A STITCH IN TIME: QUILT SHOW COMING
There is nothing that says “small town” like a quilt show, and The Grapevine Quilter's Guild is helping Ukiah live up to its rural roots. The Guild is presenting their annual “Quilts in Bloom” quilt show on Saturday and Sunday, May 4th and 5th at the Ukiah Conference Center.
Like so many organizations, the non-profit Guild is still finding its way back from the Covid years. This is their first quilt show since 2019.
The show will feature 80-plus quilts, all created by Guild members. In addition to the quilts, there will be on- site vendors, demonstrations, silent auction items, a country store and a raffle of the Guild's 2024 Opportunity Quilt- “Taos.” The pattern was created by Chris Hoover of Whirligig Designs. The quilt was made by Guild members and quilted by Margie Davis of Cloverdale Quilting.
This year's featured artist is Tish Warren, a retired English teacher from Eagle Peak Middle School.
The Guild was founded in 2001, and 8 original charter members are still on board. The non-profit organization boasts 80 members.
“We're growing,” smiles Guild Treasurer Ginny Leber. “I'm excited about that.”
Regular Guild meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month. “These are a `show and tell' event,” says Leanne Thompson, President and Acting Chair of the Community Quilt program. “We all get together, have lunch and sew together. Sometimes we work on community quilts and sometimes we work on personal projects,” she explains.
“I'm good at what I do, but I'm not so good at the creative part, so I love to bring my ideas to community sewing meetings,” says Secretary Gwen Rasmussen. “It's great to get other people's opinions on what you're working on.”
Meetings can also include speakers, visits by professional quilters, trunk shows, slide shows or mini workshops.
Guild members invite people of all ages and skill levels to try their hand at a craft that has a long and storied history in the United States and beyond. Some quilters, like Linda McCallum are drawn to traditional designs. McCallum is considered one of the Master Sewers in the Guild and is in charge of coordinating the Opportunity Quilt for this year's show.
“It's fun to sew together,” says McCallum, whose home is filled
with sterling examples of her expertise as a seamstress and a quilt artist. “We create a few quilts together as a team, which is a lot of fun.”
Dee Pallesen has found renewed camaraderie in the Guild following the complete loss of her homeand all of her quilting supplies- in the 2017 Redwood Complex Fire.
“I lost my sewing machine in the fire. I went to the quilt show the next year and there was one on sale. I got the same machine I had at a very reduced price.” Pallesen had to come up with a formula to estimate the value of her quilting materials for insurance purposes. “The amount of fabric and paper I had was enormous. I had to estimate what I had by the inch- like a 6th grade math problem. When I explained to the insurance company I was a quilter, they said, `Oh, now we get it, never mind,” Pallesen smiles. It took her a few years to return to quilting, but now she's back as the Chairperson of the Quilt Show.
“I think that more and more people are quilting. They have such a love of the craft and want to share it. It's good to be around like-minded artists. We have all different experience levels and types of ideas that inspire us,” Pallesen continues.
One of the most heartwarming activities of the Guild is their ongoing project creating and donating “Community Quilts” to a variety of organizations, including patients of Infusion Dialysis, Redwood Cove and Ukiah Post-Acute, clients of United Disaster Relief, Redwood Children's Services, Child and Adult Protective Services, and to Veterans and disaster victims. The Guild also donates quilts to fundraisers and to the first babies born each New Year. All the materials for these quilts are donated and all the workmanship is donated by Guild members.
“I've been making Community Quilts for the past five years,” notes Thompson. “I would say we've been making about 325 per year, so we've made around 1,500 Community Quilts in the last 5 years.” All of the raffle funds raised for this year's Opportunity Quilt will go towards purchasing supplies for the Community Quilts.
Another community service performed by the Guild is the awarding of an annual Quilt of Valor.
“This is a quilt made for Veterans,” says Leber. “One person is nominated, and they are awarded a quilt for their service, usually done in a patriotic theme. Don Bua was this year's recipient.”
Guild members gave shout- outs to local quiltfriendly businesses- Willits Country Quilts and Fabric, Village Sewing Center in Ukiah, Fat Quail in Laytonville, Sew & Sew in Fort Bragg, Darn Cute Quilts in Lakeport and Bolt in Cloverdale. “The quilt shops are fewer and farther between these days,” noted McCallum.
Whether you use a computerized “long-arm” quilting machine or a vintage 1934 Featherweight sewing machine like Ginny Leber, the Guild is clear that all are welcome to join the group.
“We're not judgmental or culty- we're welcoming. We share our knowledge. We recently had a lady join who only started quilting after she retired,” says Leber.
“We're a group of likeminded people who share like- minded interests,” says Pallesen. “With quilting, there are no rules. You do what you like in terms of quilting. Whatever you can imagine, you can do.”
Though none of the quilts at the show will be for sale, the Guild is hoping to offer quilts for sale at a holiday showing at Bona Marketplace.
The Quilt Show runs from 10:00- 5:00 on Saturday and 10: 00- 4: 00 on Sunday. For more information on the Guild, visit https://www.grapevinequilters.com or email grapevinequiltersmendocino@gmail.com.