PARKERSBURG – A variety of quilts, both antique and modern, are on display this week at the Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History.

The 12th annual Mid-Ohio Valley Heritage Quilt Show began Saturday at the museum at Second and Juliana streets and will continue through March 20.

Brenda Wentzel, chair of the quilt committee for the Friends of Blennerhassett, said a total of 86 entries are on display this week, up from 72 during last year’s show. The exhibit also includes a quilt on loan for display from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History Collection in Charleston.

“We’ve got a lot of the regular people who entered, but we also have a lot of new faces where this is the first time they’ve entered” a quilt for the exhibit, Wentzel said.

Parkersburg resident Doris Moyers was among those visiting the quilt exhibit at the museum on Saturday. Moyers said she first visited last year’s show and wanted to return this year.

“I like, I like it,” she said of the exhibit.

Moyers said likes making baby quilts for her great and great-great grandchildren and currently has four quilts completed, primarily through hand-quilting. She liked seeing the different types and styles of quilting on display at the museum and thought she might find some ideas for her own work.

As part of the opening day activities Saturday, members of the quilt committee gave a presentation called “Bed Turnings From the Past.” An antique bed was set up in the museum’s conference room with a number of quilts and other pieces which were displayed one by one during the program. The quilts were from the museum’s permanent collection or were privately owned and were loaned to the museum for Saturday’s program.

Committee member Marilyn Horton spoke about each piece, providing information about interesting aspects of its construction or interesting bits of history provided by the owners. This is the second year for the program, which drew a positive response last year and caused organizers to bring it back again, she said.

The Blennerhassett Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. Admission to the museum is $4 for adults and $2 for children ages 3-12.

Wentzel said door prizes will be given away throughout the week.

There are eight different categories on display, including quilts or wall hanging: quilt categories for entries include bed, wall, crib, duet, group, antique (pre 1950), other (mixed, special, applique) and themed. The themed category for this year was “Scrap Happy” where all types of fabric, designs and styles are used to create a scrappy quilt.

Awards were given in each category along with “Best of Show” (hand-quilted); “Best of Show” (machine quilted); “Superintendent’s Choice” and “Best of Themed.” Visitors to the quilt show can vote for the “People’s Choice,” which will be announced March 20.

The winners were:

* Best of Show: Nancy O’Dell, A Gardener’s Alphabet

* Best of Show (hand-quilted): Nancy O’Dell, Deck the Halls

* Best of Show (machine-quilted): Nancy Reed, Dogwood Blossoms

* Best of Show (themed): Wayne Waldeck, Memories of My Pets

* Superintendent’s Award: Debi Milhoan, Harry Potter’s Bookcase

* Group Quilts: first, Sue Vallera, Me and My Flaky Friends; second, Vanessa Beam, Waste Not, Want Not

* Themed – Scrap Happy: first, Margie Flinn, All Dressed Up; second, Patricia Cain, Lincoln Logs in a Barn; third, Emily Bargeloh, Folk Art Flowers

* Bed Quilts: first, Jane Lundblad, Bible Studies Quilt; second, Linda Tallman, Tranquility; third, Debbie Chancellor, Pineapple Dreams

* Wall Quilts: first, Martha Harris, Proverbs 23:7; second, Debbie Chancellor, Rocky Mountain Thorn Bush; third, Linda McLaughlin, Winterberry Lane

* Crib Quilts: first, Hazeline Price, Metro Sun Bonnet Sue; second, Debbie Chancellor, Raggedy Ann and Andy; third, Ann Leach, Buttons and Lace

* Other Quilts: first, Nancy O’Dell, Deck the Halls; second, Shirley Hildreth, Flower Baskets; third, Debbie Davis, Shapes

* Duet Quilts: first, Nancy O’Dell, A Gardener’s Alphabet; second, Debbie Chancellor, Eureka (also received Excellence in Piecing); third, Nancy Reed, Dogwood Blossoms