For 42 years, a dedicated group has been meeting every month to share member enthusiasm for an art form as old as America yet as revolutionary as anything in a modern art museum. We’re talking quilts — and not just the kind Grandma used to make.
What exactly is a quilt? Technically, it’s any fiber art creation that includes a backing, batting in the middle, and stitching to join all three layers together. While many a New England bed proudly wears a traditional quilt, many walls are also hung with a radically modern form of this old fiber art—some pictorial, some abstract.
On October 22-23, 2022, come and see how varied and unusual modern quilts can be. That’s when the Cocheco Quilters Guild presents its 40th annual quilt show at the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center. Ruby Jubilee will feature some 200 stunning quilts—some made to cover beds, but many created to hang as art on a wall.
Our region has a long history of involvement in this colorful corner of the art world. For over 42 years, this group, based in Dover, NH, has been turning out spectacular, award-winning quilts that are displayed in its annual fall exhibition and at shows, museums and galleries nationwide. Some two hundred outstanding member-made quilts will be showcased, and a “Best in Show” selected from judged entries. The show will also feature several special exhibits, plus a vendor marketplace, gift boutique, a restaurant, and outstanding raffles.
This year’s main raffle winner will take home a beautiful quilt. All proceeds from the annual quilt raffle go to deserving charities. This year’s designated Cocheco charities are Victims, Inc., the Homeless Shelter for Strafford County, and the New England Quilt Museum.
Cocheco Quilters Guild grew from a germ of an idea in the mind of local quilter Donna Cerny. She envisaged a place where quilt aficionados in seacoast Maine, southern New Hampshire, and northern Massachusetts could get together to share ideas and benefit from mutual support, friendship, and the inspiration of each other’s artistry. These days, the group, numbering nearly two hundred people of all ages and backgrounds, meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the McConnell Center in Dover. Monthly speakers and occasional workshops with nationally acclaimed teachers offer the latest in design and technique.
In addition to turning out quilts for themselves, Cocheco members have donated thousands of handmade quilts to worthy local organizations like hospitals, hospices, wounded vets, children’s homes, and more.
Quilts are like snowflakes — no two are exactly alike. Visit the Cocheco Quilters Guild annual show to see how extraordinary this fiber art can be.
Visit www.cochecoquilters.com/quilt-show to learn more.