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South Valley Riverton Journal

Sew many quilts, sew little time: Riverton hosts quilt show through Nov. 13

Nov 01, 2019 03:15PM ● By Stephanie Yrungaray

Eighteen handcrafted quilts made by local quilters are on display at Old Dome Meeting Hall. (Stephanie Yrungaray/City Journals)

By Stephanie Yrungaray | [email protected]

Once a symbol of thrift and functionality, quilting has now become art in stitched form. 

“Back in the day, pioneers used leftover pieces of fabric from clothing, and all quilting was done by hand,” said Denice Wilcox from My Sister’s Quilts quilt shop. “Now most women don’t do that. They pick and choose fabrics and colors to go together.”  

Riverton has been displaying the handiwork of local quilters for the past three years at the Old Dome Meeting house. 

“This is one of our more popular shows,” said Bradley Dance, Riverton Cultural Events coordinator. “A lot of our demographic really relates to that era of people.” 

This year, 18 quilts were submitted in the categories of hand-quilted, hand-guided and computerized quilts. 

“Long-arm (hand-guided) machines only quilt a quilt they cannot piece a quilt,” Wilcox said. “Some are computerized and some use a pentagraph to do the quilt design. You move the arm from one side to the other side following a diagram of the pentagraph you’ve chosen.” 

Computerized quilts require putting a quilting pattern into the computer, attaching the pieced quilt to the machine and periodic checking to make sure the machine doesn’t get caught on anything.

Linda Thomas spent 244 hours on her computerized quilt entry titled “Glacier Star.” She said it took 164 hours to cut and piece the top of the quilt and 80 hours and five different variegated threads for the computerized long arm to quilt her pieces together. 

Wilcox said once the quilting bug bites you, it’s impossible to stop. 

“It is an enjoyable pastime, and you have something to show for it when you are done,” Wilcox said. “Most people that are passionate about quilting are very passionate about it. I’d rather be in my sewing room than almost anywhere else.” 

The Riverton Quilt Show is on display at the Old Dome Meeting Hall until Nov. 13 on Monday through Wednesday from noon to 5 p.m.