Quilt Show Celebrates 250 Years of the USA

[By JoAnn R. Walter]

Sisters of the Quilt, a group based out of Richford, N.Y., held a quilt show on May 6 to celebrate 250 years of the USA and to showcase their work with the Quilts of Valor Foundation. Over 50 quilts were on display at the Newark Valley Fire Station, many had a patriotic theme. 

Sisters of the Quilt, which started 20 years ago, aims to promote quilting and community engagement. Members are enthusiastic about sharing their love of quilting.

In addition to amazing quilts on display for the public, the event featured vendors, demonstrations, and raffle baskets. Smaller quilted projects such as table runners, banners, bags, jackets, placemats, bowl cozies, and more were also displayed.

Demonstrations featured sewing machine maintenance by The Sewist and hands-on paper piecing. A presentation by Karen Fritts informed guests how to prep a quilt for longarming, the process involved in using a longarm sewing machine. A trunk show featured numerous quilts made by long-time Sister of the Quilt member, Peggy Andersen.

Andersen’s Celtic Sunrise quilt, measuring about 100 inches by 100 inches, received attention for its eye-catching, multi-color pattern. The quilt’s bright pink edge represented the sunrise. As your eye followed the pattern to the center, each color represented the changing light of day until sunset is reached. Andersen explained that she used the paper piecing process to create the pattern. A part of the Sisters of the Quilt since its inception, Andersen said she has been quilting most of her life.

Guests who brought in a nine-patch block received a raffle ticket for an opportunity to win half of the blocks collected. The remaining half of the blocks will be made into a Quilt of Valor. Individuals were asked to make their unfinished 6.5-inch nine-patch block with 2.5-inch squares, including five white squares alternated with four red, white, and blue squares.

Janice Merrill, Coordinator of the Sisters of the Quilt show, shared that the group has completed 53 Quilts of Valor for the Quilts of Valor Foundation since 2018. The group’s first completed quilt, which features a friendship star pattern, was on display for guests to see as they arrived at the welcome table.

The Quilts of Valor Foundation began in 2003 with Catherine Roberts, whose son was deployed to Iraq. The foundation’s mission is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing quilts. Quilts of Valor members have made and awarded over 444,000 quilts across the country since its inception.

You can nominate a living U.S. service member or veteran for a Quilt of Valor by completing a nomination form at https://www.govf.org. Other questions can be directed to Janice Merrill at the Sisters of the Quilt Group via email, merrills1@frontier.com.