12th Annual Great Catskill Mountain Quilt Show

Date: Friday, July 4 and Saturday, July 5
Hours: 10am-5pm
Location: CMF Performing Arts Center (Red Barn), Route 23A, Main Street, Hunter, NY
Admission: $5 per person
Information: 518 263 2000

Now in its twelfth year, the Great Catskill Mountain Quilt Show promises to be an exceptionally fine showing close to 100 hand made quilts and wall hangings of the highest quality.

First held in Windham in 1996, the Great Catskill Mountain Quilt Show served to showcase, for the first time ever, the quilters and their art from throughout the entire Catskill Mountain region of Greene, Delaware, Ulster, Schoharie and Sullivan counties. All of the major quilting guilds from throughout the region participated, and the two-day event drew an estimated 10,000 people. The quilt show has evolved over the years and is now organized by the Quilteneers, "extreme quilters" from the high peaks, spearheaded by Betty Verhoeven, a past president of the Catskill Mountain Quilters Hall of Fame, Anne Casey, and Frances Archibald. In 2000, the show moved to the grounds of the Catskill Mountain Foundation in Hunter, where it was a featured element of the Mountain Culture Festival.

These are not your Granny's quilts. They are traditional in form but contemporary in style and execution. These quilters are masters of the art and highly regarded teachers of the skills involved in quilting techniques. In addition to exhibiting the best of the art of contemporary quilt making in the Catskills, each year the show also highlights the quilt making tradition of another country or culture. Past years have seen brilliant examples of quilted art from Native Americans, the Netherlands, Australia, Hawaii, and Japan. This year's theme is African Safari. African quilting traditions were born of the land, the materials at hand and the need for strong tribal bonds to insure survival. The main characteristics of early African quilting: strip weave patterns, large shapes and strong colors, asymmetry and improvisation, multiple patterning, appliqué and religious symbology have survived and can be seen in the exciting contemporary quilts of today's African artists.

Highlights of the show this year include a quilt by Katharina Litchman, a professional artist and teacher of quilting from White Sulphur Springs, NY. On first glance, the quilt appears to be a map of the continent of Africa, complete with deserts, savannahs, forests and rivers. Upon closer inspection, the viewer begins to see details that surprise and delight, like a zebra, elephant and tiger. Even the ocean surrounding the land has subtlety and depth, much like a satellite photo would show variation in the colors of the water. This entry is not to be missed.

Another quilt in the show is of special interest for a different reason. This past spring Woodstock lost one of its most beloved citizens, Jane Van de Bogart. Most people knew Jane as a tireless community activist and worker on behave of numerous political causes dear to her heart. She was also a life-long quilter and fan of this show. Last year Jane bought fabric at the show and made a pattern for a quilt to fit in with this year's African theme but, sadly, her untimely death prevented her from finishing the quilt. Her Thursday afternoon sewing group has finished the quilt, titled it "Jane's Last Quilt" and has submitted it for exhibition in her memory,

Quilt vendors are also part of the show as are raffle quilts.