Patchwork of art, economics to be found at quilt show

The 26th annual Hill City Quilt and Fiber Arts  show is taking over Hill City for two days Sept. 6-7. 

“It’s a big thing,” said Lorena Freis, this year’s coordinator. Over 350 quilts have been entered.

A majority of the quilts will be in Gins Gym at Hill City High School.

Thirty-nine quilts will be hung up and down Main Street in Hill City.

While most quilts entered into the show come from women, about 10 to 15 men enter quilts into the show. 

“There’s a teacher from Chadron, Nebraska, that  usually enters every year, and he enters five or six of them,” Freis said. 

Freis said there are many male retirees that take up quilting as a means to share their wife’s passion. She finds in her store, The Farmer’s Daughter, oftentimes men are the ones picking out the fabric for their wife’s quilt. 

“That is a shift that I see,” Freis said.

The Hill City Quilt Guild, which sponsors the quilt show, has been in town for nearly 30 years and has gone through attrition as people have aged out or moved away. Freis saidabout seven or eight years ago the guild had only eight members. Through a concerted effort to grow the membership, it now has a robust 54 members, some from as far away as Minnesota.

The show itself was impacted when the guild numbers declined. Freis credits former Hill City Chamber of Commerce director Janet Wetovick-Bily as being instrumental  in keeping the show alive.

“She and I had a conversation that said, ‘How can we let that go? How can we even begin to think about not letting that happen because of the economic impact of that weekend on this town?’” 

The Hill City Arts Council also supported the show for a bit, adding in  the fiber arts category as a means to grow the event. There are 49 fiber arts entries into the show this year. This category grows each year.

“Now that the quilt guild is larger again and has lots of able-bodied people again,  we’re back at it again,” Freis said. 

“Everybody loves the show,” Freis said, adding the show is one of the biggest passions of the guild, since it allows members to pass on their love of fabric and quilting to the next generation.

“There has to be a younger generation that gets excited about it,” Freis said, aware that current quilt guild members will also eventually age out. 

“When you can see 350 finished beautiful quilts, there’s something there that sparks an interest in attendees that are 30, that are 18.”

Vicki Barlean, owner of Re-Imagined by Vicki, will be this year’s quilting featured artist for the quilt show.

Barlean grew up in Hill City and has spent most of her life in the Black Hills. Barlean began quilting in the 1990s and has been longarm quilting, her true passion, for 23 years. 

Kim Oslund from SlipKnits will be the show’s featured fiber artist. Oslund has been crocheting since she was a child. She finds satisfaction in turning nothing into something. Oslund loves to share her passion for fiber and creating with others. 

The show allows guests an opportunity to visit with each featured artist and learn more about their work.

The show itself is an enormous production. The quilt guild members gain access to the school after volleyball practice ends  Friday afternoon, usually around 4:30 p.m. That’s when the pipe and drape gets hung. Volunteers come in to help hang quilts at about 6 p.m., after a quick dinner that guild members host. 

“Our goal has to have them all done before midnight,” said Freis.

The show opens to the public Saturday at 9 a.m. and runs to 4 p.m. At 5 p.m., there is a prepaid dinner, which has already sold out, at the Little White Church. 

After dinner, at 6:30, quilt guild members do a trunk show with a quilt turning in the church sanctuary. People can hear about  why members made their first quilt and favorite quilt. Freis’ first quilt was pink and green. 

“As I was sewing it, my niece, who was 53 and in Virginia, had a massive stroke and she had to learn how to walk, how to use the restroom, how to do everything all over again. She was on my heart and on my mind the entire time I sewed that quilt. So I mailed it to her. She always knows that Uncle Rickie and Aunt Rena love her. It’s just a physical ‘I see this and I know that my uncle and aunt love me,’” Freis said. 

Sunday morning, prior to the show opening to the public, quilt guild members put ribbons on the winning quilts. The show opens again to the public at 9 a.m. Sunday and runs until 4 p.m. Quilt show members then tear everything down, accounting for all the quilts, bagging them and giving them to their respective owners.

There are several awards given out during the show, including a Hill City Award, chosen this year by a member of the Hill City Ambulance Service. There is also a People’s Choice Award and a Best of Show award. 

Entry to the show is $7 and is good for both days. The money collected goes back into the quilt show fund to help pay for expenses related to the show, including pipe and drape and the school rental. 

“The show is a fabulous display of talent. Even if you’re not a quilter, even if you’re not artsy, you can be a quilt appreciator. You can appreciate the fact that someone spent a lot of time doing that,” Freis said. 

There are also a lot of vendors to visit, selling fabric, patterns and unique fiber arts products. 

The Hill City show is considered one of the best in the region. This year a quilt guild from Watertown contacted show organizers and is bringing  a busload of 38 quilters from surrounding states to attend the show. 

“They are driving here on Thursday. They are visiting quilts shops in Rapid  City and Spearfish on Friday,” said Freis.

The group is attending the quilt show on Saturday, and have dinner planned along with the trunk show Saturday night before departing Sunday afternoon. 

“They are coming just for the quilt show,” Freis said, saying the huge economic impact the show has on Hill City. 

“You have 1,200 women coming to town without their husbands,” Freis said. “They spend an incredible amount of money in this town. They’re here. They go to the show so they’re supporting the guild. They eat throughout town all weekend long.

“The impact of those 1,200 people that come to the show is felt everywhere—lodging, shopping, dining.”