Mary Ellen Cummings
Where did the last six months go? There are
only 115 days left before Christmas and you
haven’t started your quilted gifts yet! August
is a good time to plan your projects, but don’t
start anything until you have visited the Quilt
Odyssey 20001 at the Eisenhower Center,
Gettysburg, Pa. The Odyssey last year was
fantastic. I’m sure this year’s event will
be just as great. The show starts on Thursday,
August 2. There will be classes, seminars and
lectures by some of the top names in Quilt
circles. There will also be quilts on display
and a large merchant’s mall.
June 22 through 24, the Four County Quilters
held their 27th annual quilt show at Rose Hill
Manor Park in Frederick, Md. There were 145
quilts and quilted items, setting a new record
in participation. There were two dozen Pink
Ribbon Quilts made in honor of those individuals
who have had breast cancer.
In past shows, I have seen several
"Double Wedding Ring" quilts. However,
at Rose Hill, as at the Lancaster Show,
"Wedding Rings" barely made the scene.
At Rose Hill there was one bed-sized Wedding
Ring and one small wall hanging. One of my
quilting friends reported that at the Church of
the Brethren International Relief auction,
earlier this year, Wedding Ring quilts were
conspicuous by their absence.
Since quilts have stories to tell, is it
possible the scarcity of Wedding Ring quilts is
telling us something about romance and marriage
today? Of course, it could also mean that the
style of Wedding Ring quilts can not easily be
altered to be works of art.
At Rose Hill, some of the quilts displayed
reflected today’s trend of making an artistic
statement with a quilt. However, most quilts
used traditional patterns with a new twist. Some
were hand-pieced and quilted. Foundation
piecing, fusion and strip-piecing methods were
used, as well as machine sewing and quilting. A
few were quilted with a long-arm quilting
machine.
I believe the most fascinating part of Rose
Hill’s show was the originality of the names
chosen by the quilters. Two quilts were called
"Molomin Trilogy": what does it mean?
Then there were names like "Open at
Last," "His Lordship’s
Peacocks," and "Lollipop
Shoo-Fly." We must not forget "Fall
Folk Cat" and "Geese in the Rain
Forest."
Congratulations to Four County Quilters for
another great show.