Arts & Entertainment Community

Quilt Show says ahoy to the Harbor

Posted on October 14th, 2022 By: Charlee Glock-Jackson

More than 180 handmade quilts are on display this weekend as the Gig Harbor Quilters Guild brings back Quilts Ahoy, its (usually) annual quilt show.

The Quilts Ahoy show takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Pioneer Elementary School (formerly the Boys & Girls Club), 8502 Skansie Ave. A $5 donation is requested.

What you’ll see

Expect to see traditional quilts in familiar, old-fashioned patterns like “Log Cabin” and “Nine Patch.” Also featured are free-form, contemporary works of art – including some that incorporate beads –that illustrate how the craft has changed over the generations.

There will also be a boutique of handmade items – table runners, placemats, pin cushions, doll clothes, bed quilts, wearable art and more – all for sale.

A quilt by Quilts Ahoy featured artist and Gig Harbor Quilters Guild President Cathy Stone.

As happened with so many other events, the show was canceled the past two years, but that didn’t stop members of the Guild from creating.

A pandemic passtime

In fact many, like Marilyn Colyar, turned to quilting as a way to cope with pandemic-induced isolation.

“I got more into quilting during COVID,” Colyar said in a phone conversation. “I decided I would make a quilt of little horses. I made a little horse every day.”

Like her fellow guild members, Colyar made masks. Especially during the early months of the shutdown, making masks was one of activities that held the group together. One member made 1,400 masks, according to Guild president Cathy Stone.

Since they couldn’t meet in person, guild members met via Zoom. Many also took on-line quilting classes, which, as Colyar said, gave them an opportunity to connect with other quilters all over the country.

Cathy Stone with one of her quilts.

Quilt show’s featured artist

Stone, who moved to Gig Harbor from Grass Valley, California about five years ago, is the featured quilter. She started out doing very traditional, hand-pieced quilts that she also quilted by hand.

Now, she said, her quilts are more “improvisational,” made without formal patterns. She relies on the interplay of colors and shapes to create a visual impression.

Stone didn’t grow up in a quilting family. “My mom sewed, but I never did any quilting until we moved to Grass Valley,” she said.

One of the quilts that will be on display at the Quilts Ahoy show.

When she and her husband decided to move to the Northwest, one of her requirements was that “wherever we moved to, there had to be a quilting group.”

She found that in Gig Harbor.

“Our Gig Harbor guild isn’t just about fabrics and patterns. It’s also really about friendship,” she said.

Quilters serving the community

Community service is important too. Guild members make comfort quilts for cancer patients, quilts for foster kids and for babies in the neonatal unit at Mary Bridge Hospital.

The guild meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month at the Yacht Club. In addition to their regular meetings, there are several small groups that focus on things like wool applique, paper patching, art quilts and other “specialties.”

“We’re a wonderful mix of lots of different styles and interests. There’s just lots of sharing and lots of creativity,” Colyar said. “And we always welcome new members.”