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22nd annual Mid-Ohio Valley Heritage Quilt Show features a variety of designs and styles

By Brett Dunlap 3 min read

PARKERSBURG - The integrate designs and skills of local quilters will be on display for the coming week during the 22nd annual Mid-Ohio Valley Heritage Quilt Show at the Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History in downtown Parkersburg.

People will be able to see a variety of quilts demonstrating a number of techniques and skills during the exhibit which will be on display through Sunday, Nov. 15, said Brenda Wentzel, Chairman of the museum's quilt committee.

"We have 53 quilts exhibited," Wentzel said. "There are antique, machine quilted, hand quilted and long arm quilted machine quilting on display.

"There are a variety of designs and quality stitching."

The theme for this year’s quilt show is 250 Years of Quilting in America. Categories include large quilts, small quilts, miniature quilts and antique quilts.

The quilts on display represent quilters are from Parkersburg area as well as the surrounding area and parts of West Virginia and Ohio, including Lancaster and Logan. There are two quilts on display that were made in 1907.

The quilts on display came from people who may have been given quilts in their younger years that a grandparent or other relative gave them while many got into quilting themselves and have come up with new creations and designs, Wentzel said.

"There is a whole world of patterns, different fabrics and the makers of these quilts just really fell in love with creating a masterpiece or something that brought them back to their childhood where they had gotten a quilt when they were little," she said. "Everyone has their own idea what art is.

"Each quilt tells its own story."

There is a variety of different styles represented, Wentzel said. Some are hand stitched where the makers didn't use a machine, just needle and thread.

"Handwork is amazing when you see how small those stitches are," she said.

Other featured quilts were created by quilters using different machines.

Some quilts tell a story.

One titled "High Tide" was made by Beverly and Bill Javins and quilted by Beverly. It depicts their young family at a favorite North Carolina beach. The seafoam was created with free-motion embroidery on a washaway stabilizer. The quilt won the First-Place Award for the show, Overall Best of Show Award.

The design was based on a photograph.

There were other pieces that had unique designs and skills used to put them together.

"Every quilt that is made is a labor of love," Wentzel said. "There is a lot of creativity in a lot of these. A lot of time consuming effort.

"It is a memory that lasts forever whoever receives the quilt."

There are a few quilts in the show that are specifically marked for sale that interested people can ask the museum staff about.

The show has always been popular with a lot of people in the area.

"The public seems to enjoy looking at the quilts and how they are put together," Wentzel said.

Prizes were awarded for Overall Best of Show, Best of Show-Hand Quilted, Best of Show-Machine Quilted-Manual, Best of Show Machine Quilted-Computerized, People’s Choice Award, Superintendent’s Choice Award and Best Theme Award.

Admission to the show is the price to get in the museum, $4 for adults and $2 for children 4-12.

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