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Patchwork festival to be June 3
When Jackson County was formed in 1851, hand-sewing, knitting, spinning and weaving was a way of life for women, and these skills were passed down from mother to daughter.
With the advent of the sewing machine, life for the became easier for 19th-century women as hand-sewing dwindled. The inaugural Patchwork Fabric Festival, which is set for Saturday, June 3, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Jackson County Recreational Complex in Cullowhee, will commemorate women who carry on these highly-prized skills.
Area spinner Frances Moore will be among the demonstrators at the inaugural Patchwork Fabric Festival, which is set for Saturday, June 3, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Jackson County Recreational Complex in Cullowhee.
Presented by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, the Appalachian Homestead Farm and Preserve and the Jackson County Recreation and Parks Department, this first-ever inside fabric festival will bring crafters from across the region to showcase handmade fabric crafts including quilting, spinning, weaving, knitting, tatting, crocheting, sewing (clothing, dolls) and works of fabric art. All exhibitors will be in period dress.
Among those displaying their work will be Elly Davey of Cullowhee’s Cane Creek community, who creates 4-1/2-inch folk figures dressed in hand-made fabric dresses, some with tiny aprons. Davey said her figures are meant to portray mountain women of 100 to 150 years ago. The portraits are of hard-working and resourceful women, and each collectable figure is titled, has its own story, is made of natural material and is signed and dated.
Elly Davey of Cane Creek will display her miniature collectable dolls at the inaugural Patchwork Fabric Festival, which is set for Saturday, June 3, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Jackson County Recreational Complex in Cullowhee.
“For this first ever fabric festival, “I’ve made a brand new folk figure called ‘Patchwork,’” Davey said. “I’ll have 15 different folk figures to choose from at the festival.”
Susan Kennedy of Franklin will showcase her 20 years of quilting experience through her award-winning handmade purses. A self-taught seamstress and quilter, Susan hand-quilts her own designs, then uses machine-quilting to complete each purse. She won first place in the novelty category at the Pigeon Forge (Tenn.) Quilt Fest earlier this year.
The Patchwork Fabric Festival will also feature demonstrations by 84-year old Annie Lee Bryson of Cane Creek (crocheting), Frances Moore of Franklin (spinning), Nan Smith of Sylva (crocheting), Arbra Gibson of Cullowhee (tatting), Ginger Schlaard of Graham County (Brazilian embroidery), Catch the Spirit Board (quilting) and artists from Dogwood Crafters of Dillsboro (quilting, knitting, solf-sculptured dolls).
Vendors featuring homemade food will be under tents in the yard and will offer traditional mountain fare including corn-on-the-cob, pinto beans and cornbread from the Appalachian Homestead Farm and Preserve; homemade salsa with chips, mountain slaw, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers provided by Linda Vinson, award-winning cook of “A Pinch from the Little Brown Jar;” and a sweets and dessert booth from a local church.
To learn more about the Patchwork Fabric Festival, call Catch the Spirit at 631-4587 or the Rec Center at 293-3053.
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