Sweet dreams: Quilt exhibit at Springville Museum of Art is better than ever

Quilts are the magic carpets of the modern world. These creations of color and fabric can take you on flights of fancy, on journeys down memory lane, on trips through the seasons, to places where love abounds and creativity knows no end.

Consider, for example, a few of the titles of quilts in this year's Springville Quilt Show: "Mid-Winter Night's Dream," "Victoria's Garden," "Freaky Friends," "Absurdly Audacious Aardvark Art," "What America Means To Me," "For the Love of Cats," "Mexican Stars," "Grandpa's Farm," "Rock Ribbons," "Peace Maples Along the Tomoe River," "Awakened Dragon," "Some Finer Points of the Civil War," "Luna Moths," "Stars Upon Thars," "Autumn Lane."

The names alone conjure up visions of imagination and excitement — and the quilts themselves deliver on that promise.

"With 106 quilts, this is the biggest show we've ever had," says Jessica Weiss, assistant curator at the museum.

And, says Francine Berrett, co-chairman of the exhibit and a member of the Utah Valley Quilt Guild, "from the comments we've already received, I'd say it's one of our nicest shows."

This is the 32nd annual quilt show at the museum. "It's always one of our most popular shows every year," says Weiss. The juried show is "not your general, run-of-the-mill quilt show," adds Berrett. "It's more of an art show."

The quilts in the show are more wall hangings than bed quilts, says Weiss. "This is a form-over-function show. As an art historian, I'm always amazed at what incredible works of art they are."

Quilts in the show have come from all over the state, and even beyond, and offer a wide variety of techniques and methods — from all hand-pieced and hand-sewn to machine quilted; to quilts employing specialized techniques such as trapunto, ruching, McTavish stitching and embroidery; to quilts made of hand-dyed and hand-woven fabric, and more. There are quilts of original design, quilts from patterns, quilts inspired by art works, quilts made in classes.

It's a nice way to see state-of-the-art quilting in the state, says Cody Mazuran, one of this year's judges. "Quilting is as big and important today as ever — even more so. This is a great way to display the artistic capabilities of mostly women, although we're getting a few more men."

"I've seen exquisite work," adds Kathy Middlebrook, another judge, and one who comes to the task with more of an art than a fabric background. "There's great use of color and design. Rich, warm colors. A lot of very strong pieces."