Great Smoky Mountain Quilters Road Show - Townsend TN Jan 9, 2010

Quilters Road Show - Townsend TN Jan 9, 2010

Townsend, TN – Smoky Mountain Quilters is once again teaming with sponsor Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to present the fourth annual Quilters Road Show at Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center In Townsend TN on Saturday, January 9, 2009, from 10 AM – 5 PM.

The event provides quilters and quilt lovers the opportunity to see quilts in the making, to have quilts evaluated by quilt history professionals, to learn quilting techniques, to have their quilts photographed and to exchange stories and ideas with other quilters.

Returning for their fourth year are Merikay Waldvogel and Becky Harriss who will informally evaluate quilts on the Center’s auditorium stage. They will offer preservation tips and discuss quilt age and patterns.

New in 2010 is a scheduled bed turning at 3:00 PM in one of the Heritage Center’s historic cabins. A bed turning is a process where multiple quilts are put on a single bed, just as a single quilt would be placed on one’s bed at home. Beginning with the top quilt, Merikay Waldvogel will explain its design and its probable history. She will then “turn” the first quilt down, revealing a second quilt which she will comment on just as she did the first. Each quilt is then pulled back, or “turned,” one at a time until each quilt has been shown and described.

Waldvogel is a nationally known quilt authority, an author, curator and lecturer on quilts and the lives of women who make quilts. Her books include Quilts of Tennessee: Images of Domestic Life Prior to1930 with Bets Ramsey, based on their statewide quilt search; Soft Covers for Hard Times: Quiltmaking and the Great Depression; Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair; and Southern Quilts: Surviving Relics of the Civil War.

Quilters of all levels are invited to participate in helping make quilts during the day for Quilts of Valor which will be presented to veterans and current armed services personnel. Kate Meyers, Sevier County, is area coordinator for the national Quilts of Valor program.

Quilting demonstrations, introduced at the 2009 event, will feature: “Hand Applique,” Jane Dunham; “Hand Piecing,” Cindy Blackberg; “Machine Quilting,” Debbie McMurray; “Penny Rug Making,” Nancy Jones; “Needle Punch Embroidery,” Darlene Bakos; and “Trapunto,” Linda Roy.

Visitors are also invited to view display quilts provided by the Foothills Quilters Guild of Blount County.

New in 2010: Knoxville resident Allan Glazer will take photographs of participants’ and visitors’ quilts during the day. A limited number of times are available, and appointments are encouraged. Call Glazer at 671-5775 to schedule a time on January 9. Walk-ins are also welcome as long as times remain available.

Knoxville MEDIC Blood Center’s mobile unit will be on-site all day to conduct a blood drive.

The Quilters Road Show is free, though regular admission rates will apply to the museum experience. For information, call 865-448-0044.

Info from Seymour Herald