The beauty of quilts

This year’s quilt show at the Adair County Fair will feature the last auctioned fair quilt for the foreseeable future and new ways of displaying the quilts, but this adored display, overseen by Tonna Twombly of Greenfield, will still be open to the public during the fair week.

Twombly has been the head of the show for the past five years as a volunteer. Though she is the primary contact person, she says organizing the show is a team effort between herself and the other members of the Fabric and Friends Quilt Guild.

Twombly is primarily in charge of making Facebook posts and calling people to spread the word about the quilt show. She even helps others by bringing quilts to the fair during the drop off time on Wednesday for those who have to work.

She is also an avid quilter herself, who learned the craft when her daughter decided to do a 4-H quilting project in the 80s and the two of them took a quilting class together.

Twombly remembers the quilt show being present at the fair back when her kids were little and is quick to reflect on her admiration for the show even back then.

“Long before I was in charge I always made sure I looked [at the quilts] because I liked looking at them,” she said.

Twombly now frequently participates in the show herself. She brought five quilts that she made this year, including the featured quilt that were due to be auctioned off during the gazebo presentations 8 pm. Wednesday, July 20.

Unfortunately, one change the quilt show has recently seen is that this will be the last year the fair auctions off a featured quilt. The reason for this, Twombly said, is the rising cost of fabric. It ranges from $12 to $15 per yard nowadays. The and result is the notable difficulty of coming out on top when selling quilts made from these materials.

That being said, Twombly is still optimistic about the future of the auctioned quilts at the fair. They might just need a little break.

“Maybe it’s okay to stop for a few years and restart and people will be interested again,” she said.

The winning bid for the auctioned fair quilts has varied from year to year, but often brings in about $500 to $600 dollars, and Twombly hoped the featured quilt this year could do the same.

Another change the quilt show has seen this year is the display method of the quilts.  In years past, the quilts were hung from clothes lines that eventually drooped by the end of the fair and the quilts would drag on the ground. This year, bars were installed with cut pool noodles over them to keep the quilts off the ground and untouched by the actual bars.

The quilt show is stationed in the far east part of the Varied Industries Building during the fair. The quilts on display are not judged. Entry is open to everyone and anyone who would like to display a quilt they’ve made, a family quilt, a quilt they’ve found at an auction, or any other quilt they’d like to share with others.

The quilt show focuses primarily on showing off the beauty of quilts, and Twombly encourages everyone to stop by and take a look while they’re at the fair.

“It’s [a place for] people to display things they’re proud of, things they like,” she says.  “It’s a positive thing about the fair.”