Three Rivers Quilters hold annual show
Area quilters will have their creations on display at the 30th annual Three Rivers Quilters Quilt Show, which will be held March 21-23 at the IBEW Circuit Center on the South Side. Three Rivers Quilters is made up of mostly South Hills-area residents who share a love of quilting, and the nonprofit organization has about 65 members, according to Nora Hufnagel of Whitehall, who has been a member of the organization since 1983.
Hufnagel said a few of the members have been involved with the group since it began 30 years ago.
“It’s a dedicated group of ladies – and a very active group of ladies,” Hufnagel said. “We have a lot of fun.”
The group meets monthly at Baldwin Community United Methodist Church and sponsors other activities during the month.
“It’s something you can do no matter what age you are,” Hufnagel said of quilting. She said the younger members of the group are in their late 20s, while some members are in their 80s.
More than 130 quilts will be on display at the quilt show this year. She said the show is “much larger than one would think.” In addition to the quilts, Hufnagel said there will be several quilting-related vendors with specialty fabrics and threads at the show, as well as a Quilter’s Café snack area. Quilting demonstrations will be held every half-hour throughout the three-day show. “It’s like a mini class,” Hufnagel said.
The theme for this year’s show is “Tessellations,” which are repeating patterns made of shapes like triangles, squares and hexagons. Submissions to the show include those made by members of the Three Rivers Quilters as well as other quilting guilds in the area. The show is the largest quilt show held in Pittsburgh.
Attendees will see various types of quilts including bed quilts, art quilts, pictorial and landscape quilts and whole-cloth quilts, which are made of one color and then stitched in an intricate pattern. Hufnagel added that folks from all over Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland attend the show each year. “We get bus loads,” she said.
The quilt show is the only fundraiser Three Rivers Quilters holds, and proceeds raised are the only source of funding for the organization’s community service projects. Each October, members of Three Rivers Quilters donate crib-sized quilts to local charities. Nearly 100 quilts are distributed each year and since the early 1980s, nearly 3,000 quilts have been donated to Wrapped in Love, Womansplace and the Ronald McDonald House.
Also, Hufnagel added, members of Three Rivers Quilters also participate monthly in a “stitch-in” to benefit the Linus Project, a national organization that distributes homemade blankets to children in need. As a result of these sewing sessions, 30 quilts are contributed monthly. These quilts are distributed locally to neonatal intensive care units at Magee, West Penn and AGH hospitals.
Each baby receives their own quilt, which is used to cover their isolette and shield them from the glaring lights of the hospital unit. When the baby leaves the NICU, their quilt goes with them as a permanent reminder of how far they have come and how much they have survived. Because many quilters also have other talents, this group also knits and donates tiny mittens and hats to be used while the babies are in isolation.
The Three Rivers Quilt Show will be held from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. March 21, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. March 22 and from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. March 23 at the IBEW Circuit Center, 5 Hot Metal Street on the South Side. Admission to the show is $7 each day. Admission is $5 after 3 p.m. on March 21.
For more information, visit www.threeriversquilters.org