Sackets Harbor, NY – An original hand-quilted and hand-embroidered “Historic and Modern Day Seaway Trail†design by Beverly Filkins of Pulaski was judged the quilt that best tells the story of “wheeling†along the 518-mile-long Great Lakes Seaway Trail at the byway’s annual quilt show in Sackets Harbor, NY.
Featured quilter displays and competition entry quilts for the 2010 show highlighted both quilting techniques and the travel experience along the Great Lakes Seaway Trail that is one of America’s Byways and a National Recreation Trail.
Filkins says, “I combined the richness of the past and the boldness of the modern day Seaway Trail with historic Fort Niagara, Horse Island Lighthouse and the Seaway Trail Discovery Center (in the former Union Hotel built in 1817) with the present-day recreational activities of fishing and sightseeing the natural beauty of the byway.â€Â
Filkins dedicated the quilt to her great-great grandfather Enoch Barnes, who was a preacher and a participant in the Battle of Sackets Harbor in the way of 1812. She received a $50 cash prize made possible by the Seaway Trail Foundation and the Orleans County Country Barn Quilt Trail, a 22-mile loop tour off the byway with more than 40 barns painted with quilt block patterns.
The show’s quilts in total highlight the Great Lakes Seaway Trail byway travel experience that includes waterfront vistas, bicycling, a taste of deep-fried pickles in Erie, PA, historic forts, lighthouses, sailing, weddings at the 1000 Islands’ Boldt Castle and Niagara Falls, military history and the mariners’ service, the byway’s scenic colors and natural beauty, birdwatching, fishing, farm market shopping, winter fun, live along the St. Lawrence River, and the Native culture and symbols of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation.
Kathy Schwalm of Pulaski exhibited a wallhanging titled “Nikole’s Window,†made for her daughter’s new office. Linda Phillips of Oswego used a “mariner’s compass†pattern, one of the oldest quilt block designs in America, for her “Sailing Around with My Compass in Circles†quilt show entry. Phillips says she was inspired by Lake Ontario and Lake Erie sunsets and those seen from the Oswego shoreline.
Quilts were received from several of the byway’s 11 counties, from Santa Barbara, Ojai and Goleta, California; and Hogansburg, Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. Each entry received a special gift.
To see the show’s Viewer’s Choice winning quilts and learn more about quilt theme travel the Great Lakes Seaway Trail, go online to www.seawaytrail.com or call 315-646-1000. A photo CD of the 2010 show quilts that includes six new circle and wheel patterns designed by award-winning quilter Mary Knapp is available from Seaway Trail, Inc., 315-646-1000.
The 2011 Great Lakes Seaway Trail Quilt Show will feature the works of NY and Pennsylvania quilters who have published books, articles or patterns. # # #
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