Friends in Stitches Quilt Guild will be hosting its annual quilt show this Saturday, providing quilting enthusiasts in the area an opportunity to shop, appreciate some of the guild’s work and learn about the art.

Though there are a number of quilting clubs throughout Monroe County consisting of friends who get together for their sewing, Friends in Stitches stands out in the area as a guild.

Debbie Karwoski and Patti Stirnaman, the co-chairs for the upcoming quilt show, spoke about the coming event as well as what a quilt guild is all about.

Though neither of them were with the guild when it first came together over a decade ago, both have been members for several years.

Karwoski explained that unlike a quilting bee or club, a guild is far more focused on education and keeping the art of quilting alive rather than simply putting needles to work.

“We do not get together and quilt. It’s a real meeting,” Karwoski said. “We have officers, and we have a program. Some months we have a guest speaker.”

She added that these speakers – and a major part of each meeting – focus on sharing a particular talent or skill pertaining to the art of quilting.

Stirnaman offered additional thoughts on what makes Friends in Stitches a proper guild.

Charity is a major aspect of the group, as they have put together 106 charity quilts for groups such as Project Linus, Monroe County House of Neighborly Service and the Fisher House at Jefferson Barracks.

Given that the club makes quilts for charity and other purposes, Stirnaman noted that the group does have sewing days as well as special classes and other gatherings outside of the regular monthly meeting.

As both Stirnaman and Karwoski described, learning is a key element of the guild.

“The whole idea of it is people liking quilts,” Karwoski said. “You don’t really have to know how to make them to like them. You can be a member without making them because you’ll learn enough that you’ll want to try. There’s always somebody there to help you. Somebody knows how to do it if you don’t.”

Stirnaman said there is a fairly diverse group of quilters at the meetings, with younger and older members alike getting a feel for different styles of quilting.

“If you have younger members, they seem more interested in modern quilting, and old members are more interested in traditional quilting,” Stirnaman said. “I think the older members are really open. It’s fun to watch the older members be excited by what the younger people are doing.”

Along with diversity in age, the group also seems to attract a number of people from both in and out of Monroe County.

Karwoski spoke about members coming from St. Louis and Florissant, Mo., as well as one coming down from Beckemeyer.

Stirnaman also mentioned a previous member who was a St. Louis artist, providing some different perspectives to the group both as a man and as someone exposed to a variety of different art styles.

The coming quilt show will be the fourth annual show organized by Friends in Stitches. It serves as its primary fundraiser for the year, helping members get fabric for charity quilts among other things.

Taking place at Hope Christian Church south of Columbia on Sept. 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the event will feature a number of vendors – including one vendor selling quilt batting by the yard.

The guild itself will have a boutique with a particular fall and holiday theme for those interested in picking up some local creations.

There will also be a general display with over 100 quilts shown.

Stirnaman noted the tremendous amount of time, effort and money that goes into each of the quilts that will be displayed as well as the variety of styles that can be seen.

“They can expect to see all different kinds of quilts, from the traditional quilts that you think your grandma made to the more modern quilts which have more white space and lots of quilting or maybe more abstract quilting,” Stirnaman said. “Those are called art quilts.”

Another big highlight of the six-hour show is a “Quilts with Memories” bed turning which runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with guests hearing the story of a quilter’s work as it’s displayed.

For the education aspect of the event, a demonstration of the flange binding technique will begin at 11:30 a.m., and a block-in-a-block demonstration will begin at 2 p.m.

Admission for the event is $5 per person, with children admitted for free.

Outside of the quilt show, Friends in Stitches meets at 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the Monroe County Annex at 901 Illinois Avenue in Waterloo, with a number of other gatherings taking place throughout each month.

Anyone interested in quilting is invited to attend.