Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center to Host 10th Annual Quilters’ Roadshow

The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center will host the 10th annual Quilters’ Roadshow on Saturday, October 28, 2017, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in a celebration of color, creativity and vitality of fall in the Smokies.

Roadshow visitors will have the opportunity to learn from Quilters Hall of Fame member Merikay Waldvogel – an author and national speaker on historic quilts.

Bridget Matlock, current president of the Ronald McDonald Quilters Guild, member of the Smoky Mountain Quilters of East Tennessee and award-winning and renowned expert on quilting, will also speak at the event, alongside Becky Harris, a quilt appraiser and historian who catalogued quilts for the national website TheQuiltIndex.org.

Waldvogel, Matlock and Harris will explain the origins of the quilt and its journey from functional bedding to pieces of art. Event attendees are encouraged to bring their own quilts and register them at the door for these quilting experts to analyze the age and design of their quilt as well as offer preservation tips.

“We are excited to hold the Quilters’ Roadshow for the 10th year,” said Don Alexander of the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center. “We hope long-time quilters and novices alike will join us for this event. Our three experts will truly offer a unique learning experience not available anywhere else. Their wealth of knowledge on the art of quilting will have something to offer anyone who is interested in this art form and heritage.”

Attendees may also bring their own sewing kits to help quilters from the Smoky Mountain Quilters and Foothills Quilters piece together quilts for the Ronald McDonald House.

The Quilters’ Roadshow is sponsored by the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Blount Partnership. The Heritage Center is located at 123 Cromwell Dr. in Townsend. Admission is $5 and free for GSMHC members and children 5 and under.