The Crystal Quilters Guild of Enumclaw held their annual two-day quilt show last month at the Enumclaw Expo Center, showing off unique patterns, detailed stitchwork and reams of quilts with decades of history.
Nancy Agler, current chair of the guild, said the guild’s membership crafts about 150 quilts per year to be donated to local hospitals, elder care centers and other folks in need. The yearly show helps cover the guild’s expenses and also donates proceeds to local charities and the food bank.
Quilting combines an art form fascinated by color and geometry with a practical creation that can be used for generations, as long as the quilt is well maintained.
“For me, it’s color, picking colors that all look good together, and finding a pattern that will enhance (it),” Agler said.
Quilts on display over the weekend of Oct. 21 had a variety of origins. Some were made from scratch by their creators, while others found pieces at second-hand stores and completed them with their own artistic flourishes. Many quilters, of course, also have their share of “UFOs” — or “Unfinished Objects.”
Each quilt tells a story, Agler said, and reveals something about its creator, too.
Take, for example, Susanne Wick’s Quilt of Valor for her husband Robert Wick. (Wick pieced the quilt together, and it was quilted by Marj Woody.) The piece commemorates his two tours of service in Vietnam while in the U.S. Navy with patches referencing his service to add realism to the quilt.
Robert Wick’s time in the service included picking up astronauts from the Apollo 11 and 12 moon landings while on the USS Hornet.
Susanne Wick, secretary of the Crystal Quilters, designed the quilt on graph paper, used a Navy seal from Etsy and collected real patches from a contact she made on that website. Creativity, some lucky connections and the skill and patience needed to finish a quilt allowed Wick to create the one-of-a-kind artwork.
“There’s never going to be another one like this,” Wick said.
The show also honored Vonda Snope, a founding member of the guild who passed away in March. An entire section of the show was dedicated to Snope’s works.
“She was one of the friendliest ladies,” Agler said. “Always willing to help.”
Susanne Wick’s Quilt of Valor for her husband Robert Wick, commemorating his service in the U.S. Navy with real patches from the ships on which her husband served.
Lisa Larkin’s “A Marathoner’s Story” quilt, containing postcard designs from each of the 50 states and several other landmarks, made to commemorate her husband’s marathons in each of those locations.
