The nine-patch quilt completed by Madison County Quilters Guild member Veronica Walrond may at first appear simple, until you realize the number of small pieces involved in creating its pattern. The quilt is like a stitched jigsaw puzzle where pieces of different sizes have been sewn together to create a special pattern.
The Madison County Quilters Guild will offer folks the chance to explore this craft’s fascinating techniques at two shows this weekend – while at the same time helping an important pair of Madison County nonprofit organizations. The shows – both at Madison County High School – are set for 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 and 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4. Proceeds from the $5 admission will be split between the Madison County Free Clinic and the Madison County Food Bank.
Guild members are also raffling a quilt they made as a group project. It will be on display at the shows. Tickets are available at the show or from any quilters guild member for $5 and the drawing will be Sunday at the show. Proceeds from the raffle will also go to support the free clinic and food bank.
The guild hosts shows every other year. The events are always designed to raise money for Madison County nonprofit organizations. The group alternates years with the Orange County Quilters Guild, which has similar shows.
“We have the show every two years so it does not overlap with the show done by the Orange guild,” said Walrond. The show two years ago was the group’s first public event in a number of years. However, it hopes to have the event more consistently in the future.
The group supported a breast cancer group and the MESA (Madison Emergency Services Association) House with the proceeds from its last event, she said. “We take turns, so it’s a different organization [benefiting] every time.”
Historical preservation
The guild strives to keep its history and quilting alive by offering classes and volunteering.
Members of the guild serve as docents at the Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg. They do this the second Wednesday of every month and have been volunteering there since the opening of the museum in 1995, according to Walrond.
The guild has always been focused on charity work, said Walrond. “It’s part of giving back what has been given to us, all the history and the learning and the knowledge, we just share it with everyone,” she said.
For the shows the group has made several sets of display quilts along with its donation quilts. Some of the special quilts include a “Blast from the Past” exhibit and a “Border Bash” presentation. The antique quilts are started with a nine-patch piece created out of antique fabric and then updated with more modern fabric and designs. However, part of the challenge, according to Walrond, is to meld the two styles.
The “Border Bash” quilts are ones started by one member of the group and then passed among other members who all add a new border. Eventually, the quilt includes one center square and approximately five separate borders. It is then returned to the person who made the center block, said Walrond.
History of the guild
Thelma Shirley founded the quilting guild 21 years ago after starting the quilting business that became That Little Quilt Shop 30 years ago. She passed the business to Gay Kulenguski after running it for 20 years. Kulenguski moved it to its current building. The shop is now run by Noreen Smith (although Kulenguski still owns the building).
The Madison chapter of the group has 30 members ranging in age from a few teenagers to an 89 year old. All the members of the group worked on the raffle quilt.
“We do a lot of charity work,” said Walrond. “We work with [Project] Linus, and also do “Quilts of Valor,” which is for the soldiers. It’s part of giving back all that’s been given to us.”
Project Linus, according to its Web site, is an organization that arranges for people to make quilts or blankets for children who are seriously ill, victims of trauma or simply in need. The group was started in 1996.
Quilts of Valor is a group with a similar idea. It aims to provide a quilt to every U.S. solider injured in the line of duty, according to its published literature.
The members are working on the quilts continually, Walrond said. They do not only work at meetings or special events. She thinks that at a minimum the group makes and donates as many as 100 quilts a year.
“We don’t all finish them at one time because some of us are cutting strips and some are cutting squares – [the quilts] are at different stages throughout the course of the year,” said Walrond, implying that it can be difficult to keep track of how many have been made.
Over the summer the group also sought to promote quilting by offering lessons to 4-H members.
Others involved with the shows
The Madison County Facilities and Recreation Department is co-sponsoring the event. Walrond was quick to praise Department Director Ross Shifflett and the rest of his staff.
“They’ve been a big help to us, they helped us get the insurance, the location – anything we needed to ask, all we’ve had to do was call,” she said. “We wouldn’t have had a place to put it (without them.)”
Other special exhibits at the event will include:
• Phyllis Keezee giving a demonstration on her long-arm embroidery machine.
• A selection of vintage quilts will be for sale by Maureen Rogers.
• An exhibit by Noreen Smith.
• A selection of reproduced antique quilts by Karen Witt.
For information, visit www.madisonquilters.org or call Veronica Walrond at (540) 672-2343.
IF YOU GO
What: Madison County Quilters Guild shows featuring multiple types of quilts.
When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4.
Where: Madison County High School, 68 Mountaineer Lane, Madison.
Admission: is $5 with all proceeds going to benefit Madison County Free Clinic and the Madison County Food Bank.
Raffle: Tickets for the raffle quilt are $5 and can be purchased from members of the Madison Quilters Guild or at the event. The drawing will be Sunday, Oct. 4.
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