HOULTON — The Friends and Needles Quilt Guild will hold its annual show, “Dove in the Window” Aug. 16-18 at the Houlton Higher Education Center, Military Street.
The show will feature works made by guild members and their interpretations of the theme “Cattails, Cat Tales, and Cat Tails” in a special exhibit area. Quilt Show hours are Friday, Aug. 16 and Saturday, Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 18, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Admission is $5 per person per day.
This year’s Raffle Quilt was made by group members and quilted by Peggy Crane of Rather-B-Quilting in Houlton. The quilt pattern “Dove in the Window” is a queen size quilt made of batik fabrics in bright colors. Raffle tickets are available from any guild member or at the show for $1 each or 6 for $5. Drawing date for the raffle quilt will be held during the November Crafts Fair.
Vendors, including Rather-B-Quilting of Houlton, The Fabric Garden of Madison, Mariner’s Compass Quilt Shop of Bath, Marcia O’Donnell of APQS Sales and Services/Longarm Quilting, and Garden Gate Fabrics & Yarnia of Presque Isle, will be on hand to offer fabrics, notions and lots more. Daily drawings of door prizes will be held throughout each day. Be sure to sign up at the Vendor of the Day table.
A silent auction will be held again this year featuring a mini version of the raffle quilt along with other wall hangings, bags, table runners and more. The proceeds from the silent auction and raffle quilt help support scholarships for local high school graduates, as well as the Southern Aroostook Chapter of Project Linus, local charities as well as quilting workshops held by the Guild. Bidding for silent auction items closes at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
A new project that the Friends and Needles Quilt Guild has been working on this year is a quilt barn block. This is a national project of rural America with the purpose of promoting quilting and tourism. Local members have been working very hard throughout this past year to bring this project to the area. The block is completed and will be on display before it is hung at its permanent location at 224 B Road in Houlton, the home of Peggy and Mark Crane.
Many quilts shown are made by guild members, but anyone interested in entering a quilt for this year’s quilt show you can drop them off at the Houlton Higher Education Center on Thursday, Aug. 15 before noon. Please make sure to provide a hanging sleeve on the back of each quilt and be sure each quilt has been labeled with a name and phone number.
A registration form will need to be completed containing information about the quilt. Persons can print off a registration form from the website at www.friendsandneedles.org or pick one up when a quilt is dropped off. Please make sure you pick all quilts up after the show. Items will be available for pick up between 3:30 and 4 p.m. after the show is over on Sunday.
