Mantua – The biennial Quilts on the Hill/Quilts in the Village in the Village of Mantua at the Hilltop Christian Church was a real stitch.
This is a lovely way to spend part of a Spring afternoon, looking over a display of nearly seventy useful and ornamental works of outstanding artistry and craftsmanship—more likely craftswomanship. There was something for every taste—great color combinations, from subdued to complementary to vivid to just plain wild. There were excellent examples of embroidery and applique. There were quilts featuring line drawings, geometric patterns, floral displays—whole floral scenes, even—bandannas, blue jeans, and cartoons. Some sort of highlighted seasons, some were about off-beat patterns or flower gardens or any one of the myriad standard patterns like “Wedding Ring” or “Log Cabin”. One blockbuster hung up in the front was all about a proposal of marriage, including an “Ohio Star” (for the prospective groom), a “Wisconsin Star” (for the blushing bride-to-be) and a “Wyoming Star” for the site of the proposal; on the other side was a whole backdrop of Scrabble tiles (letters with numbers in the corner)and a Scrabble board with the essential question, “Will you marry me?” All that relayed in a couple thousand stitches!
Had some good conversation with the ladies on duty at the door and circulating around with information, got a shout-out from the mom of former student Steve Oros—who probably would have shouted back if he’d been there. The brief program gave information about who quilted what and how and when; there was one from 1908!
The information was fascinating. Some of the quilts were pieced by one individual and actually quilted by another. Some were entirely the work of one person. Some were done by machine, some by hand, some were a combination. There were some from out-of-state, some had Mennonite origins. A few of them reminded me of occasions—many years ago—when I would go to my grandma’s and see stitching ladies around a quilting frame set up in the dining room; I recognized a Dresden Plate pattern that I had on my bed at home. This is an equal opportunity exhibition; Garrettsville Shalersville,Troy Twp., Sagamore Hills, Stow, Chagrin Falls, Hudson, Ravenna all got in their two stitches worth.
Put it on your calendar for 2020—the weekend before Mother’s Day. You could plan to visit the Tearoom downstairs as well. Practice lifting your pinkie.
