It was another successful weekend for the ever popular United Church Women’s Group (UCW) quilt show held at the Meaford United Church on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26.
For more than 30 years the UCW quilt show has been a highly anticipated and well attended event, and this year’s show was no different, with hundreds visiting the colourful exhibit over the two days of the event.
The first UCW quilt show in 1992 included roughly 20 quilts made by members of the church. The quilt show has grown each year over its three decade existence: the very first show attracted approximately 100 visitors, while in recent years more than 350 attend the show each year.
This year’s event featured 85 quilts and small items, made by 35 quilters, and was made possible thanks to a team of 25 volunteers.
In addition to bed quilts, the exhibits included several small quilted items, such as table runners, placemats, wall hangings, and quilted bags.
The event also included a lunch each day for just $15. Organizers said that 120 show visitors enjoyed the lunches this year.
In an era when many simply visit the nearest big-box store for their bedding supplies, quilting could have already become a lost art if not for quilting groups like the one at Meaford’s United Church. While it was once an economical way to hand stitch warm bedding by reusing old materials, most modern quilts sold in retail outlets are made from new materials and stitched with machines.
This year’s show winners were:
Machine Quilted – Jopie Lavrysen ‘Feels Like Spring’
Hand Quilted – Shirley Abercrombie ‘Summer Solstice’
Small items – Marnie Coke ‘Wanda Eleganza’
Organizers expressed thanks to all of the visitors and volunteers who helped make this year’s Quilt Show another success.
To see more photos from this year’s quilt show, pick up a copy of this week’s Meaford Independent print newspaper.
