"A Quilted Feast"

If you are ever planning a trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts and are interested in taking in a wonderful quilt show, be sure to plan on the first weekend in August. The annual show is held at the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich, Massachusetts.

The auditorium and commons room were transformed into a patchwork garden with displays of over 290 quilts. The corridor was filled with more than 20 vendors as well as "Bayberry in Action" in which guild members gave demonstrations of quilting techniques to add "pop" to your quilts. Free demonstrations, lectures and special classes were held throughout the 3-day event. Some interesting demos and lectures were, "Dyeing on Silk", "Sun Printing", "Quilting in Antarctica", "Note Cards with Fabrics", "Dimensional Quilting" and "New Products and Techniques".

"The Garden Party" Frances Murphy Brewster, MA	"Untitled" Marilyn Lahive Brewster, MA

Twenty quilts were entered in this year's challenge, entitled "Cape Cod Buffet". Each entry had to be no larger than 36" square and had to include at least one "food" fabric and had to be at least 20% appliquéd. In addition, members were asked to submit a recipe for inclusion in the Bayberry Cookbook being sold at the boutique.

Special exhibits included youth quilts made by 8 to 13 year olds, "The Birds and the Bees" Traveling Quilt Show and "Stars and Stripes Forever" a patriotic tribute. An American flag quilt entitled "The Forestdale Peace Quilt" dominated the display. Measuring 104" X 184", it was created by the students, staff and volunteers of the Forestdale School in Sandwich. The math department determined how many squares of each color were needed. Seventh and eighth grade students made the blue squares using tie-dye and batik methods. Linoleum and Styrofoam stamps were used by the fourth through sixth grade students to print unique designs in the red squares and the younger students used similar techniques for the white squares. Teachers, students and volunteers from the Common Thread Quilt Shop sewed the quilt together and Judy Gowell did the machine quilting. It truly deserved the Patriotic Viewers Choice award, which it captured. The following link is of the quilt in an exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago April, 2004: http://www.thequiltercommunity.com/tqc/posts/183/ForestdalePeaceQuilt.jpg

Cape Cod offers many treasures for the visitor to the area. This tiny fish-hook-like piece of land is full of colonial history, charming homes, lovely little harbors with seafood restaurants galore, many quilt shops, swimming and beaching in both ocean and many fresh water ponds, camping and fabulous shopping. Be sure to visit Bayberry Quilt Show if you are visiting Cape Cod during the summer.

©2003 Bonnie Ouellette
Seneca, South Carolina

www.thequiltercommunity.com