Hundreds flock to final quilt show

By John Underwood / john@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 2/12/19

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Organizers of the Robertsdale United Methodist Women’s bi-annual quilt show say that unless something happens between now and 2021, this was their last.

“It’s …

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Hundreds flock to final quilt show

Posted

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Organizers of the Robertsdale United Methodist Women’s bi-annual quilt show say that unless something happens between now and 2021, this was their last.

“It’s certainly bittersweet for us,” said Nancy Blackmon, one of the event’s organizers. “What it all boils down to is the fact that to put this on takes a lot of time and effort and we’re all getting older. And quite frankly, the event has outgrown the church here.”

Nearly 500 quilts were featured during this year’s show, held Jan. 31-Feb. 2. Quilts literally filled every room and hallway of the small church on Alabama 59 in Robertsdale where the event has been held every two years for more than two decades.

Quilts covered every pew of the church sanctuary and a small chapel to the side of the small entryway that runs through the church.

There were rooms dedicated to holiday themed quilts, children’s and baby quilts, garden-themed quilts, patriotic quilts, even quilts with a masculine them (dubbed the Man Cave) and dedicated to sports and favorite sports teams.

The event also featured towering pink-themed quilt in honor and memory of breast cancer survivors, donated by the Pensacola Quilting Group, which hung in the church sanctuary.

A special room was also set aside for this year’s Honored Quilters, Pam and Angie Madden of Silverhill, the first time the show had ever featured two quilters.

The hundreds of handmade quilts were creatively displayed with antiques and collectibles. As in past years, the show also featured lunch with live entertainment and vendors were on hand with lots of quilting supplies including patterns, kits, machines, fabrics, needles and notions. Scissor sharpening will also be available.

Blackmon said she wished to thank all of the volunteers who put in a lot of time and effort over the years to help put on the quilt show, particularly co-organizer Betty Gwaltney and the Stitch-n-Friends sewing group, whose members provide the majority of the quilts, is responsible for nominating the event’s featured quilters and provides a quilt to be raffled off to raise money during the event.

“The years that we have both the quilt show and do the fruitcake project in November, when we bake 1,300-1,400 fruitcakes for missions, we have contributed approximately $30,000 to missions,” Blackmon said in a separate statement. “That makes us well known in our conference for our hardworking ladies to be able to raise that much money. We will miss having that distinction, but who knows what we might do in the future, with Gods help, to replace the quilt show.”