Quilters blanket Arena Building for River Heritage show

A quilt from a distance looks like a blanket. But in quilting, like magic tricks or dusting, the really big points come from what's no longer visible.

The River Heritage Quilt Guild's biennial quilt show opened Saturday morning at the Arena Building in Cape Girardeau, showcasing some of the most elaborate -- and deceptively simple -- quilting from around the region.

Quilts are first an art form, a mode of expression and visual storytelling.

Quilts also can be marvels of craftsmanship, as were the ones on display Saturday.

"It's really something incredible," said guild member Missy Ferguson, as she ran gloved fingers along the hand-stitched embroidery of the top-prize-earning quilt in the hand-sewn category.

About 100 quilts are displayed during the River Heritage Quilt Guild's biennial Regional Quilt Show on Saturday at the Arena Building.Tyler Graef

Hanging on its massive frame, it was a monolithic testament to the patience of its maker, twice as tall as Ferguson and dotted with millions of tiny stitches.

Another of the first-prize quilts used a technique called applique, which, on the prize-winning quilt, was done with such skill as to make the needlework invisible.

"Most people don't realize," she said of the attention to detail in experienced quilters, of which Ferguson is one.

She had one of her own quilts hanging in the show as well. It's simpler, mostly white, with 12 blue flowers outlined in rows.

"These were blocks ... that I found in my mother's stuff when she passed away," Ferguson said.

About 100 quilts are displayed during the River Heritage Quilt Guild's biennial Regional Quilt Show on Saturday at the Arena Building.Tyler Graef

There were only 11, so she traced the 12th and made a quilt out of it. She pointed out blue dots, only visible from inches away, put there by the manufacturer decades ago.

"And those would have washed out," she said, had the fabric been used earlier. Now, they've set and serve as so many endearing little freckles in a quilt that already spans generations.

Another guild member, Merle Deneke, has been quilting for more than 20 years.

"I've sewn since I was 12 or 13 years old, so I got interested in quilting and actually started quilting in 1993," she said.

When she started out, she said, making one "block" was a challenge, but now she can crank out several in a sitting.

Two of Deneke's quilts won ribbons this year, which she said was a welcome surprise.

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"Well, you see, several years ago I got a blue ribbon and I was just ecstatic," Deneke said. "I never considered I would get a second or a third and especially not on these quilts because there's just so much competition ... I just put these quilts in because I like to display. I like to see my quilts, I like [for] people to see my quilts. I was jumping up and down for joy."

The ribbons are even hand-quilted by guild members.

"We all covet these ribbons," Deneke said, but later explained her primary reason for quilting.

"First of all," she said, "I made the quilt because I think it's beautiful."

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573)388-3627

Pertinent address:

Arena Building, Cape Girardeau, Mo.