Bed-turning new attraction at festival

By Courtney D. Clark

Needles are flying in preparation for the annual Appalachian Treasures Quilt Show, taking place Aug. 28-30.

The Appalachian Steering Committee is gearing up for this year’s show, which is going to be held at the Raleigh County Convention Center during the Appalachian Arts and Crafts Festival.

The committee is made up of eight members from the Hands All Around Quilt Club. The ladies are meeting monthly to organize final details for the show. Members of the committee say that their goal is to showcase the traditional art of quilting, by providing a place for today’s quilters to display their work with pride and satisfaction. The show allows for quilters to sell their work, and will include educational seminars on the traditional art of quilting.

The theme for the 2009 Appalachian Treasures Quilt Show is “Take Me Home,” which corresponds with this year’s State Fair theme, “Coming Home.” The theme category is “houses.” Committee members say that any type of house may be used, such as country houses, town houses, school houses or bird houses. However, the house must be the primary focus of the quilt.

Judith Bragg, a member of the Appalachian Steering Committee and the Hands All Around Quilt Club, said, “The annual quilt show is an opportunity for quilters to exhibit their creativity and share their works of art with others.”

Saturday, Aug. 29, the show will be offering its very first bed-turning. At 2 p.m., antique quilts, layered on a bed, will be turned down individually as a narrator provides the story behind each particular quilt.

Another member of the Appalachian Steering Committee and the Hands All Around Quilt Club, Marsha Smith, said the committee likes to offer something different every year. They are accepting quilts, 50 years and older, that are in good condition with a great story. “Quilts from this area are a part of our heritage,” Smith said. “We are interested in anything that will perpetuate the art of quilting and keep it alive.”

Quilts entered in the Appalachian Treasures Quilt Show will be judged under 17 different categories. The quilts will be compared with each other and judged on things like excellence in needlework, design, color and, essentially, all of the elements that make a good quilt. There are categories for youth, first-time quilters, and co-operative effort quilts. Contestants are competing for ribbons that will be distributed by judges from outside areas.

There will be two or three vendors in the quilt area of the Arts and Crafts Festival. The vendors will have fabric and quilting tools available for sale.

In the center of the Convention Center, suspended from the ceiling, will be four quilts of honor on display. The quilts of honor will be chosen based on someone the committee would like to honor, or to show off exemplary quilters and past winners.

“We will have demonstrations going on throughout the show in the quilt area,” member Lois Cooper said. “Someone will be there demonstrating techniques like hand quilting, piecing and appliqué.”

Sharon Price, president of the Hands All Around Quilt Club, said the show generally has 75 to 100 entries.

The Appalachian Steering Committee needs extra volunteers to work as “White Glove Ladies.” “White Glove Ladies” are there to assist if someone wishes to see the back of a quilt.

“We are getting very excited,” Price said. “We will appreciate all the help we can get.”

For additional information, an application, or to register a guild, contact Sharon Price at 304-228-8030 or price1953@yahoo.com.

— E-mail: cclark@register-herald.com