Quilt Walk shows off fabric art
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
POLSON — Quilts in a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns were on display in the windows of downtown stores. The bright blankets are part of the annual Quilt Walk to celebrate All in Stitches’ 15th anniversary in business.
Quilts are as different as the people who stitch them.
Laurie Lindon made a Kansas Windmill quilt, on display in the classroom at All in Stitches, and another quilt on display at The Navigator Travel.
A quilter for a dozen years, Lindon is drawn to quilting because it’s therapeutic.
“I don’t think about my pain,” she said, plus she keeps seeing more and more projects to do.
Lindon sometimes listens to music as she sews but other times just catches bits of whatever her husband Doug is watching on TV.
Her favorite part of the quilting process — “It’s seeing the quilt come together,” she said.
Lindon prefers bright colors because they are cheery and said she sometimes needs help picking colors.
“I disagree with (those who help me choose) sometimes. It’s all a matter of taste,” Lindon said.
And quilter Irene DeBorde’s taste is different than Lindon’s.
“I found out that almost 90 percent of my blocks are pastel flowers,” DeBorde said.
“I am not a color person, and I buy (quilt) kits sometimes for that reason.”
DeBorde quilts in the Welsh fashion.
“I understand the Welsh quilt is the way it’s put together — that you start with the center and then work around it,” she explained.
DeBorde has been quilting, “Oh, gosh, for a long, long time,” she said, adding that she took her first class at Quilting in the Country when she lived in Bozeman many years ago.
Quilting with a group of friends in Mission Bay on Thursdays, DeBorde enjoys the social aspect of quilting. Her quilting group is making a challenge quilt with Churn Dash blocks. Each member makes blocks and then they trade.
When she’s home and the football games come on TV, she retreats to her sewing room. She has her own TV in there and also plays music sometimes.
DeBorde loves buying the book and the fabric. She buys the cloth for the quilt a little bit at a time so she doesn’t have to think about how much it’s costing.
“Then the work begins,” she said, laughing.
As for what draws her to quilting, she remembers her grandmother sitting in her chair making a quilt.
The quilt that her grandmother made her, “That I’m fondling now,” she said, “It’s probably 75 years old, all hand stitched and hand quilted.”
DeBorde’s grandmother would tell her, “This was somebody’s shirt and that was somebody’s apron,” pointing out the different fabrics.
“They just used what they had,” DeBorde said.
DeBorde and Lindon are two of the 22 quilters who brought their quilts into All in Stitches for the annual Quilt Walk, according to Susan Brown, All in Stitches manager.
Visitors and residents of Polson voted for their top three quilts by picking up a ballot at All in Stitches, visiting the businesses and then returning the completed ballots.
Brown said when she tallied the votes, people’s choice ribbons went to:
1. Bea Radermacher 2. Pat Pool
3. Jane Whaling
