Hall D in the Santa Clara Convention Center was brimming with beautiful quilts to view on the weekend of February 5 th and 6 th. There were also activities and demonstrations of interest at the 2011 Quilt Show entitled “Heart of the Valley,” created by the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association.
“Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association is a 500 plus member organization supporting and educating about quilt making,” explains Marie Strait, Print Publicity Chairperson. “Heart of the Valley is the theme of our show.”
An intricate hanging quilt entitled “Valley of Heart’s Delight” greets attendees at the entrance. “This quilt includes different landmarks of Santa Clara Valley and various members made it. It is going to be given away in October,” says Sylvia Moore, the president of SCVQA. In order to participate in the donation drawing for this unique quilt, which includes a rendition of the Mission Santa Clara de Asis, Santa Clara, go to www.SCVQA.org
The exhibits are hung in sections so they are easy to find. “I like the children’s quilts the best. They are very well done,” says Marcy Haynes, Santa Clara resident.
“The children have to be children of members of the organization,” Roberta Pabst, one of the Quilt Show Chairs, elaborates. “There are eleven quilts hanging in the children’s section. The children are supposed to have done around eighty per cent of the work themselves. They are under eighteen years old and most of them are eleven and twelve years old,” Pabst continues.
“There are about 340 member-made quilts in this show. Six were made by men,” offers Pabst.
The Challenge Quilts are of particular note. “Each participant is given a bag of the same fabric that is chosen by a committee and has to make a quilt using the heart theme. The quilts are all so different,” comments Marie Strait, Print Publicity Chairperson. It is fun to see that not one quilt is similar to another but they all are excellent interpretations.
Marie Strait has her own creation, named “Balls in the Air,” on exhibit. She is a professional quilt maker and travels around the state to teach quilting at different guilds. (see www.mariesquilts.com)
The degree one devotes to quilting varies. “Almost anybody can learn to quilt. This is my hobby,” shares Marcy Haynes, Quilt Show Treasurer.
Three quilters are featured at the show. Marsha Burdick, one of the featured quilters, “has a station where I show how I makes quilts from garments.” All the featured quilters give a presentation.
A “Touch-Me” Quilt by Joan Chamberlain is one of the attractions. “People can touch and look at different aspects of a quilt,” states Diane Bird, Co-Chair of the SCVQA Quilt Show.
“One of the many philanthropic pursuits we do is a program teaching quilting to women survivors of domestic violence. It is a wonderful cooperative effort between San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles (which also has a presence at the show doing bed turning demonstrations), and Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, which is a program that reaches out to the entire valley, and SCVQA. It is called ‘Quilts As Women’s Shelter,’” says Strait, the Print Publicity Chairperson. A collection of these quilts with the women’s testimonials is also on display.
“This show was very inspiring. I’m a beginner. I am going to take some of the ideas here and put them in a quilt,” beams Santa Clara attendee, Patti Victorson.
Everyone who visits the SCVQA Quilting Show or has a connection to the group is bound to come away with something of value.