All sewn up

Shall we talk about technique? About how Marilyn Landry Toone's hand-sewn half-inch squares match up so nicely, or how Francine Berrett's needle-turned applique has such crisp edges, or how Juanita Joy Smith's hand-dyed fabrics are transformed into a serene and welcoming grove of trees?

Shall we talk about color? How Marilyn Reinarz's turquoise and lime green squares "fit nicely together and never fight for space," or how Janet L. Carpenter's yellow and gold flowers pop off the wall, or of "the vibrant pallet of colors that seems to illuminate the atmosphere as the scorching heat of the day succumbs to cooling moonlight" in Kristen Barnhill's "Indian Summer Evening"?

Shall we talk about design? How Velda Mae Brown's red, white and blue spiral into an optical illusion, or how much Mary Z. Hutchings' "And We Hear the Desert Singing" looks like a painting, or how Kaye Evans takes the New York Beauty block on "Phaethon's Wild Ride"?

Shall we talk about inspiration? The doodles that led Kathy Ann Porter to create "In the Beginning," or the handkerchiefs that sparked Sandra Bourne's memories of her grandmother; the picture of a bird drawn by one of Mary H.S. Taylor's children years ago; or the books that inspired nine people from five states and two countries who have never met each other to combine their love of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and create a fabric tribute through Internet collaboration?

Or should we talk about quilts, which incorporate all these things and more? Art, design, creativity, flights of fancy, perfect stitches, impecable work — it's all there on the walls of the Springville Art Museum, as the 36th Annual Quilt Show is unveiled.

"It's a wonderful annual exhibit," says Virgil Jacobsen, a curator at the museum, who is director of the show. "It always amazes me. It's 36 years of tradition, and it never disappoints."

There's such variety this year, adds Francine Berrett, of the Utah Valley Quilt Guild, who is co-curator of the show. The juried exhibition is co-sponsored by the Utah Valley Quilt Guild and the Corn Wagon Quilt Company.

The exhibition features 92 quilts this year, which fill all the galleries on the main floor.

"This year we even used the board room, which also doubles as the entrance to the newly created sculpture garden at the museum," Jacobsen said.