Quilts will be on the loose in shops around town in October—find them and bid on your favorites online.
When Morgantown quilter Monica Maxwell visited Berkeley Springs a few years ago, she was inspired by the local quilt guild’s downtown display and fundraiser. Back home in Morgantown, she talked to some people downtown and talked to some people in the Country Roads Quilt Guild and, before too long, she pieced together a quilt walk and fundraiser in Morgantown.
That was 2023. “That first year, we had 19 quilts, and they were all downtown,” Maxwell remembers. “We raised $600 for Main Street Morgantown.”
The event has grown each year since, thanks in part to Maxwell’s enthusiasm and persuasiveness. This year’s Quilt Walk & Auction will display at least 30 quilts, a goal she set for the guild to top last year’s 27. “We do a lot of wall hangings, table toppers, that type of thing,” Maxwell says—smaller pieces that are easy for businesses to display.
The Quilt Walk has grown beyond downtown, too, as shops and shoppers have picked up the thread. The guild looped the Seneca Center in to include the quilt and sewing shops there, then other shops as well. Rustic By Design is a past participant at the Seneca Center and will now participate at its new location at Cheat Lake.
Some store owners have fun designing displays around the quilts, Maxwell says. “Coombs Flowers last year picked a patriotic quilt and formed an entire floral display around it. Connie at the dress shop, CONI & FRANC, always puts dresses out in the colors of the quilt.”
This year, the quilts will be on display October 1 through November 6 at locations listed on the Country Roads Quilt Guild and Joe R. Pyle Auctions websites. Then, November 13–15, they’ll be at the Mountaineer Week Quilt Show in WVU’s E. Moore Hall. Each quilt will have a QR code that takes you to where, beginning October 5, you can see quilt photos and descriptions, enter your contact information, and place a bid.
Bidding ends November 16. From there, Maxwell will contact the winning bidders to arrange payment and pickup. Last year’s auction raised $1,500 for the Monongalia County Child Advocacy Center. She hopes to top that for this year’s recipient, the Monongalia County chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which builds beds for children in need and delivered its 500th bed in July.
If you’ve been hearing that young people are taking fresh interest in hands-on, creative activities like quilting, Maxwell confirms that it’s true. “I am no longer the youngest member of the guild,” she says, laughing. “There’s a lot of younger members now, and it’s great to see.” The Country Roads Quilt Guild meets the second Tuesday of the month. Members learn tips and techniques and share their progress on their projects—and all are welcome.
READ MORE ARTICLES FROM MORGANTOWN LOWDOWN