If you think of a quilt show as just another craft show, you're missing out on the art of it.

"Quilting and sewing have made a huge comeback," said Elaine Lemley (top photo), chair of the Stitches in Time quilt show at the Alexander Fire Hall on Friday and Saturday. "A lot of people think of the Amish quilts, which are beautiful in themselves. But quilting has evolved through the years to expand to art quilts and rearranging the traditional patterns of the quilts. If you walk through here, you'll see it's very, very different now than some of the traditional quilting that grandma may have made."

The Museum Quilt Guild hosts the show every two years.  It's a chance for the 75 members of the guild to display their best work, but it's also a fundraiser for the guild.

"We do a lot of community service," Lamley said. "We have a community service section in the back corner of our show going on right now. We donate quilts to the Batavia VA Hospital, the New York State Vets Home, Arc, All Babies Cherished, both cancer centers here in Batavia. And there's an association in Buffalo called Sleep in Heavenly Peace. They take twin-sized bed quilts for kids who are sleeping on the floor. There's another organization as part of that, that actually makes up the beds for these kids so that they're getting a good night's sleep. We've been donating quilts to them recently."

Why quilting?

"It's so relaxing, so much fun, and it's addicting once we get going with it," Lamley said.

To learn more about the Museum Quilt Guild, visit the group's website.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Press release:

The Museum Quilt Guild welcomed Assemblyman Steve Hawley to its quilt show on Friday.

The show is being held Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th from 10-5 at the Alexander Fireman’s Recreation Hall. Some of the profit from the show goes directly to our local veterans. Guild members donate quilts to the Batavia VA hospital, The NYS Vets home, the cancer centers, All Babies Cherished, ARC and Sleep in Heavenly Peace, among others. 

New members are welcome. You may join us at the show or one of our monthly meetings held on the third Saturday of the month at the Batavia VA. For more information: themuseumquiltguild.com

Article by Lori Ivison

Chris has two granddaughters who live in Batavia, Cassidy and Lilly Mileham, ages 12 and 13. Her youngest granddaughter, Addie Lacey, 9 years old, lives in Ohio. After a short family visit, Chris said, “We decided to have the grandkids stay with us and we would take them back to Ohio the following weekend. It’s not easy for the cousins to all be together, except for holidays, and they love being together.”

All of her grandchildren have shown an interest in her quilting hobby. Lilly even has her own sewing machine. Chris had spoken to the girls about making a quilt for the show that was to have been held in 2020. So, when this opportunity arose, she again asked the girls if they’d like to make a quilt for the show.  They eagerly said yes! Chris suggested they make one in patriotic colors and donate it for use by one of the veterans at the VA Medical Center, where the Guild holds its monthly meetings.

A simple “Disappearing Nine-Patch” design was chosen. Chris did the cutting and the girls did all the piecing of the blocks.  There were 2 sewing machines and 2 workstations. The girls took turns piecing and helping each other. According to Chris, “The pattern we chose is quite forgiving and made it easy not having to match seams perfectly”.  But she also said the girls learned to use a seam ripper when things weren’t quit right. They accomplished a lot while they were all together. When it was time for Addie to go home to Ohio, Chris brought her sewing machine and the rest of the blocks along. Over the weekend, Addie got more sewing done. She has asked for a sewing machine for Christmas so she can sew with her grandmother using Facetime!

After all the blocks were assembled, Chris put the 3 layers of the quilt together and finished the edge using the “quick turn” method. Cassidy and Lilly did the quilting using lines Chris had drawn on the quilt for them to follow.

It was a great experience for the girls and Grandma, allowing them to have some quality time together.

The quilt show, Stitches in Time 2022, is being held October 14 and 15 at the Alexander Fireman’s Recreation Hall. Hours are 10 am – 5 pm both days. The show will feature over 150 quilts, a member boutique, a silent auction of handmade items to benefit the residents at the VA in Batavia and vendors with quilt related goods to sell.

The guild meets the third Saturday of each month (second Saturday in December) at 9:30 am in the auditorium of Building 4 of the VA Medical Center. Meetings feature a variety of speakers, instructors and trunk shows as well as group sewing days. Guests are welcome to attend 2 meetings for free. For more information, visit their website: www.themuseumquiltguild.com

Submitted photos. Top photo, Christine Kuehl with Lilly (13), and Cassidy (12). Inset photo: Lacey.

Press release:

The Museum Quilt Guild of Batavia will present their biennial show, “Stitches in Time”, on Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There will be more than 150 quilts displayed at the Alexander Fireman’s Recreation Hall, 10708 Alexander Road (Rt 98), Alexander.

In addition, there will be vendors, demonstrations, a silent auction, a boutique and a basket raffle.

Admission is $5; children under 10 are free.

For more information, contact Elaine (585) 880-0456 or visit our website at www.themuseumquiltguild.com

Photo: Submitted photo. Best of show quilt from 2018

It is with sadness that the Museum Quilt Guild of Batavia announces the cancellation of our biannual Quilt Show originally scheduled at Alexander Fire Hall the weekend of Oct. 16-18.

The health and safety of our members and our guests is our primary concern (COVID-19 pandemic). Currently, there are no plans to reschedule the quilt show.

Please watch for future meeting information for our members.

This year's show will feature approximately 160 quilts stitched by 46 guild members. The guild will be raffling off a queen size traditional blue and white quilt, also created by guild members.

As in the past, this year's show will offer a silent auction and a scrap pool, with all proceeds to benefit recreation activities at VA Western New York Healthcare System. Demonstrations, basket raffles, and a fabulous boutique where many beautiful handmade items will be available for purchasing.
The quilt show will also host a "traveling quilt show" featuring 12 quilts from quilters across New York State. This exhibit will travel across New York State through 2018 and 2019.

More information is available about the guild at our blog, website,  and Facebook page http://museumquiltguild.blogspot.com/
https://museumquiltguild.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MuseumQuiltGuild/

Times are as follows:

• Friday, Oct. 19 - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 20 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is $5, and tickets can be purchased at the Farmers Market at the Batavia Downs parking lot (at 8315 Park Road in Batavia) from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Fridays.

The show will include a display of over 200 quilts made by guild members, a boutique, vendors, a silent auction, demonstrations and a Raffle Quilt.

For more information, contact Mary Ellen Hartwick at emmy_1953@yahoo.com or call 409-9297.

Times are as follows:

• Friday, Oct. 19 - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 20 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is $5, and tickets can be purchased at the Farmers Market at the Batavia Downs parking lot (at 8315 Park Road in Batavia) from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Fridays.

The show will include a display of over 200 quilts made by guild members, a boutique, vendors, a silent auction, demonstrations and a Raffle Quilt.

For more information, contact Mary Ellen Hartwick at emmy_1953@yahoo.com or call 409-9297.

Times are as follows:

• Friday, Oct. 19 - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 20 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is $5, and tickets can be purchased at the Farmers Market at the Batavia Downs parking lot (at 8315 Park Road in Batavia) from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Fridays.

The show will include a display of over 200 quilts made by guild members, a boutique, vendors, a silent auction, demonstrations and a Raffle Quilt.

For more information, contact Mary Ellen Hartwick at emmy_1953@yahoo.com or call 409-9297.