Six of the quilts on display at Les Cheneaux Historical Museum demonstrate just a sliver of the 51 images of Australia shown at this year's Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational Tour, which is touring the state, and has stopped at the museum in Cedarville for the month. Images of Australia are represented by 51 quilts now on display at the Les Cheneaux Historical Museum in Cedarville and will remain there until the end of August. The exhibit can be seen during open hours at the museum, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

They are part of the 2006 Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational tour, which annually shows quilted interpretations of a selected theme in 20-inch by 24-inch fabric wall hangings.

This year's theme is Australia, and visitors to the museum will see images of kangaroos, the Sydney opera house, and the Australian landscape and people.

The show is touring the state, and features hand-made quilts by Michigan quilters, based on a different theme. Selected quilters aim to promote freedom of expression, experimentation, and individual style among the participants, using quilts as a vehicle of visual expression.

Christine Husak, a seasonal resident of the Les Cheneaux area and exhibitor in the show, helped bring the exhibit to the museum. She has taught quilting workshops at the museum and helps hang the quilts around the museum for the invitational.

The Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational is a group formed by Mary Andrews of Grand Blanc and Marty Lawrence of Flint Township. Members began as traditional pattern quilters, while others began as artists seeking a medium other than traditional painting or drawing.

Exhibits over the years have included Flower of the Month, Food and Gourmet Art, Back to the Future/Millennium, Animals, Quotable Quotes, and Africa.

Quilts must comply to a smaller "wall art" size, and artists can use any kind of medium to complete the quilts. A gallery book complements

the exhibits by describing each quilt included in the exhibit, techniques used, and a brief biography of the artists.