Local quilters to showcase beauty of their work at state park
Published 8:08 am Tuesday, October 1, 2019
- Contributed Photo The Sycamore Stitchers have been running the quilt show for 25 years now, introducing people to forms of art centuries old.
The Sycamore Stitchers are returning to Elizabethton this weekend, bringing light and love to a craft that is centuries old.
Carolyn Buckles, a member of the Sycamore Stitchers, said this will be their 25th show at the Sycamore Shoals State Park.
“This is for members to showcase their quilts,” Buckles said. “We want to keep the art of quilting alive.”
This art of quilting, she said, has been a part of human culture for centuries, and has incorporated materials from as fancy as the stuff coming out today to leftover flour bags back in the day.
Shows like this are important, she said, because it encounters people with love for a craft they might not have thought of before.
“I have been quilting for 30-plus years,” she said. “I was not interested until Linda Brown [then part of the UT Extension Office] invited me.”
For many people, quilting can seem a truly daunting task, from all the equipment to shopping for the fabrics and having to plan everything out, not to mention the time investment, but Buckles said the art is not as hard as it seems once people get used to it.
“It is not really hard,” she said. “We have so many people who are willing to help people start.”
As for her own experience, she said she enjoys shopping for the fabrics the most, especially as designs become more intricate and varied.
“You can find some of the most beautiful fabrics in the world,” she said. “Manufacturers have made them good and rich.”
The most difficult part of the experience, she said, is in the mind.
“It is something you have to want to do,” Buckles said. “It is like an artist. We paint a picture out of fabric.”
Even if you are not interested in quilting on your own, Buckles said she encourages as many people as possible to attend the show.
“They are blown away by what they see,” she said. “You can marvel at what people have made.”
The quilt show will take place Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4-5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 6, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. For more information about the event, contact the park at 423-543-5808.
