Intricate, colorful quilts are on display Oct. 19 during the General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society biennial quilt show at First Presbyterian Church, 600 N. Brady in Dearborn.
General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society President Kathy Connor shares information about the group Oct. 19 at its biennial quilt show at First Presbyterian Church, 600 N. Brady.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – A rainbow array of artistically crafted quilts filled the social hall of First Presbyterian Church Oct. 18 and 19 as the General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society held its biennial show.
The colorful quilts, from traditional to modern designs, were displayed with purses, clothing, wall hangings and more.
President Kathy Connor of Dearborn said the group, 45 members strong, has a show during even-numbered years.
She said the skill level of its members range from beginners to experienced quilters.
Connor said in addition to the quilts they make for themselves and for gifts, group members make quilts to help benefit charities and to help those in need.
Daytime meetings are held at 10 a.m. the second Thursday of the month at Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church, 24110 Cherry Hill Road, and at 10 a.m. the fourth Thursday of each month and 6 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at the McFadden-Ross House, 915 S. Brady. Dues are $30 annually.
For more information, and for seasonal meeting adjustments, go to the General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society Facebook page.
“The members show the other members new stuff, and every once in a while, we bring in a professional to teach us something,” she said. “I’m more involved in the professional part of it, and we have ladies who just enjoy sitting down and sewing for their children, for a charity. It’s just a total enjoyment.”
Quilter Marie Wolffe’s “Michigan: A Pixelated State Quilt” is displayed Oct. 19 during the General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society biennial quilt show at First Presbyterian Church, 600 N. Brady in Dearborn.
Connor said some quilters want to replicate a quilt design they admire, while others will just start creating squares with what they have on hand and see where it takes them.
She said the quilt show is filled with not just quilts, but with love.
“Our group is a really great group,” Connor said. “We love each other, we love the people that are coming in the door, it’s just so very positive and supportive, and it’s a joy to be a part of the group.
“We support each other, we learn from each other, we do a few retreats each year and spend time sewing and socializing and all that, and it’s just a wonderful group.”
Quilter Mary McLeod of Dearborn Heights said she learned to quilt in her 20s, but has pursued it more avidly in the last two decades.
“I was a clothing sewer for years and years and years, and then just kind of picked it up a little, and then I took classes at different quilt shops,” she said.
Quilter Mary McLeod’s “Tranquility,” machine pieced by McLeod and machine quilted by Material Obsession Studio is displayed Oct. 19 during the General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society biennial quilt show at First Presbyterian Church, 600 N. Brady in Dearborn.
McLeod said she loves selecting the fabric for a quilt.
“Generally, I do it backwards, then find a pattern that I might use,” she said. “Sometime I have a pattern in mind, then pick out the fabric, but I like the cutting and the piecing.”
She said the actual quilting of the three layers together is not something of which she is fond, so she usually sends it out for someone else to do on a machine.
“I gift a lot of the quilts I make,” McLeod said. “I don’t keep them all, but they are great family gifts.”
Quilter Marie Wolffe of Dearborn said she has been quilting for about 12 years, a skill she picked up on her own with some help from YouTube videos.
She said she is drawn to the organization and detail elements of quilting.
“I like to try different things and I love challenges, so mine are never the same,” Wolffe said. “They don’t look the same. I like to try different things.”
She said her Michigan quilt is a tribute to her state.
“It’s one of those ones where you had to stop and think about material, but then you can arrange the material the way you wanted it as well, so, the little pieces in Michigan are different,” Wolffe said. “I wanted the rocks along the side ways, and I wanted the trees in the middle, and that type of thing, so, there is some creativity there but at the same time I’m following a pattern.”
She said she’s currently working on a quilt with fabric used in Polish dancing costumes, an activity her daughter Emily pursued for many years.
“This one is mostly hand stitched,” Wolffe said. “I decided I wanted to do this, and this one will probably take me a couple years at least.”
Barb Fricano’s “Chinese Lantern” (left), Henrietta Mac’s “Sun Bursts of Joy,” and Pat Wittstock’s “Exploding Heart” are on display Oct. 19 during the General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society biennial quilt show at First Presbyterian Church, 600 N. Brady in Dearborn.
Quilter Janet Reickel’s “Dream Window” (left) and quilter Jane Bunzeluk’s “Hunter’s Cabin” are on display Oct. 19 during the General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society biennial quilt show at First Presbyterian Church, 600 N. Brady in Dearborn.
“Sampler,” machine pieced and hand embroidered by Carolyn Lashchuk, and machine quilted by Kim Heath is displayed Oct. 19 during the General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society biennial quilt show at First Presbyterian Church, 600 N. Brady in Dearborn.
Above and below, intricate, colorful quilts are on display Oct. 19 during the General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society biennial quilt show at First Presbyterian Church, 600 N. Brady in Dearborn.
