Quilting at the Beach show scheduled

Published 4:00 pm Thursday, March 7, 2013

ILWACO, Wash. – Members of the Peninsula Quilt Guild have been busy finishing quilts for the guild’s 18th annual quilt show. This year’s show, “Quilting at the Beach,” will be held March 15 through 17 at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum, 115 S. E. Lake St. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.

More than 100 quilts will be on display. The outstanding collection of quilts presented is as varied as the members who crafted them. The guild is made up of members from Washington and Oregon with amazing talent and creativity.

Displayed together are Block of the Month quilts. These house quilts were designed by member Gloria Park. Each month, Park gave out a block pattern along with one background fabric and members completed the blocks with fabric of their own choosing. Also hanging together are Block Exchange quilts. The blocks, named “Crossroad to Jericho,” were pieced using bright batik and Kona black fabric, then exchanged among the members. The settings of the quilts are as varied as the quilters themselves, stretching the maker’s imagination.

Back by popular demand is the Block Challenge. In the challenge, blocks are all created from a pre-cut fabric pack and no other fabric may be used, but the pattern and block assembly is left up to the imagination of the quilter. Show-goers will be able to vote for their favorite block creation, with the winner receiving a $50 gift certificate from Boardwalk Quilts in Long Beach, Wash. The finished blocks are used to create a quilt which is donated to the Ocean Beach Education Foundation auction.

Ballots will be available for visitors to vote for their favorite quilts. Various quilting demonstrations, such as paper piecing, hand quilting, appliqué and more, will take place throughout the three-day event.

A drawing will be held at approximately 3:30 p.m. Sunday for the annual prize quilt offered. This year’s prize quilt is called “Beach Wedding” and was constructed by the guild members. Proceeds from the ticket sales go to various charitable organizations on the Peninsula and in Pacific County. Tickets can be purchased at the show for $1 each.

Guild members participated in many charitable projects this past year. Many quilts were donated to the “Welcome Baby Basket” program distributed through Early Childhood Programs in Pacific County, Wash. More than 90 placemats were made and donated to Coastal Community Action Program (CCAP) to be used for “Meals on Wheels” and for on-site lunches. Pillowcases were made for Camp Victory and quilts for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.