Camp Sherman hosts its quilt show

Camp Sherman’s Pine Needlers held their annual summer quilt show for record-breaking crowds last Friday, July 7.

“I brought my mom,” said Bruce Berryhill, as he gazed at the colorful quilts hanging all around him. “I love it out here in Camp Sherman. The show is small enough that you can see everything.”

“Everything” included 65 quilts, 400 colorful pot holders (crafted by Pine Needlers and scooped up in the first two hours), a Hokey-Pokey Tearoom, lunchtime food and snacks prepared by the Pine Nuts men’s group, afternoon guitar music by Doug Phillips, raffle quilts and a warm, friendly atmosphere throughout the day.

“Seeing all these colorful quilts is an unforgettable experience,” said Pat Metke. His wife Polly agreed.

Memories of master Pine Needler quilter Andrea Balosky filled the upstairs hall, as former students displayed two color quilts made in her class. “Dream Wheels” made by Norma Funai had this message: “This quilt is from a class offered by Andrea Balosky (Nayima Lahno) in the summer of ’05. We participated in a wonderful day with her learning how to cut and assemble this unique pattern. It makes me think of the prayer wheels so prevalent in the country of Nepal.”

Balosky is currently studying in India.

Kim Addison hosted the colorful Hokey-Pokey Tearoom displayed at the back of the hall’s loft. Show goers experienced a bit of fantasy in her creative arrangement. The menu included diced Granny Smith apple and chopped Snickers salad eaten with an oversize spoon.

Outside, while eating lunch with his wife Karen, Jim Morgan expressed his liking of the show.

“I’m not much of a quilt expert, but I sure liked the bright red quilt near the entrance door,” he said.

Meanwhile, inside the hall, there was a steady sale of chances on this year’s raffle quilt, the Hokey-Pokey-Dot quilt. The winner will be chosen later this year at the Pine Needler’s August picnic.

Thirteen-year-old Lauren White’s quilt, hanging in the loft, had this message attached: “This was my first ever quilting class that I took last summer with Andrea Balosky.” Her sister, Kelsey, displayed a purse she had created.

“I’m in awe,” said Kaye Vernir, a visitor from Chicago. “There’s so much expression here at this show.”

The Pine Needler group consists of 25 local ladies who meet at Camp Sherman’s Community Hall on Tuesday evenings. Much of the money collected at their shows funds local scholarships and community projects. Their next show will be February 2007.