Stitches In Time

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

Visitors to the Museum Quilt Guild’s upcoming quilt show may not notice it, but there will be one very special quilt on display in the Youth category. Made by member Christine Kuehl and her three granddaughters, this quilt was a summer vacation project. But it was much more than that!

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

From Lori Ivison of the Museum Quilt Guild:

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.

Quilt lovers will have their pick of everything from fabrics to fancy threads, from big to small, and from modern to traditional at the "Stitches in Time 2012 Quilt Show."

This is the Museum Quilt Guild's biennial quilt show, and it will take place from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m Friday, Oct. 19 and from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20. It will be at the Alexander Fireman's Recreation Hall, at 10708 Alexander Road/Route 98 in Alexander.

Included in the two-day event will be a vendor's mall, a boutique where people can buy quilts, a silent auction and a raffle.

Raffle tickets will be available at the following venues:

• Farmers Market at the Batavia Downs parking lot (at 8315 Park Road in Batavia) from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Fridays
• Brick House Corner's Fair (at 1145 Main Road in Corfu)

All quilts, including the raffle quilt (which can be viewed at the above locations), are made by guild members. Admission is $5.

Guild Publicity Chairperson Mary Ellen Hartwick said the proceeds will be donated to the Veteran's Administration, the Holland Land Office Museum and "a very active Community Service Program" (quoted from press release).

"Through the Community Service Program," Hartwick said, "many, many quilts are made and donated each year to organizations such as All Babies Cherished, the YWCA for their Domestic Violence Shelter, St. Luke's Mission of Mercy and the Batavia Agri-Business Child Development Center."

They have also donated quilts to fundraisers for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Genesee ARC, the Gillam-Grant Community Center and HomeCare & Hospice.

Guild meetings are held the third Saturday of every month at the Batavia VA auditorium, at 222 Richmond Ave. in Batavia. Meetings are from 9:30 a.m. until noon, and anyone who is interested in making quilts is encouraged to attend.

For more information on the quilt show, contact Hartwick at emmy_1953@yahoo.com or call 409-9297. People can also learn more by visiting the Museum Quilt Guild's blog page about the event.

Photo courtesy of Mary Ellen Hartwick. Pictured front row, from left: Mary Lu Hodgins, Mary Ellen Casey, Melanie Watson, Eileen Partise, Alex Hammon and Jamie Hammon.

Back row, from left: Barb Brady, Lori Anderson, Kate Martin, Chris Kuehl, Jean Butzer, Elaine Ross, Dodie Morrison, Kathy Belluscio, Anne O'Geen, Carol McNally and Dorothy Doerrer.