082310 Rainbow of Quilts

  • By Sharon Haught
  • August 14, 2010
  • 295
                        
A “Rainbow of Quilts” graced the gym at Ida Sue School when the Tree City Quilters’ Guild presented its 2010 quilt show on August 13 and 14. Held every other year, this is the seventh such show to be held by the guild since its founding in 1991. According to quilt show chairman Sally Kitchen the 188 quits on display were lovingly handcrafted by members of the Tree City Quilters’ Guild and represent the work of beginning quilters all the way up to advanced quilters. While the juried show included the presentation of awards for craftsmanship, some of the exhibitor’s favorite awards are the special awards selected by non-experts, such as the ones chosen by workers from the Nick Amster Workshop and the Viewer’s Choice awards. “Those are the most coveted awards,” said Kitchen. “When people love your quilts that just means so much.” One quilt that caught the eye of many of the visitors to the exhibit was handcrafted by guild member Jeri Fickes. Entitled “Abbi’s Story” the quilt was created for Fickes’ daughter Abbi from t-shirts from organizations and events that were important parts of her high school and college life. From marching band and lacrosse to a mission trip to the Dominican Republic and an internship at the National Zoo, the quilt contains a visual representation of her daughter’s memories of her high school and college experiences. “I don’t scrapbook so this was my way of scrapbooking,” said Fickes. Fickes’ craftsmanship can also be seen in another last minute and unexpected addition to this year’s quilt show. After seeing the quilt made by Fickes that hangs in the main office of Wooster High School containing the names of all the staff members in the building on the day the new high school was opened 17 years ago, Mayor Bob Breneman asked Fickes to make a quilt square for the team representing Wooster in the All American City competition last year. Fickes and WHS art teachers Tricia Thorley and Jackie Kiefer took up the challenge and created a square that would later be incorporated with squares from 29 other cities taking part in the competition into an All American City quilt. According to Fickes since the quilt was completed it has traveled to each of the cities that were finalists in the competition. When the quilt arrived unexpectedly the day before the show, the organizers were all too happy to incorporate it into the exhibit. While the show allows the members of the guild to share unique quilts, like the All American City quilt, with the community and provides guild members with a place to showcase their skills it also “helps to stimulate an interest in quilting,” said Kitchen noting “we just want to share our love of quilting with others and encourage others to enjoy quilting.” The guild members meet on the second Monday of each month at Parkview Christian Church, sharing tips and learning new techniques. Throughout the year guild members also devote countless hours to making special quilts for other organizations and charities including Project Linus quilts for children being treated for cancer and quilts for the first baby boy and girl born at Wooster Hospital, members of the military and Every Woman’s House. In addition to giving of their time and talents, the guild supports local non-for-profits in other ways. During this year’s quilt show the guild held a quilt raffle, with the proceeds being split between Ida Sue School and the Bridges of Hope project. For more information on the Tree City Quilters’ Guild visit their blog at http://treecityquiltguild.blogspot.com/.


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