Patchwork artistry: Springville quilt exhibit shows the evolution of various techniques

The 37th annual Quilt Show at the Springville Art Museum is a brilliant patchwork of color, artistry, tradition and connection.

The show features 100 quilts: 94 juried into the exhibition and six in a special educational display. They represent the "work of Utah's finest quiltmakers," says Virgil Jacobsen, education director at the museum who helped curate the show with Megan Legas, liaison from the Utah Valley Quilt Guild.

"Every year, the show takes a step up," Jacobsen says. "The quality, the workmanship, the artistry just keep getting better."

Legas agrees. It just goes to show, she says, that "Utah's quilters are an ongoing group. Every year we have people who have exhibited previously, and every year we have new people." To be accepted into the show, the quilters have to have a Utah connection, but not all of them live here. "This year we have some from Idaho, Colorado, California."

It's fun to see how techniques and styles evolve over the years, she says. "Things show up on a national level, and it doesn't take long to filter down to here." Techniques such as embellishments and 3-D are among the newer trends in recent years, she says.

This show definitely "brings out the cream of the crop. People want to highlight their best work and they save it for this show. I hear a lot of quilters who say, 'I have a beautiful quilt, but it's not ready for Springville.' "

So, she says, the ones who do come in are high quality and attract a lot of viewers. "Quilters come by the carload from all over the state. It's definitely worth the trip," she says.

This year's judges, Legas says, "were very concerned with technical workmanship. And every quilter gets a critique, so they know where to go from here." That's one reason, she says, that the show keeps getting better and better. "One year, I entered a quilt that I thought was pretty good, and the judges critiqued the binding. I hadn't even thought about the binding, but they were right, I had done it all wrong."

This year's show features a wonderful mix of styles, sizes and genres. There are bed-sized quilts and miniatures; traditional patterns and original designs; patchwork and applique and mixed techniques. "We used to give out prizes based on bed-sized and wall-hanging, and patchwork or applique," Legas says. "We don't do that any more because there is such variety. Now the awards simply honor excellences in a variety of categories."