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Log Cabin Quilters Guild Quilt Show to be offered next week

ELKINS -- The annual Log Cabin Quilters Guild Quilt Show will take place during the 85th Mountain State Forest Festival.

The Quilt Show will be offered in the Elkins-Randolph County YMCA Gymnasium from Oct. 5 through Oct. 7.

This will be the eighth annual show hosted by the LCQG organization. The show will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

"We always have a very healthy crowd attending the Quilt Show," Quilt Show Chair Deb Curtis told The Inter-Mountain. "It's a popular event during the Forest Festival and we always get positive feedback from those who attend."

Admission is free to the show, which will be highlighted by guest exhibitors Beverly and Bill Javins from Charleston. The couples' exhibit is titled "A Piecemaker's Journey" and consists of 10 art-quilt wall hangings.

Most of the Javins' art quilts begin as a photo taken during one of their many road trips. "A Piecemaker's Journey" is a collection of quilts inspired by photos taken in West Virginia. The quilt process begins when Bill transforms the photos into line drawings. Together the couple selects what fabrics will be used.

After Bill cuts the pieces and adheres the fabrics together, Beverly finishes the quilt by sewing everything together and adding appropriate thread-painted details, quilting and bindings. 

Beverly is an accomplished traditional quilter, who teaches a variety of classes in the Charleston area. Bill, meanwhile, taught design, illustration, photography, and drawing at West Virginia Tech for close to 40 years. He retired in 2014 and his involvement in quilting began in 2016.

The theme for this year's Log Cabin Quilters Guild Challenge is "Almost Heaven, West Virginia" as quilters are challenged to depict anything from the Mountain State. Fourteen wall hangings from the challenge will be featured at the show.

A total of 19 quilts will also be on display from a summer youth quilt camp and local church group. Curtis, who is the show's featured quilter, will have 12 quilts for visitors to enjoy at the show.

A Quilt of Valor will also be on display, with the dedication "thank you for your service and sacrifice in serving our nation." The Quilt of Valor was presented last year to Elkins resident Mary English, who served in the U.S. Army from 1984 to 1988. The LCQG annually presents a female veteran with the quilt.

Star Quilts, a collection of quilts made by LCQG members, will be on display and will consist of various star patterns. There will also be Raffle Quilt and Boutique at the show.

The Raffle Quilt tabbed "West Virginia Beauty" was made by 16 LCQG members and was awarded a third-place ribbon at the West Virginia Quilt Festival this past June. Proceeds from the Raffle Quilt fund the guild project, Quilts for Dialysis Patients. The drawing will be on Saturday, Oct. 7 near the end of the quilt show. 

The Boutique will feature many handmade items for sale and proceeds taken in will also fund the organization's guild project, which supports dialysis patients who receive treatment at the local unit.

In addition to all the quilts that will be stretched across the YMCA gymnasium, the Quilt Show recently learned that it was selected to display the skirt for the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, which will be displayed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol this holiday season.

"We are excited to have the honor of displaying the skirt for the Capitol Christmas Tree," said Curtis. "It's 18 feet wide and is made of 32 yards of fabric. They used photos that were taken from the Monongahela National Forest and they were embroidered and digitized on the fabric, and then hand-colored. The skirt will be on display every day of the show."

Financial sponsors for the show include: Diana Kerr, Dr. Ashton C. Curtis, Dr. Kevin Cox, Al Scalia, The Forks, Almost Heaven Woodcraft, Tygart Valley Lions Club, Lane Family Consultants, Elkins Rehabilitation & Care Center, Dr. James Carpenter, Stewart Allen, Elkins Physical Therapy, Jon Steen and Elkins Walmart.

"We get a lot of help from the community and we have a lot of sponsors that donate financially, which is wonderful because then we don't have to charge an admission," Curtis said. "The staff and Sid Gilispie at the YMCA are wonderful to work with.

"We also appreciate some of the area youth from Scout Troop 88, YouthBuild and the Elkins Mountain School, who are helping us set up and tear down the show… Last year was an out-of-the-ballpark quilt show and I think this year's is going to be as good."