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Quilt sale held on September 10

Some of the quilts from Sept. 10 Quilt sale this year

I was asked to write an article for this site regarding our recent Quilt Sale at Westmount United Church in Orillia.
In 2015 this sale started as as an outlet for quilters from our twice weekly quilting group to have a place to sell some of their individual quilts and sewing projects. Our quilters meet at Westmount Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8 a.m. to 11 :30. Some of the women also are very prolific quilt makers outside of the group, ending up with more quilts than they can possibly use, and need to sell some of them because they love making quilts, and want to keep on making more. Several of the ladies continue to take classes to expand new techniques to their quilt making prowess. A couple of other quilters not from the church read our advertising about the sale, and asked to be included to sell their quilts as well. In all, we had 8 vendors contributing, although all quilts are displayed together, not by vendor.
This year, the sale was held on September 10, and we had an inventory of even more quilts available for sale than last year. Customers had the choice from between 75 and 80 quilts, as well as all sorts of smaller items such as wall hangings, table runners, mug rugs, aprons, Christmas stockings, cushions, doll quilts, doll carriers, chenille mats and more. Some quilts, such as those from our quilting group, were all quilted by hand, while others were quilted by a long arm quilting machine. The sheer number of quilts that we had available for sale made it a great destination for buyers searching for a quilt and wanting a choice of colours , patterns, and method of quilting.
People arrived from a fair distance in search of the perfect quilt. One quilt was featured in a Silent Auction since it was created as a Sesquicentennial project in honour of Canada’s upcoming 150th birthday, and was featured in an article in our local newspaper. It was our way of setting into motion an idea of some of the projects and events that will take place in 2017.
Next year, we hope to have a Sesquicentennial Quilt Show and Sale, which will be a much bigger event. We have held a couple of Quilt Shows in the past, but this time, we plan to combine a Quilt Show with the popular Quilt Sale. A very large breathtaking display of quilts will be on display in our Sanctuary, plus as another area devoted especially to Sesquicentennial quilts, sewing projects, and sesquicentennial projects in other artistic mediums. Many people throughout Canada will be creating one of a kind items for this special year. Our sale is scheduled for June, as a buildup to the actual 150th birthday on Canada Day.
2017 marks not only Canada`s 150th birthday, but Orillia`s as well. This makes the sesquicentennial celebrations even bigger for Orillia. Therefore, we hope to have another area set aside for displays of Orillia history, and will try to locate any quilts and other items that have an Orillia history attached to them.
Also planned is a substantial display of vintage quilts since we are celebrating an important historical event. There is also a history to quilts – how they were made, and why.
Orillia is becoming an area known for it`s quilting, and we hope that we reflect that at Westmount.

Some of the smaller items from the Quilt Sale Sept. 10, 2016

Vintage quilts from a past Quilt Show

Quilt Display from a past Quilt Show

Some of the quilts displayed at a past Quilt Show are prize winners