2026 Quilt Exhibit
The 2026 Art of Quilting Exhibition at the Bluffton library was a huge success!
Thank you to all who participated and helped to make it possible! Once again visitors from Bluffton and the surrounding communities loved seeing the exhibit! Thank you to Linda Pirtle for donating the I spy quilt to the Children’s Library. Thank you to Cynthia Cassidy for being our keynote speaker and bringing such a beautiful trunk show full of inspiration! Cynthia has been sewing since the 3rd grade and mostly did apparel sewing for years. Clothing, prom dresses, jeans, suits and then home decor. She did not enter into the quilt world until she was pregnant with her first child...which turned out to be triplets. Of course almost all sewing went on hold until free time became available again. When redecorating her daughter's bedroom she made her first large quilt. And then the story of quilting began. Cynthia's talk was about what a quilt is, a brief history of quilts, different quilting styles, blocks, techniques and ended it with a trunk show of Cynthia's quilts as well as some quilts that she has quilted for others.
Here are some of the statistics:
We had 30 quilts hanging in the library.
95 people attended the Opening reception - 63 members and 32 guests.
110 children played I spy.
252 visitors voted for their favorite quilts!
We also had Kevin Libby from BCTV attend the opening reception. He composed a video which you can see at this link:
This video appeared in full 3 times daily on BCTV’s NewsHour through the end of March and, thanks to the trunk show at the end, they will be able to give it a 30 minute block on their Weekender broadcasts throughout the year. This will be great exposure for the Guild! Thank you Kevin Libby!
Last but not least we enjoyed a delicious cake courtesy of Friends of the Library!
We were excited to have our own Cynthia Cassidy open the The Art of Quilting 2026 Exhibition. Cynthia has been sewing since the 3rd grade and mostly did apparel sewing for years. Clothing, prom dresses, jeans, suits and then home decor. She did not enter into the quilt world until she was pregnant with her first child...which turned out to be children. Triplets. Of course almost all sewing went on hold until free time became available again. When redecorating her daughter's bedroom she made her first large quilt. And then the story of quilting began. Cynthia's talk was about what a quilt is, a brief history of quilts, different quilting styles, blocks, techniques and ended it with a trunk show of Cynthia's quilts as well as some quilts that she has quilted for others. After Cynthia’s presentation there was a trunk show followed by the opening of the exhibit and refreshments.
If you have any questions, please email Susan Dykes susan.mary.dykes@gmail.com or she can be reached at 704-361-9752.
Chair: Susan Dykes
The Art of Quilting
A Quilt Exhibition Presented by Maye River Quilt Guild 2025
The Quilt Exhibition was held at the Bluffton Branch Library March 1 – March 30, 2025. The opening reception featured Maye River Quilters own Pat Wys as keynote speaker. Pat, a published author and well-loved quilting teacher, shared her beautiful quilts and a bit of her vast quilting experience to a full house. As always, Pat blended laughter and teaching in her wonderful presentation. A trunk show of beautiful quilts by various Guild members rounded out the presentation. Visitors from the community as well as Guild members then enjoyed the exhibition of Quilts throughout the Library. Refreshments provided by Friends of the Library rounded out the day.
The exhibition was enthusiastically received by the community as well as the employees of the library. Many compliments were given by community members. It touched people. To some visitors it brought tears as it reminded them of a grandmother, mother or aunt who quilted. At the end of the month, many expressed sadness that the exhibit was being taken down. The Exhibition will return in March 2026 to again stir the community’s souls and share our love of The Art of Quilting.
