Stitched together — Quilts connect us to family, values, creativity

SPRINGVILLE — Quilts connect.

Just as they are made by connecting bits of fabric and thread, the finished product also connects the quilter to people, places and emotions in myriad ways.

That's the message you get at the 35th annual Quilt Show at the Springville Museum of Art. As you read the label cards by the quilts, you learn that each quilt has a story, and that each story involves connections — to the past, to values, to family, to friends, to creativity.

"It's a great show this year," says Sharon Aposhian Wright, co-chairwoman of the show from the Utah Valley Quilt Guild. "We have so many that are hand-quilted this year, and so many that have taken years to complete."

There are lots more art quilts, adds co-chairwoman Francine Berrett, "maybe because we limited the length. But you really appreciate quilting as an art form. There is beautiful art inside each quilt."

The show features a hundred quilts of all shapes, sizes, styles and colors. If there is any trend, Wright says, it might be toward more hand-applique. "We have a lot of those this year," she says, and you can enjoy every single stitch.

It has also been the easiest show to hang, she adds. "Some times it is challenging to make one quilt look good by another, but this time they all seemed to naturally fall into groups." There is the applique room, the "dark room," the patriotic gallery, the homespun gallery and more.

In walking through those galleries, you see how nicely the quilts reflect those themes. But as you read the labels, you discover even more bonds.

Family is one of the strongest connections. Quilts join generations.

Lisa Dunn's quilt, for example, honors her grandmother's apron, which had useful pockets for carrying the eggs she gathered, bottles to feed baby lambs, a crochet hook and yarn, and was used to wipe away tears and runny noses.

Mary Ann Nelson's "Sunday Morning" features a center-panel copy of a painting done by her father.

Toni Day's "Devin's Tears" will always connect her to her son, who died while she was making it. The 12,322 pieces represent the tears shed over his passing.

Anetta Mower and Megan Christensen have a quilt "Honoring Our Pioneer Ancestors." Helen Butler's "Whig Rose," which took just under four years to complete, is "destined to be a wedding gift for one of my children." Kristine Webb's "Fitzpatrick's Laughing Dragon" was made for her first grandchild.