area to promote breast cancer awareness and encourage women to get regular mammograms. The newest traveling exhibit from the Association of Pacific Northwest Quilters, “Spirit of the West,” will feature quilts that speak of the “West” from Alaska to New Mexico, Saskatchewan to Hawaii, and all points in between.

Maine Quilts will present a collection of 117 house-shaped quilts created for Quilt Alliance’s 2012 contest “Home Is Where the Quilt Is.” Two Pine Tree Guild members, Joan Emerson of Biddeford and Callie Lavoie of Wells, have quilts in this national exhibit.

“Summer’s Offering,” a collection of 19th century antique quilts, includes some of the best quilts from Judy Roche’s collection and some that have never been shown before, plus sewing tools used by 19th century needleworkers.

Show hours are 7-9 p.m. Thursday, July 26, with an admission fee of $10; 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. Friday, July 27; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, July 28; and 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.  Sunday, July 29. Daily admission, except for Thursday is $8, multi-day $15, free to children 12 and under.

For information go to www.mainequilts.org, email info@mainequilts.org or call 207-415-4417.