Teresa Duryea Wong
I love to write, and I’ve been at it my whole life.
My first job after college was in television news where I started as an intern and was given the very glamorous job of cutting out newspaper articles every day. Eventually, I convinced the TV bosses to give me a job as a TV news camera woman, and I was among the first wave of women to ever hold that job in a major city.
Next, I struck out on my own as a freelance journalist and a few years later, I became the publisher of a monthly, fine-art magazine.
Then I spent the next 20 something years climbing the corporate ladder. One rung at a time, I climbed till I hit the glass ceiling. During those years, I traveled the world – Qatar, Vietnam, Wales, Norway, Brazil, Venezuela, Russia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Australia, Saudi Arabia – some 45 countries in all.
Finally, in 2013, decided to strike out on my own again and follow my passion. Since then, I have traveled to Japan every year (till the pandemic). I’ve published 7 quilt history/textile books, and I have presented lectures to guilds all over the U.S., Canada, the UK, France, and South Korea!
Bibliography
- Kawaii Applique Quilts from Japan co-authored with Naomi Ichikawa (Schiffer 2025)
- Sewing & Survival: Native American Quilts from 1880 – 2022 (Third Floor Quilts 2023)
- Japanese Contemporary Quilts and Quilters: The Story of an American Import (Schiffer, 2015)
- Cotton & Indigo from Japan (Schiffer, 2017)
- American Cotton: Farm to Quilt (Third Floor Quilts, 2019)
- Magic & Memories: 45 Years of International Quilt Festival and the Story of Two Women Who Changed Quilt History (Schiffer, 2019)
- Co-Author Stitching Stolen Lives: The SJSA Remembrance Project with Sara Trail (C&T Publishing, 2021)
- Managing Editor of Quiltfolk Dogs. Published by Quiltfolk 2023.
Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Communications, University of St. Thomas, Houston
- Master’s Degree in Liberal Studies, Rice University, Houston, 2014
Staff Writer
Quiltfolk
Contributing Writer
Quilting Arts Magazine, Japan Handicrafts Magazine
Also wrote for every issue of these magazines, which sadly have folded. Japan Quilt Diary (2021-2024), Curated Quilts (2018 – 2023).
Honors
International Advisory Board Member of International Quilt Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Bybee Scholar, Texas Quilt Museum & Bybee Foundation
Quilt Judge Invitations
International Quilt Festival, Houston – Judging Panel for the judged show. 2022
Quilters Guild of Dallas Annual Show – Judging Panel for the huge regional show. 2025
Carrefour European Patchwork, Alsace, France. – Judging Panel for the judged competition. 2026
Lecture Highlights
- American Quilt Study Group Keynote Speaker: Winter Virtual Study Session. 2024
- James Renwick Alliance for Craft. Invited Lecturer for an 8-part series. “Two Centuries of Quilts: From Necessity to Fine Art.” Summer 2024.
- Korea Quilt Festival. Seoul, South Korea. Featured Lecturer. 2023.
- Peoria Riverfront Museum, Peoria, Ill. “Hello Modern Art Meet Antique Quilts” – in conjunction with exhibition of Ken Burns quilt collection. 2022
- International Quilt Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska: 2016, 2018, 2020
- International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas: 2017, 2019, 2022
- QuiltCon: Pasadena 2018, Nashville 2019, Austin 2020, Phoenix 2022, Atlanta 2023, Raleigh 2024, Phoenix 2025, Raleigh 2026
- Visions Art Museum, San Diego, California: 2020, 2021, 2022
- Texas Quilt Museum, LaGrange, Texas: 2015, 2019
- Tennessee Valley Quilters Assoc. Keynote: 2019
- Gulf States Quilting Assoc. Keynote: 2020
- Plus, hundreds of lectures to American quilt guilds since 2015.
Quilt Exhibitions
2014 – Sacred Threads. Dawson Hill was included in this juried exhibition.
2014 – International Quilt Festival, Houston. Special Exhibition: “It’s Raining Cats and Dogs.” Wanna Cookie depicting our beloved dog Chip was juried into this show.
2019 – International Quilt Festival, Houston. Cheddar Redo was juried into the annual judged show.
2020 – International Quilt Festival, Houston. Mrs. Rose’s X was juried into the annual judged show.
2021 – International Quilt Festival, Houston. The Blue One was juried into the annual judged show.
2024 – International Quilt Festival, Houston. The Crazy One and Geometry Class were both juried into the annual judged show.
2022 – Quiltcon Phoenix. Modern Quilt Guild annual juried and judged show. Three quilts were included: Harvest, The Blue One, and Say Their Names.
2024 – Quiltcon Raleigh. The Crazy One, a Double Wedding Ring filled with weird and wonderful prints, was juried into a special exhibition of maximalist quilts.
2024 – The Cherokee National Holiday Quilt Show, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Grace’s Star was included and won a ribbon in the pieced category.
2025 – Quiltcon Phoenix. Manhattan was included in the annual juried and judged show.
2024 – International Quilt Festival, Houston. Finally Finished debuts in a special exhibition of 11 antique quilt tops that were finished by me. I gave daily gallery talks during the show.
2025 – International Quilt Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln hosted a solo show of Finally Finished featuring 10 antique quilt tops that were finished by me. The quilts were displayed in the museum’s third-floor space.
2026 – Old Quilts Made New debuts at the Texas Quilt Museum, La Grange, Texas. Twenty antique quilts tops finished by me with free-motion quilting are exhibited in their own gallery.
Quilts in Museums
Say Their Names was acquired by the International Quilt Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as part of the Modern Quilt Guild collection.