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Article and photos by Victoria Heerschap
The Annual Quilt Show, presented by The Big Bear Lake Quilters’ Guild, is happening this weekend at The Lodge at Big Bear Lake. The show kicked off today, and will continue tomorrow, August 3rd, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Hanging on display in the entry of the event is the Opportunity Quilt, which is being raffled off by the Guild. You can purchase your chance to win the quilt for $1 per raffle ticket, and the proceeds go to pay off the fabrics used for the quilts.
I was lucky enough to be guided through this splendid event by Deanna, who has been a member of the Quilters’ Guild for four years. The first display Deanna showed me was entitled 100 Blocks, 100 Days. The challenge was to create a new block every day for 100 days, posting the creation each day on Facebook as proof of their completion. Once the 100 days had passed, they compiled all of their 100 blocks into stunning quilts. Five guild members completed this challenge, and as a reward, they each received $100.
There were various rooms with different themes throughout the exhibition area, including a children’s room with kid-friendly quilts, a room filled with innovative art made with fabric, and a holiday-themed room showcasing some truly unique pieces, including the winner of the Best Embellishments ribbon. Lining the walkways between the rooms were large bed quilts and bed runners, in an amazing variety of colors and styles. The Quilt Show also featured vendors selling different fabric crafts, quilting supplies, a variety of art, and, of course, an appearance by the leggings lady. All of the quilts on display were crafted by local members of the Big Bear Lake Quilters’ Guild, though Deanna tells me that some of the quilts there can boast a second home down the hill for part of the year.
While the Lodge had been turned into a veritable garden of colorful fabric, there were a few pieces that really stood out for me. There were three small quilts together in a display entitled 3 Sons, which depicted the quilter’s three sons, who are all police officers. Another display showed the winners of another challenge put to the guild members; the competitors were each given a panel of fabric to work with, a printed nature scene with a proud buck in the foreground. Each quilter needed to include a specific amount of the provided cloth, and there were perimeters for the embellishments, as well. The top three quilts in this category all tackled the challenge in their own unique way; one replaced the deer entirely with a Jeep, another turned the nature scene into a world of fantasy, and the third contestant completely transformed the scene with her take on Dia de los Muertos.
The crowning glory of the event was the winner of the Best in Show ribbon, The Sea Horse, a magical and deeply intricate piece that it truly a work of art.
The Big Bear Lake Quilters’ Guild is a non-profit organization, which began back in 2007, according to founding member Sally Ericson. They hold meetings on the second Wednesday of every month at Patchworks Quilt Shop in Big Bear Lake, starting at 10:00 a.m. The organization participates in a huge amount of charity work, donating their quilts to worthy causes.
One of the charities the Guild works with is called Showers of Appreciation. This charity throws baby showers for expecting military wives, whose husbands are deployed overseas. They service Camps Pendleton, Miramar, and 29 Palms. The Quilters’ Guild donates quilts as gifts for the showers. Another charity that receives their quilts is the Seven Stars Foundation, which sponsors the children of members of the military to go to Camp Whittle, in order to bring some positivity to their lives wile their loved ones are deployed, or have fallen in service. The organization was founded locally in 2007 to honor the lives of the seven Marine Corps crewmen who lost their lives when their helicopter was shot down in Iraq. The family of one of the Marines, Jared Landaker, started the foundation in his honor. The donated quilts go along with the kids, to keep them warm at camp.
The Quilt Show is a serenely beautiful experience, and there are so many interesting works of art on display. The show continues throughout the day on Saturday, August 3rd, but if you miss it, there will be another show around Labor Day.