Getting ready for the quilt show!

How do you get ready for a quilt show?

A recent article in The Oregonian's OregonLive! has ten suggestions for you from members of the Columbia-Willamette Quilt Study Group--what you can do to get the most enjoyment out of a quilt show visit.

And for our show, I'd add that you should check the schedule ahead of time, as the topics of our demonstrations and speakers are different each day.  

Visiting a quilt show always leaves me so inspired and ready to create new quilts. It might put you in the mood to visit some of your favorite and some new-to-you quilt shops.    The timing of the Quilter's Safari Shop Hop is perfect this year.  The last three days of our Unbroken Thread Quilt Show are the first three days of the shop hop.  The participating shops include local ones in Eugene and Springfield, as well as others both north and south of our area.

So, you might want to grab a friend or two, your photos and sketches from our show, and any swatches of fabric you'd like to coordinate with, and hit the road to visit the shops on this hop.  You'll have fun and may even win a great prize.

Check their website for participating shops:   http://quilterssafari.com  

Pioneer Quilters' Boutique

Throughout the year, members of Pioneer Quilters work on fashioning handmade specialty items that will be available for purchase in our Boutique, which is a part of the museum's gift shop during the show.  We donate the materials and many hours creating.  All proceeds benefit the museum.

For many of us, this special shopping event is eagerly anticipated--we can't wait to see what clever things the talented Boutique Committee members have come up with this year.  We buy for ourselves and for gifts.

What's going to catch your eye?  Your choices will include pincushions, notepad covers, scarves, needle cases, fabric bowls, bags and totes, crocheted wash/dishcloths, luggage tags, fabric brooches, scissor cases, dolls, potholders, aprons, UO and OSU miscellanea, coffee-to-go cup sleeves, bibs, towels, wallhangings, coasters, ornaments, lap quilts, pillowcases and much, much more!

Here are some examples of what you can look forward to admiring there:

What Pioneer Quilters do

Pioneer Quilters have been gathering for a weekly half-day quilting session since 1975, teaching, encouraging and practicing the art of hand quilting.  Originally meeting in a member's home, we now are lucky enough to have a big, well-lit room at Westminster Presbyterian Church to quilt in, and room to store our quilts and frames and supplies.

We are a group of about 45 active members who hand-quilt each others' quilts.  We have space at the church to have 3 quilts in their frames at the same time.  We quilt for a couple of hours, then have a meeting and snacks before returning to the frames.

We hold annual shows at the Lane County Historical Museum, with this upcoming (April 22-27) show being number 38!

With the heavy attendance and boutique sales (more about these in future post), the show is a major fundraiser for the wonderful Lane County Historical Museum.  All proceeds from admissions and boutique sales go directly to the museum.

At the show, we always begin working on a new quilt, and visitors to the quilt show are able to see us quilting at the frame throughout the show.

Every summer, we also put a new quilt in a frame at the Lane County Fair.  There's a lot of interest in our craft from fair attendees as we work away, surrounded by quilts entered in the fair.  We also make a donation to provide cash prizes to youths who entered quilts in the fair.

Do plan to come to our show at least once this year (You'll save money with a weekly pass if you're stopping in 3 days or more).  We have so much lined up, and the quilts promise to be lovely, as usual.  April 22-27, 10-4 (12-4 on Sunday).  The Lane County Historical Museum is at the Fairgrounds, just off 13th!

Our 2014 Speakers and Demonstrations

We have our speakers and demonstrations all lined up for this year’s show.  There are so many interesting things to see and hear! I hope you will find many presentations and demos to pique your interest.

The daily speakers are from 1:00 to 2:00, while the informal demos take place twice a day: 10:30—12:00 and  2:00--3:30.  Since the museum doesn’t open until noon on Sunday, we’ll only have the 2:00  demo that final day.

Admission to the Lane County Historical Museum during the show is $6.  If you expect that you’ll be returning a few times to catch another lecture or demonstration or admire the quilts once again,  we suggest you buy the weekly pass for $16.50.

Pioneer Quilters’

Unbroken Thread Quilt Show

2014 schedule

April 22-27	Speakers	Demonstrations
	1:00--2:00	10:30-12:00, 2:00-3:30
Tuesday	Sewing on the Go:  Easy Hand Piecing	Kiss & Twist Binding
	Kesch Allen, Piece by Piece	Susan Rogers, Donna Harvey
Wednesday	Wool Appliqué: Kennette Blotzer,	Quilt-As-You-Go Placemats
	Something to Crow About	Barbara Trunnell, Sue Subbot
Thursday	Design Strategies	Label That Quilt!
	Sandie Massett, Tweet Quilt Designs	Ann Palanuk, Barbara Trunnell,
		Dorothy Gleason
Friday	World War II and How It Changed	Now, Where Did I Put That?
	Women and Their Hankies	Carolyn Robbins, Shirlee
	Rachel Greco, Grandma's Attic	Kudlemeyer
Saturday	From Concept to Published	Scrappy Flowers in 3-D*
	Sheila Snyder	Sheila Steers
Sunday	The Journey from Beginner to	Days for Girls:  Sustainable
	Accomplished Long Arm Quilter	Hygiene Kits for Girls/Women
	Susan Miner	Susan Mondon

Here are some websites associated with people presenting during the show:

Piece by Piece: http://www.piecebypiecefabrics.com/

Something to Crow About: http://www.somethingtocrowabout.com

Sandie Massett:  http://www.tweetquiltdesigns.com

Sheila Sinclair Snyder: http://licensetoquilt.com/

Susan Miner: http://www.trendythread.net/

Days for Girls: http://www.daysforgirls.org/

*A sneak preview of the sweet flowers from Sheila Steers’ Saturday demonstration: