Event showcases about 40 locally-made quilts

Works to be on display until March 30 at the Blennerhassett Museum

By RACHEL LANE, rlane@newsandsentinel.com
PARKERSBURG — Scraps of cloth and hours of sewing have resulted in about 40 quilts in the fourth annual Mid-Ohio Valley Heritage Quilt Show.

The show at in the Blennerhassett Museum opened Saturday and will remain on display until March 30, said Marilyn Horton, event organizer. Some of the pieces featured in the exhibit are old quilts but most of the quilts were hand- or machine-crafted recently. Some of the quilts on display were entered by the current owners, not the makers of the quilts.

“We need to preserve our heritage. Some of the old arts, like quilting and needlepoint, are disappearing,” she said.

Horton said she has been quilting for several years and decided to start the quilt show because the area did not have a regularly scheduled event.

“I love quilting. It’s very fulfilling. I get a real sense of accomplishment when I finish one, real pride,” Horton said. “The whole family appreciates them.”

Pattie Cowan, of Harrisville, said she’s been quilting for about two years.

“I recognized the art in it and had been looking around for a class for a couple of years,” she said. “It’s amazing how you can cut up a piece of material, sew it up and see what you create.”

Cowan said part of the reason she started quilting was to challenge herself and see if she could do it.

“And it’s a great way to meet new friends,” she said. “I never understood why people charged so much for quilts until I started doing it.”

Her sister-in-law, Cathy Cowan, of Harrisville, said she started quilting about 18 months ago.

“It’s relaxing and peaceful,” she said.

Cathy Cowan had never attended a quilt show until the exhibit in the Blennerhassett Museum.

“They’re all so beautiful and there’s so much work in them,” Cathy Cowan said. “I think quilts are more colorful now than they use to be” when they were necessary.

“I’m glad I have the ability to do this... Our husbands are very supportive of us,” Pattie Cowan said, adding she has made several quilts, including one for her granddaughter and husband.

In addition to the quilts, sewing machines are on display at the museum, which is located at Second and Juliana streets in downtown Parkersburg.

Horton said vendors from area quilt shops and a needle work demonstration will be part of the exhibit on March 22. On March 29th, a seminar for quilters has been organized, she said. More information is available by contacting the museum at (304) 420-2800.

The Blennerhassett museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.