Christine Sharp
Contributing Writer
Quilters gathered at the Community Wellness Center in Marlinton last week for the fifth annual “Fall into Quilting Retreat,” sponsored by Artcents (Diana Beverage) and Deb Ann’s Fabrics (Debbie Walker).
Participants came from as far away as Pennsylvania.
Several special events were held during the retreat to celebrate its fifth year anniversary.
A quilt show was held at St. John’s Episcopal Church Thursday through Saturday. The quilts on display were the creative works of retreat participants, and the show itself was open to the public.
This year, an event was included that involved local business.
We believe Marlinton is special and has a lot to offer, especially in terms of unique stores and shops. Thirteen quilt patterns were placed in 13 different establishments in town. To qualify for the grand prize at the retreat, participants had to visit these businesses and collect all 13 of the quilt block patterns.
A list of participating businesses, locations and their hours were provided on the first day of the quilt retreat so folks could map out their strategy for collecting the patterns. Feedback from this particular event was very positive.
Ann Myers, from Pocahontas County, was the lucky grand prize winner of the pattern hunt.
Saturday morning, quilters had an opportunity to attend a lecture, “Off the Wheel – Color Concepts for Quilters,” by Barbara Ann Jones, of Glenville. Most quilters haven’t taken a lot of art classes and often lack confidence in their color sense, which makes fabric selection tricky. We get in color ruts, going back to the same few colors over and over, or we only feel comfortable making quilts from a kit, jelly roll, or a single fabric collection. Fortunately having an “eye for color” is not just something you are born with — it is something you can develop, as we discovered from Barbara Ann. The lecture was informative and well attended and participants appreciated the opportunity to ask questions and engage in meaningful dialogue about color.
Later that same day, retreat participants were treated to a catered luncheon complete with a celebratory anniversary cake.
The closing event was the drawing for a stunning patriotic quilt. Last year’s participants brought in completed red, white and blue quilt blocks which were then incorporated into a quilt pieced by Debbie Walker and quilted by Barb Siers.
Pat Paxton, of Woodrow, was the winner of the quilt.
Retreat sponsors would like express their appreciation to the businesses that participated in the quilt pattern hunt – Locust Hill Inn, Cabin and Pub, 4th Ave Mason Jar Trading Post, Pocahontas County Artisan Co-op, CJ Richardson Hardware, DirtBean Café and Bike Shop, Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Flower Garden, The Pocahontas Times, Rayetta’s Lunchbox, Cackling Hens, Appalachian Sport, Tattered Rose Boutique and Legacy Designs.