Sauder Village opens season with 400-quilt display

4/21/2010

ARCHBOLD - Sauder Village kicks off its annual special-events season Tuesday with its 34th annual Quilt Show, which attracts fine craftsmen from throughout the Midwest to Founder's Hall.

More than 400 quilts are expected to be on display during the six-day event that features demonstrations and special workshops, too.

"Again this year, we look forward to showcasing a variety of bed, wall, and contemporary art quilts, as well as miniature, youth, and baby quilts," said Linda Rufenacht, manager of Sauder Village's Threads of Tradition Quilt Shop. "Whether you are an accomplished quilter or just have an appreciation for fine craftsmanship, this is one show you don't want to miss."

The Quilt Show's opening will coincide with the 2010 season opening for Sauder Village, a re-creation of a 19th-century community with costumed guides and working craftsmen representing historic life in northwest Ohio. Its nearly 100,000 visitors each year include more than 20,000 schoolchildren from Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.

Other special events include Farm Day, May 8; Antique Car event, May 15; Gospel Music Concert, June 12, and Dairy Days, June 15-19.

Quilt designer, author, and teacher Sharon Schamber, of Payson, Ariz. - the Best of Show winner from the 2005 Houston International Quilt Festival and the top-prize winner at the Paducah, Ky., show in both 2006 and 2007 - is this year's guest artist at the Quilt Show. A National Quilting Association Master Quilter, she will share her expertise in several workshops during the show, with some spaces still available.

Both traditional and modern quilting interpretations are represented in exhibits at the show, with categories ranging from pieced, applique, and mixed technique to contemporary art and masters and the various small-quilt types. Each year's show is a new experience, because re-entry of quilts exhibited in previous shows is not allowed.

Antique quilts will be on display in many Historic Village homes. Live piano music will be performed.

Demonstrations planned include hand quilting, piecing Kyoto Gardens, hand applique, and paper-piecing a Double Wedding Ring table runner. "T-shirts gone crazy," raw-edge applique, and fabric design programs also will be offered.

"Small Matters" is the theme of the show's annual Quilt Challenge. Starting a year ago, entrants picked up challenge packets directing them to create quilt designs sewn entirely with pieced or appliqued blocks measuring five inches or less. Blocks may be set in any manner of the artist's choosing and can be quilted either by hand or by machine. More than 30 challenge quilts are expected to be displayed in the Founder's Hall lobby.

Sauder Village Quilt Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through May 1, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 2. "Exhibit only" admissions are $10, while all-access admission costs $14.50 for adults and $7.50 for youth ages 6 through 16. Youth admissions are free on Sunday.

- DAVID PATCH