The Dolores Mountain Quilters show is back and will take place Aug. 19-20 at the Dolores Community Center.
The event will feature more than 100 quilts made by club members and others. The public can vote for their favorite quilts. Admission is $5; doors open at 9 a.m., and the show goes until 4 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday.
A boutique store will sell quilts, and three vendors will sell fabric and craft items.
The exhibit is held very other year but was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. The last show was in 2018.
“We’re excited and are expecting a good turnout,” said Jan Mussler, president of Dolores Mountain Quilters Guild.
Quilting is a distinctive art form and the gallery exhibition present diverse and creative styles to view and ponder, she said. Each one has a personal touch.
Many of the new quilts for the exhibit are a surprise to even club members, Mussler said, as they have been created for months in homes and studios before being presented at the show for the first time.
A quilt named “Bluebirds Bounty,” created by several quilters, will be raffled.
Raffle tickets are being sold at the Cortez Farmers Market, Dolores Farmers Market, the Dolores Visitor’s Center and Ponderosa Restaurant.
Entry fees and raffle revenues from the quilt show are distributed to local charities and community organizations.
In 2018, the club raised $8,312, and 905 people attended the two-day event.
Fifty-five local quilters are showing at the exhibit, with many creating more than one quilt.
Often one quilt is created by different people. One person arranges and stitches the pieces of fabric into the elaborate designs. Another stitches in the more subtle but just as detailed quilt designs in between the fabric pieces.
“Quilting is a very creative process, and it takes a good deal of focus and precision,” said quilting club member Judith Swain. “It is relaxing, and all your cares float away.”
Creating a quilt typically takes months, but it can take years for larger, more elaborate styles.
“Quilters love the legacy we leave when we finish a big project. It is a work of art that will last forever,” Swain says.
For more information, visit doloresmountainquilter.org or check out their Facebook page.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
