The Juniata Valley Quilters Guild Show

Quilting has been a part of our family as long as I can remember. As a child, I played under the quilt frame with my cousin while our mothers worked together on a quilt. As a teenager, I enjoyed watching my grandmother who lived with us make crazy quilts. In her old age by then and needing my mother to thread her needles for her work, she had already made read more
one to three quilts for each of her three children and many grandchildren. As a young married woman, I made baby quilts. I still dabble in the art, at times, with my most recent projects being a quilted handbag and a couple of T-shirt quilts. I also appreciate my mother’s current work on quilts, ones that she and members of her church make for the overseas needy.

No wonder when I saw the ad in our local paper for a quilt show, I decided to attend. I called and asked my mother to join me. This show, held by the Juniata Valley Quilter Guild at the local Tuscarora Academy Museum, didn’t disappoint my expectations.

I saw an excellent sampling of old and new quilts including a log cabin, a few pinwheels, a Dresden plate, and a bear paw. My mother and I exclaimed over the tiny patches that many of the quilts contained. One set of wall hangings showed how different the same pattern is when made with different fabrics. The most unusual quilt had all red and black fabrics.

Seeking to learn more about the Juniata Valley Quilter Guild, I talked to President Jean Compton and Secretary Sue Shearer. They explained that the group meets every month on the third Tuesday at 6:30 alternating between two different locations, the Senior Citizen Center located in the Central Novelty building in Lewistown and the EMS building in Mifflintown. The group has reached 61 members which is large for our small rural area. The members mainly come from Mifflin and Juniata Counties, but also from neighboring counties. Mrs. Compton believes the group has grown because of the quality of the programs that they present. They recently had presentations by Pat Sloan and Eleanor Burn’s sister, Patricia Knoechel.

The two Guild officers pointed out to me a recently made 96- by 72-inch shoofly quilt of Civil War era fabrics which will be auctioned off at the upcoming Tuscarora Academy Fund Raiser. This event will be at the Juniata Valley Winery in Walnut, Pennsylvania, on August 15, 2015, from 4-9. The quilt can be seen on auctionzip.com

I love quilts!