Since the inception of the Piney River Quilt Guild in 2000, members of the Houston-based group have had the opportunity to share their appreciation of quilting with others possessing similar feelings.
Every other year, they take an extra step and share the depth and breadth of quilting with a wide range of established fans and curious newcomers by hosting a Quilt Show in Houston.
The fifth version of the event took place last Saturday at Houston United Methodist Church, and as it has before, the show attracted plenty of attention. Numbers compiled by the Guild’s sign-in book at the door indicated that 350 visitors from five states came through to view the 200-plus quilts and various vignettes on display.
The Piney River Quilt Guild includes close to 50 members, who reside in communities all over Texas County and several surrounding counties. The group gathers on the third Thursday of each month for meetings that often feature demonstrations by knowledgeable experts in the field, as well as teachings, discussions and workshops related to various quilting techniques.
Members’ abilities range from beginning to advanced, and their interests include hand and machine techniques.
“All areas are covered,” Guild member Marlene Hess said, “and we’re always learning something new. It’s an ongoing learning process.”
At one of the more memorable meetings (in January, 2010), current Guild president Earlene Coday made an appearance as Sunbonnet Sue, the namesake and subject of a popular quilt pattern (and therefore a character familiar to most quilt-savvy people).
“I thought the group needed to be livened up a bit,” Coday said, “so I told them we were having a special guest. I told a big story, and all of my words were quilt pattern names.”
To qualify as a “quilt,” an item needs to have three layers – a top, a bottom, and a middle, or “batting.” Quilts are often made up of sections, or “blocks,” in which a given pattern is repeated, but more random, patch-work designs are also not unusual.
Reflecting the widely varying nature of quilts in general, those on display at the show came in many shapes and sizes, from small, decorative wall-hangings, to units designed for king-size beds. Many were creations of Guild members, while others have historical significance, having been made more than 100 years ago and handed down for generations.
“We have a few that date back to the 1800s,” Hess said, “and we quite a few from the period of the early 1900s to the 1960s.”
Several different techniques and types of material were represented among the quilts on display at the show. One of the interesting materials found in quilts – especially some older ones – is feed sack material. Years ago, feed companies and distributors realized their bags were being used as material for curtains, clothing, bedding and other items, so they produced feed sacks featuring attractive, colorful patterns.
“Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers would never have gone out and bought fabric for a quilt,” Guild member Darlene Gourley said, “because they used old clothes and feed sacks. People reused everything back then.”
“I had dresses made from feed sacks,” Hess said. “I remember going to the feed store and picking out what I wanted my dress made out of.”
Quilts are not displayed at the Piney River show to be sold, but rather to fuel ideas, spur conversation and simply provide enjoyment. There’s also no judging or awards involved, as is the case at many quilt shows.
“I think that brings in a better variety than your shows that are judged,” Hess said. “You get more peoples’ personalities showing this way.”
“But we do have some that are the best of the best,” Gourley said. “They would win top prizes at shows like that.”
The non-profit Piney River Quilt Guild is involved in several charitable functions.
Through the Wounded Warriors program, red, white and blue lap quilts are made and given to soldiers injured in action.
In an arrangement with St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, quilted pillow cases are given to sick children in hopes of making their stay as pleasant as possible. More than 700 of the pillow cases have been made and donated this year alone.
And through the Angel’s Home program, families who lose their homes and possessions by fire or natural disaster are given quilts and other items.
Even the Quilt Show has a charitable angle. While attendees pay no entrance fee, an “opportunity quilt” (made by the combined efforts of several Guild members) is raffled off. This year’s raffle (won by St. Louis resident Megan Puckett) netted $1,500, which was distributed to The Animal Shelter of Texas County, The American Cancer Society and Hospice of Care.
In the weeks prior to the Quilt Show, the opportunity quilt went on tour around the county, being displayed at several businesses.
The bi-annual scheduling of the Piney River Guild’s show is in part by agreement with a similar event in Springfield, so the two don’t have to share the limelight, so to speak, in a given year. Guild members enjoy knowing that their event brings so many people to Houston, and subsequently so many extra dollars are exchanged in the community.
“Some people who come even ask things like where the good places to eat are, so we’ve made up a list of restaurants to hand out,” Coday said. “We do what we can to help.”
While the Piney River Guild has no male members, quilting (especially of the machine variety) is gaining popularity among men in guilds across the country. The local group holds elections at the beginning of each year, and this year’s officers include Coday (in her third year as president), vice president Diana Vandiver, secretary Kathleen Case, and treasurer JoAnn Johnson.
Gourley and Pat Rice headed up a committee to organize this year’s Quilt Show.
But regardless of gender, members of the Piney River Quilt Guild like to point out that there’s a lot to quilting and to being a part of their group.
“We’re not just a bunch of ladies getting together for a gab-fest,” Gourley said. “We work at it – but we like to have fun, too.”