by Trish Rudder
The Delectable Mountains Quilt Guild has been presenting shows in Berkeley Springs for 40 years, and this year’s “Take Me Home Country Roads” 2024 quilt show will open Friday, July 26 and remain on display through Sunday, September 15 at the Morgan County Arts Center Ice House.
The Ice House hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is located on the corner of Mercer and Independence streets in downtown Berkeley Springs.
The 2024 Delectable Mountains Quilt Guild reception will be held on Saturday, July 27 from 3-5 p.m.
Quilter Dottie O’Toole, president of the quilt guild, will curate the show. O’Toole is also a member of the Mountain Mama Quilters, who make Quilts of Valor for the veterans who served in the military.
The Delectable Mountains quilts will hang in the Ice House and will continually be replaced as they are sold, she said.
“We are venturing out with newer fabrics,” said Susan Taylor-Dropp, the guild treasurer. She designed and made a multi-colored Infinity neck scarf made from silk.
Purses made from men’s ties will also be featured and sold in the Boutique area.
Carolyn Taylor, a quilter since 2005, made silk purses for her daughters from her deceased husband’s tie collection. Taylor said she is being commissioned to make them for others.
She will teach a class at the Ice House on Saturday, August 10 at 11 a.m. For more information on the classes available, go to delectablemountainsquiltguild.com.
Quilter Cheryl Rink also makes silk purses and tissue box covers made from Dupioni Silk, which will be available in the Boutique area of the quilt show.
She has been a Delectable Mountains Quilt Guild member since 2003.
“It’s so stimulating and we learn from each other,” Rink said. The guild loves having beginners “because we love quilting. It’s a divine obsession,” she said.
The quilt guild has about 65 members, O’Toole said, and Maryland resident Beverly Kotchenreuther is a newer member that joined about a year ago.
At the guild meeting on July 3, she was working on a double-bed size quilt that will be added to her private collection of 40 quilts for Tunnels to Towers, an organization that proceeds from the quilt sales will help veterans and first responders secure a down payment for a home.
It will honor her brother who was a combat pilot and served for 23 years in the U.S. Air Force, she said.
