A quilt show with local quilters/artists Mary Althaus and Michele Smith will be featured at the Whitewater Arts Alliance’s Cultural Arts Center (CAC), 402 West Main Street, from February 1 to 25, Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.
Quilter Mary Althaus said, “When I began quilt-making in the late 1980’s, I used traditional patterns and fabrics. In the early 2000’s, I began using reproduction 1800 patterns and fabrics. I joined other quilters via the Internet in discussion groups. Groups are geared towards style, fabric, a quilt designer, a fabric designer, or a specific quilt pattern to name a few. In the last few years, I have drifted towards the brighter fabrics, using Electric Quilt for design, and Inklingo to print sewing and cutting lines on fabric using my laptop and home printer.”
Picture of Quilter Mary Althaus’ work, La Passacaglia – right.
Linda Long, Co-President of the Whitewater Arts Alliance, said, “Quilting is truly an art form, and we have some amazing quilt artists in our community. Mary has exhibited before, and Michele’s name has come up every time we consider quilters. We are so pleased to host these two talented women. People need to come see their work up close!”
Quilter Michele Smith said, “I began quilting in 1994, when I signed up for a beginning quilting class with a local quilter, who opened her home and taught four of us the basics of quilting. She was a huge inspiration, sharing numerous samples of her beautiful work, and teaching us to concentrate on the overall effect of our project instead of focusing on imperfections. The class provided a combination of teaching, laughing, and meeting people with similar interests. I have been quilting and enjoying the company of many fellow quilters ever since.”
She adds, “Although I have experimented with many styles of quilting, I am currently working on scrappy-style quilts. However, quilters today do not use ‘scraps’ of fabric as the pioneer women did – most of us have accumulated a huge collection of fabric to draw from. I particularly enjoy quilt block exchanges, where a specific group of quilters exchange blocks on a monthly basis.”
