Stitches in Time Quilt Show opens in Cleveland

Dozens of local artists will be displaying their handmade quilts at the 2016 Stitches in Time Quilt Show, which opens today, March 17, at the Museum Center at Five Points in Cleveland, Tenn.

Award winners selected by judge Kay Papenfuss of the Tennessee Valley Quilters Association will be named at the opening ceremonies from 6 to 7 p.m. The Ruth Hale Viewers Choice Award winner will be announced on the closing day of the exhibit, Saturday, April 2, after visitors have had time to choose a favorite.

Quilts will be displayed draped on handcrafted quilt racks so that visitors can see the quilts up close, says Joy Veenstra Key, the museum’s curator of education. “Gloves will be available for those expert quilters who want a closer look.”

Key says the annual quilt show has brought in hundreds of designs over the years. This year, quilters could enter in 11 categories: antique quilts (more than 50 years old), first quilts, bed quilts (65+ inches), lap quilts (45-65 inches), wall hangings, hand applique, machine applique, embroidery quilts, art quilts, group quilts and handmade and hand-quilted quilts.

The exhibit also includes professional appraisal services and other special programming of interest to quilters.

“We work closely with local quilt guilds and groups to plan the event, including the active programming schedule during the show,” Key says. This year’s schedule offers “everything from a trunk show by local quilters to a look at how you can use technology to assist in quilt designing.”

Key says the show celebrates not only the old traditions but the modernization of quilting.

“Quilts are an important, often overlooked, element of history,” she says. “Before women had a public voice, quilts were one way they could share their stories and opinions and show their skills. We hope to inspire a new generation of quilters to keep the historic traditions of quilting alive in the modern age.”

Maddie Kertay, owner of Spool, a sewing/quilting shop in Chattanooga, says quilts are possibly the most multifunctional pieces of art in existence.

“From warming a bed to gracing a wall, they express the feelings and thoughts of the maker through their use of color, design and composition,” she says.

Contact Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfrepress.com or 423-757-6396.