Annual quilt competition coming to Bloomington

The annual Indiana Heritage Quilt Show will return today through March 8 to Bloomington for the 23rd time.
 
With more than $12,000 in prize money, competing quilters will display their works to the public and selected judges from the National Quilting Association.

Starting in Columbus, Ind., the show made a move to Bloomington because of a lack of space for events. In the downtown area, more than 200 quilts will be shown in the Bloomington Convention Center and expanded vender booths.

Co-chair and judging chair member Jane Pitt said she urges all types of observers to visit this display of textile artistry.

“We encourage tradition and innovation,” she said.

From young quilters joining the ranks in a ribbon-only category to contestants well into their senior years, there is a wide age range in participants. One of the youngest competitors in the youth category is a 14-year-old girl in her fourth year of entering a quilt in the show.

Young quilters are evaluated on their pieces and receive critical feedback in order to perfect their novice skills, she said.

Pitt said she wishes to inspire young people to take up quilting, and hopes they see something at the show that appeals to them.

“Something that might encourage younger people to take a second look, and think, ‘You know, this isn’t just something that Grandma does,’” she said.

Sewing work isn’t exclusive to women. Pitt said. Though men certainly remain the minority in craftwork, she personally has seen more join the practice of quilting.

“(Male quilters) seem to be on the rise,” she said. “In fact, one of the judges for our show is a male, and he is a quilter himself.”

Workshops lead by seven nationally-recognized teachers and other quilters will take place throughout the quilt show to teach skills and different techniques of the craft.
 
Pitt said needles and thread aren’t the only elements being taught to crafters. A class with painting elements will be taught as well.

“Next year there will be another selection of teachers giving workshops, so there’s an opportunity to learn basics as well as more specialized techniques,” Pitt said.

The quilt show upholds conventional values of quilting and encourages a recollection of the traditional quilt on the observer, Pitt said. She said the quilts displayed have shifted in purposes of warmth and comfort to tread new ground in art.

Pieces depicting social and political statements have appeared in past shows.
“There is a huge diversity in the quilting styles,” Pitt said. “We have everything from the most traditional American in style, basic sleep-under quilt, to just, works of art.”

Co-chair Sue McDaniel said she’s seen an artistic turn in the practice of quilt making. She said there’s been a shift in the practice to an art medium rather than the traditional use of necessity in the quilt.

“Quilts today are not your grandmother’s quilts,” McDaniel said.

Because of the expansion in artistic expression, categories for competition quilts have grown, she said. McDaniel said the classes span fairly to allow different types of works into entry.

“We have several different categories, if it’s a piece versus an appliqué versus an art quilt,” she said. “There’s also categories for the size. Techniques are very wide open.”

Though a niche area of craft expertise might seem intimidating to some, Pitt said there’s a little bit of everything for everyone at the quilt show.

“Everyone should come and enjoy the show,” McDaniel said. “Because anyone who enjoys art would appreciate the quilts.“