The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
QUILT & NEEDLE SHOW HAS IT ALL COVERED
WINCHESTER >> Some criteria that quilting judges use to evaluate show quilts include “Are blocks and the quilt square, and do they line up?,” “Are curved stitching lines or appliqué edges smooth?,” and “Is the sewn back-tracking executed well?”
About 300 quilters from around Connecticut and admirers came to look at the diverse quality work among the 114 small and large quilts displayed over the weekend at the 10th annual Quilt and Needle Arts Show at Winchester Center Congregational Church on Route 263 off the Town Green.
Show organizer Mary Pat Leger said on Sunday afternoon: “We have sold a good portion of the quilts. We have so many beautiful works by everyone.” Leger said 10 percent of about $3,000 to be raised over the weekend will go to various charities, including Bristol’s Friends of Fisher House Connecticut, which provides families residences near military hospitals. Donations also were to go Quilts of Valor Foundation, a national clearinghouse for military hospitals and organizations. Other revenue goes back to the church, which houses the local 15-member Sew Grateful quilting group that meets bi-weekly in the basement.
In the church’s congregation area, quilts of plentiful colors and patterns were hung on the backs of pews while larger works were on the walls and at the altar.
“The weather is cloudy today, so we are getting more people,” Leger said. “If it’s sunny, the less people want to be indoors at a quilt show.”
The church basement was also a hub of activity. Vendors sold fabrics and quilting materials; the kitchen sold soup, sandwiches and pastries. At a table, visitors could cut out denim pieces to create shoes for “Sole Hope,” an organization that makes shoes for Uganda children to avoid foot-related diseases.
Quilting as an art can be done by hand, a sewing machine or a specialized longarm quilting system. Many quilters have different motivations for their art.
“It’s my way of relaxing,” explained volunteer ticket-taker Donna Thomes of Norfolk,
who showed her collection of cotton patriotic quilts. Thomes elaborated on how she started the activity: “I was recovering from a rotator-cuff injury, and I am not a candidate for surgery. I was home alone and thought I would like to begin. It’s also my way of giving back and donating service.”
Sales from her quilts as well as the concurrent silent auction of local quilter Karen Bertoli’s “Patriot’s Freedom,” a 32-by-32 handquilted work dating back to 1997, also went to local charities.
Beth Tripp of New Hartford contributed “Basketball Maniac,” a large-scale quilt depicting a basketball court. Pieced by Tripp and quilted by friend Susan Cane, the quilt was for the twin bed of her grandson Jaiden, a diehard Celtics fan. “I organized the backboard to look like Plexiglas on a court,” Tripp said, explaining the work. “The next one will be for the girls, and a baseball quilt for my grandson, Joey, who is 9.”
The youngest contributor to the quilting show was Mackenzie Strahan, 7, of Winsted. Mackenzie said she made the 44-by-44 machine-pieced and –quilted cotton work with fire engines and cars prints for the crib of her new brother, Tyler, who is 6 months old.
“My grandmother taught me how to quilt,” Mackenzie said. “She put me on her lap since I was 2, and has me put my hands on the quilt to guide it as she sews. She helped me learn, and each time, I keep getting better.”
Mackenzie’s grandmother Ruth Roden of Winsted was present and added that Mackenzie now belongs to two local quilting clubs along with her. “I am very proud,” Roden said. “I am very lucky to have a little girl who is so talented and acquires knowledge like a sponge.”
Organizer Leger gave visitors tips on how she produced her latest machine-pieced work “Aurora Borealis,” a quilt she made for her latest granddaughter, Aurora.
She said she used a dye with salt added when wet to produce colorful effects upon the cotton fabric used to depict the Northern Lights, or the eponymous Aurora Borealis.
“The dye gets pooled in places,” she explained. The fabric used for the 3-D elephants that emerge from the work were made from various colored minky, a plush fleece-like fabric used for baby blankets. She also showed the work’s “prairie points,” upon the edges. Prairie points are folded triangles used to embellish quilts, and in this case, to hold Leger’s infant granddaughter’s attention with quilted texture.
“This quilt took less than a month,” Leger added. “The baby came early.”