MORRISONVILLE — The plus side of the COVID-19 pandemic brought time and opportunity to North Country residents.
For Bethany Krawiec, 81, it was chance to assemble scraps of cloth into “Covid Corvids,” which won “Best in Show” at the Champlain Quilters Guild of NY XIX Show, “A Country Festival of Quilts,” held Aug. 9-10 at the Clinton County Fairgrounds in Morrisonville.
“I made it during COVID from scraps that I had from nine-patches and four-patches that I have been making for many years just as I was making other quilts and decided it was time to put them together,” she said. “I had made kind of an abstract cow quilt years ago like that, and there were ravens around, so I made some ravens same style as I made the cow quilt and I put it together. All of my quilts are kind of improvisational where I’m just doing what needs to be done. So, I put the ravens together probably a few years before that and just kind of pieced together what I got.”
The Jay resident retired from teaching mathematics and science at a Pennsylvania boys’ boarding school and relocated to the Adirondacks to paddle and quilt.
Besides “COVID Corvids,” Krawiec exhibited four small quilts from her “Leave No Trace” series, which features fish lures, fish lines, and other debris she picks up as she paddles. Her “Diamond in the Rough,” another improv gem, won the “Original Design” ribbon.
The self-taught quilter has quilted for 50 years.
“Back in that day, there weren’t quilt shops and there weren’t quilt books,” she said. “I did attend one of the first quilt workshops or conferences in ‘76 as part of the Bicentennial in Ithaca, New York. They were the first ones to kind of break out of the traditional block patterns, so I saw that at the forefront.”
The show featured between 135 and 140 quilts made by Guild members. The Viewers Choice ribbon was awarded to Pam Schafer for her “Into the Woods” quilt, which features a bear feasting on honey while bees swarm around.
Other awards included:
Judges Ribbons
“Chillin with my Snowmies” — Cathy Brown
“The Flower Garden” — Pam Schafer
“Great North Woods” — Robin Mitchell
“David’s Quilt” — Judy Buchholz
“Harvest Moon” — Bev Juneau
“English Garden” — Robin Mitchell
“My Favorites in Teal” – Marilyn Doyle
Vendors Ribbons
“Blue and White” — Dianne Rodgers
“Tyler’s Project” — Lora Barstow
“Into the Woods” — Pam Schafer
“Twisted Knot” — Robin Mitchell
“Portal to Another World” — Robin Mitchell
“Heron at the Marsh” — Carol Crowningshield
“Red-black-white Creative grid ruler” — Tomi Seguin
“Mexican Star” — Dianne Rodgers
Categories
Best in Show — “Covid Corvids” by Bethany Krawiec
Long arm — “Chaos in the Garden” by Michelle Toth
Domestic — “Star of Bethlehem” by Jan Bunn
Original design — “Diamond in the Rough” by Bethany Krawiec
Small — “Mexican Star” by Tomi Seguin
Medium — “Happy Gnomes” by Karen Collins
Large — “Poppy Quilt” by Robin Mitchell
Panel — “Wonderful Time” by Bev Juneau
Novice — “Scrappy Mountain” by Sarah Cosgro
Applique/Embroidery — “Block and Bloom” by Jo Anna Geer
Paper Piece — “Portal to Another World” by Robin Mitchell
Other — “Tree Skirt” by Karen Collins
Handwork — “English Garden” by Robin Mitchell
Viewers Choice — “Into the Woods” by Pam Schafer