The “Quilting in Paradise” Annual Showcase of Quilts packed the Savannah Center on Friday.
“This is an amazingly popular hobby for women of all ages, and some men too,” Beth Bender, president of the Quilting Guild of The Villages, said. “We have been jam packed since first thing this morning, filling the parking lots here at Savannah; and The Villages shuttles have been bringing busloads of people from the Saddlebrook Recreation Center by the Polo Club too. We have hard working gals on our steering committee, and everyone has pitched in to make this happen. I have no idea how many people have been here. Sunday night, at the end of the show, we’ll count how many wrist bands we sold, and then we’ll know the number.”
Pennecamp residents, Karen Marasia, originally from New York’s Long Island, and Nancy Guarino, from Wappingers Falls, New York, marveled at the wide variety of quilts on display. Like most of the show’s visitors, both have been quilting for many years. In her forty years with the hobby, Marasia is most proud of a wedding album quilt she made for her daughter, with pictures of family events interspersed with patterned fabric. “Everybody in the family treasures it,” she said. Guarino is finding the show an inspiration to get back to her quilting, which she did for about 30 years. “I can’t stay away from it,” she said. “I’m not a member of any group here, but I think I will join one. There are so many beautiful fabrics in the world — so many fabrics, so little time!”
The Guild set up a cafe where visitors could get coffee and lunch. There were also rooms full of vendors selling kits with instructions for beginning quilters, threads, bolts of fabric and pre-cut fabric pieces in myriad patterns. They were all doing a brisk business.
Raffle tickets were being sold for a queen-size Blue Lagoon quilt, which ten stitchers collaborated to make. Proceeds from the raffle, and a silent auction, will benefit the Wildwood Soup Kitchen and Infant and Toddler Pantry. There was also a Chinese auction with dozens of large gift baskets as prizes.
Aisles were set up in the Ashley Wilkes Theater, where 223 quilts of various sizes were displayed. Many were already deemed winners in various categories by the Guild; and visitors were asked to vote for a Viewer’s Choice award. Ella Holden from Okahumpka was admiring quilted jackets, and other visitors loved the large giraffe quilt entitled ‘Mother’s Love,’ by Donna Rissman. Nearby, Mary Shara’s ‘Feathers and Flowers’ quilt is a blue, purple and red masterpiece with white flora, and B.J. Herter’s red and white ‘heart’ quilt was made in memory of her husband, Chip.
Kat Campau’s large dark-toned ‘African Fantasy’ quilt had won first place in the ‘Innovative Quilt’ category. The artist enjoyed putting together the playful motif, which includes tropical leaves, a snake, tribal masks and printed fabrics. She said she couldn’t help but smile the whole time she was working on it. Several women asked about hand-made dolls they had seen at previous Villages quilting shows, but they were not included this year, due to limited space.
Up on the stage, dozens of vintage quilts were exhibited. Some were assembled within the last twenty years or so from pieces made in the 1800s, and several of the vintage quilts had been made in their entirety up to 140 or 150 years ago. Kris Loffler, from Village Rio Ranchero, was showing some of the vintage creations, and certified appraiser, Teddy M. Pruett, from Lake City was on hand. “I’ve been appraising quilts for about 24 years. I’m trying to retire, but they keep calling me to go out to shows. I do enjoy it though,” she said.
Avid quilter, ‘Mickey’ Carter, 93, brought her daughter, Liz Torrence, from Williston, to the show.
“Seventy miles, or whatever it was, is NOT a long distance for quilters to travel to a show,” Carter emphasized with a smile. “We travel a lot farther than that.” She kept coming back to a unique quilt with American flag fragments and military armaments, made by the Fat Cat Quilters Barb Laur and Linda Spence. The quilt was made to honor one of the ladies’ son’s military service and fiftieth birthday. “The people who made this had a very active imagination, and are very patriotic,” Carter said.
The Quilting Guild of The Villages was first organized in 1993. They currently have more than one thousand members in eighteen affiliated chapters around The Villages. The guild embraces as many forms and levels of quilting as there are quilts.
“There is a place for everyone,” president Beth Bender said, “whether you have done quilting for many years or are just starting out and want to learn. Guild members are eligible to enter their quilts into the annual show, and attend the many classes offered by talented national artists and teachers during the year.” On the list are the Brandenton Quilters, Mamie’s Quilters, who meet at the Eisenhower Recreation Center and the Manatee and Mulberry Quilters groups. ‘Patchwork Garden’ meets at Lake Miona Rec Center; the Piecemarkers and the Quilting B’s meet at Paradise; and the Sterling Stitchers meet at Sterling Heights. Visit qgotv.org for details about meeting times or contact Bender at bethbender12@comcast.net.
‘Quilting in Paradise’ will continue Saturday as well at the Savannah Center, opening at 9 a.m.
