Museum Quilt Guild

Press Release:

In this second pandemic year, members of the Museum Quilt Guild, Batavia, NY, have again donated holiday themed bags filled with gifts to the local Salvation Army. Using a list provided by the Salvation Army, bags are filled with items for children ranging from infants to 15 years. In 2020, the total was 65 filled bags and over 100 empty bags for their use. This year, there were 64 Bags filled, 32 empty gift bags for their use, and 18 stuffed bears. Captain Rachel Moore, who accepted the donations said the teddy bears would be perfect gifts for the infants.

Giving to the community has always been a big part of the Guild’s activities. Since March of 2020, it has been a great way for members to stay connected. The guild was unable to meet in person for 15 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. “At first, as so many of us did, we all figured once the ‘Pause’ in New York ended, we’d get right back to our regular meeting schedule,“ said guild president, Martha Lorshbaugh. But as a couple of weeks turned into months, they realized they would need to find a different way to maintain their connections. One of the members who is an elementary school teacher had become somewhat of an expert at running Zoom meetings, so she took on the role of host for the members to meet virtually. In addition to the monthly meeting, sessions were added for members just to chat, called “friendship meetings.” Many did handwork as they chatted, so work sessions to share the “Community Service” projects they were working on were added. The community service committee arranged for members to pick up kits and supplies for these projects, and then drop off completed items. Many organizations were not collecting donations in 2020, but having all these items ready allowed the guild to provide many items when restrictions were lifted. This year the guild has donated quilts to provide comfort to individuals being served by the following organizations: the VA Medical Center in Batavia (19), NYS Home for Veterans (5), WNY Foster Closet (10), Lipson Cancer Center (10) and All Babies Cherished (2).

In addition to quilts to be used by individuals, the guild offers quilts to be used for fundraising by local organizations. In 2021 this has included one donation each to the Caledonia Library; Gateway Hospice, Attica; Presbyterian Church, Batavia and The Genesee Orleans Arc. Members are happy to fill needs other than quilts. Twenty-nine patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer at Roswell were also gifted with heart pillows to aid in their comfort and recovery.

The guild resumed in-person meetings last summer, meeting outdoors for the summer months. At that first meeting, many quilts were presented to be donated. In October, the guild was finally allowed back to their regular meeting space at the VA Medical Center. At each meeting, at least one item is presented at “Show and Tell” that will be given to the community service committee. “Quilters like to keep busy and knowing our work will give comfort to someone in need is a very good feeling!” said Ms. Lorshbaugh. The guild holds regular Community Service work sessions each year at their monthly meetings for the purpose of working on projects for donation. The next one will be in March of 2022. Organizations may make requests to the guild via our website: www.themuseumquiltguild.com, or Museum Quilt Guild, PO Box 268, Batavia, NY 14020.

The Guild is also excited to be able to invite the public to view our exhibit of “challenge” quilts at the Richmond Memorial Library in February. This had been annual exhibit until last year, so members are looking forward to another step towards a more predictable event calendar. New members are always welcome in the guild! Meetings are held the third Saturday of every month (second Saturday in December) at the VA Medical Center, 222 Richmond Avenue, Batavia, NY (Bldg 4, 2nd floor- use the patio entrance). Meetings begin at 9:30 a.m. You are welcome to attend two (2) meetings as a guest. If you decide to join, dues are $20.00 per year.

From Lori Ivison of the Museum Quilt Guild:

It is with sadness that the Museum Quilt Guild of Batavia announces the cancellation of our biannual Quilt Show originally scheduled at Alexander Fire Hall the weekend of Oct. 16-18.

The health and safety of our members and our guests is our primary concern (COVID-19 pandemic). Currently, there are no plans to reschedule the quilt show.

Please watch for future meeting information for our members.

Press release:

The members of the Museum Quilt Guild of Batavia will soon be enjoying the talents of renowned quilter and instructor, Linda M. Poole, of Milford, Pa., when she visits the guild for three days next month. The public is also invited.

Author of "Painted Appliqué: A New Approach," Poole stays busy as a quilt instructor, lecturer, and fabric designer, and her life revolves around photography, writing, painting and sewing.

To see her work, visit her website.

She has a passion for travel, teaching and sharing her experiences with people around the world. She has taught throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey and Italy.

The guild is very lucky to be able to invite instructors of this caliber to the area every other year, opposite their biennial quilt show. In the past, such names as Wendy Butler Berns and Paula Nadelstern have visited.

Most of the members would never get an opportunity to learn from these well-known instructors without traveling to larger venues.

Poole will be teaching classes using her “painted appliqué” technique.

On Thursday, Oct. 17, the class is titled “Acorn Wreath." On Friday, Oct. 18, the class is “Monarch Butterfly.” Classes will be held from 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Batavia First United Methodist Church, 8221 Lewiston Road, Batavia.

There are still openings in the classes, and you don’t have to be a guild member to attend. Fee for each class is $60, plus a $35 fee for a kit containing almost everything needed for the class.

Poole will be presenting a lecture titled “A Quilted Journey Around the World” at the guild’s regular meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, at the VA Medical Center (Building 4, west end, second floor), 222 Richmond Ave., Batavia. The public is welcome to attend. Admission fee is $5.

For more information on the classes or the guild, contact Martha Lorshbaugh: 585-993-0357 or lorshbaughm@gmail.com, or visit the guild website.

Photos of examples of Poole's quilts from her website.

Submitted photo: Mary Tuttle celebrates her 95th birthday at a luncheon at Fortune's restaurant at Batavia Downs.

When Frances Ford was preparing to celebrate her 100^th birthday several years ago, her wish was to have lunch at Fortune’s at Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel.

Her celebration started a tradition which the Office for the Aging continues today.

Each summer for the past four or five years, one or more members of the Senior Center’s Quilters have celebrated a milestone birthday at Fortune’s.

Because Ford was going to be 100, Barbara Matarazzo, receptionist at the Senior Center, arranged for her to be transported to lunch in a Mustang convertible. This was repeated for her 101^st.

“Unfortunately, Frances never saw 102,” Matarazzo said. “After that, we began celebrating the birthdays of seniors who were 90-plus. That included Mary Tuttle and Madeline Harding. We planned to celebrate Madeline’s 91^st birthday in July, but she passed away just a few weeks before her birthday.”

The latest lunch celebrated the 95^th birthday of Mary Tuttle. Harding’s family also attended the luncheon and her name was included on the birthday cake, with a sign made by Mary Bucceri, group sales manager at Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel. 

“I know in spirit, Madeline was part of the celebration,” Bucceri said. 

Batavia Downs' Fortune's has always been the Quilters and the birthday celebrities first choice in where they wanted to go and celebrate, Matarazzo said. 

“I can honestly say that working with Batavia Downs has been a privilege, especially with Mary Bucceri, who is always my contact person,” Matarazzo said. “Between Mary and the Batavia Downs staff, they make the birthday celebrations a memory for all of us.”

“I think the most important part of my job is knowing I’ve made someone’s day extra special,” Bucceri said. “When I hosted Frances Ford’s 100^th birthday in 2016, I learned so much about her lifestyle that day, it was totally amazing.”

Keeping busy is one reason two seniors believe they are enjoying life into their 90s.

Madeline Harding, of Batavia, turned 90 on June 15, while Mary Tuttle, also of Batavia, was 94 on July 18. Harding was born in Yorkshire and graduated from Wyoming County Academy, where she studied Nursing. She became a nursing supervisor at the former St. Jerome Hospital, then retired from the Genesee County Nursing Home.

She and her husband, Frank, 93, have four children, six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. They enjoyed traveling all over the world, but aren’t able to do it anymore. England was her favorite destination, Harding said. They have been there several times.

Harding said she joined the Senior Quilters because she has always liked to do crafts and her mother was a quilter.

She still drives, “but very carefully,” she said.

Tuttle was born in Blossburg, Pa., and met her husband when her father moved to Perry for work.

She learned to quilt after they retired to Florida, where they lived for 21 years until moving back to Batavia for his health.

Tuttle has always loved to sing and said she would sing “Anywhere they let me.” She starred in her first operetta at age 5 at PerryHigh School, playing the part of Baby Bear.

“You gotta’ stay happy,” she said.

She and her husband had two children, five grandchildren, and 11 grandchildren.

When decided where they wanted to celebrate their birthdays, Harding and Tuttle chose Fortune’s at Batavia Downs, because it was a favorite spot of their friend and former quilter, Frances Ford. Ford, who would have been 102 a week ago, died in May.

The Senior Quilters have made more than 15 quilts for Quilts of Valor. They donate quilts to the VA Nursing Home, Migrant Day Care Center, Cancer Treatment Center, Social Services and the surgical center at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester.

Their newest quilt raffle will be in September. They are selling tickets for $1 each or three for $2.

New quilters are welcome to join the group from 9 a.m. to noon every Wednesday.

Top photo: The Senior Quilters, who meet Wednesdays at the Genesee County Office for the Aging, celebrated the birthdays of two of their members, Madeline Harding and Mary Tuttle (both seated) this week. Holding a quilt they will raffle off in September are, from left, Cheryl Bauer, Marge Coniber, Linda Nalbach, Donna Tomski, Harding, Tuttle and Irene Pierce.

Two seniors chose to celebrate their special birthdays' quilting at the Senior Center on Bank Street, before going to lunch at Fortune’s in Batavia Downs. Madeline Harding, left, turned 90 on June 15 and Mary Tuttle was 94 on July 18.

A local quilter is getting some posthumous recognition in a place far from home -- Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The daughter of Toni Fietz, a Bethany native, is the U.S. Consul General posted in Guayaquil. Tricia Fietz arranged for the show as part of a celebration sponsored by the Embassy for U.S.'s 239th birthday.

The show is being held through July 24 at Museum of Modern Art and Anthropology (Museo Antropologico y de Arte Contemporanea) and an opening reception was attended by U.S. Ambassador Adam Namm.

The exhibition features eight large quilts, seven wall-hangings, a quilted tablecloth and a work-in-progress on a quilting frame to illustrate the process.

Toni Fietz, who passed away in July 2012, became an avid quilter after a visit to the Genesee Country Museum in Mumford, where she saw quilting being demonstrated. She was a member of the (Holland Land Office) Museum Quilt Guild and the Log Cabin Quilt Guild.

Quilt lovers will have their pick of everything from fabrics to fancy threads, from big to small, and from modern to traditional at the "Stitches in Time 2012 Quilt Show."

This is the Museum Quilt Guild's biennial quilt show, and it will take place from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m Friday, Oct. 19 and from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20. It will be at the Alexander Fireman's Recreation Hall, at 10708 Alexander Road/Route 98 in Alexander.

Included in the two-day event will be a vendor's mall, a boutique where people can buy quilts, a silent auction and a raffle.

Raffle tickets will be available at the following venues:

• Farmers Market at the Batavia Downs parking lot (at 8315 Park Road in Batavia) from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Fridays
• Brick House Corner's Fair (at 1145 Main Road in Corfu)

All quilts, including the raffle quilt (which can be viewed at the above locations), are made by guild members. Admission is $5.

Guild Publicity Chairperson Mary Ellen Hartwick said the proceeds will be donated to the Veteran's Administration, the Holland Land Office Museum and "a very active Community Service Program" (quoted from press release).

"Through the Community Service Program," Hartwick said, "many, many quilts are made and donated each year to organizations such as All Babies Cherished, the YWCA for their Domestic Violence Shelter, St. Luke's Mission of Mercy and the Batavia Agri-Business Child Development Center."

They have also donated quilts to fundraisers for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Genesee ARC, the Gillam-Grant Community Center and HomeCare & Hospice.

Guild meetings are held the third Saturday of every month at the Batavia VA auditorium, at 222 Richmond Ave. in Batavia. Meetings are from 9:30 a.m. until noon, and anyone who is interested in making quilts is encouraged to attend.

For more information on the quilt show, contact Hartwick at emmy_1953@yahoo.com or call 409-9297. People can also learn more by visiting the Museum Quilt Guild's blog page about the event.

Photo courtesy of Mary Ellen Hartwick. Pictured front row, from left: Mary Lu Hodgins, Mary Ellen Casey, Melanie Watson, Eileen Partise, Alex Hammon and Jamie Hammon.

Back row, from left: Barb Brady, Lori Anderson, Kate Martin, Chris Kuehl, Jean Butzer, Elaine Ross, Dodie Morrison, Kathy Belluscio, Anne O'Geen, Carol McNally and Dorothy Doerrer.

Mary Ellen Ames, of Elba, won the "Best Traditional Quilt" award at the 24th annual Northeast Quilts Unlimited competition held at the Arts Center in Old Forge, NY.

Her quilt is entitled "Harvest Song," and along with the others in the competition, it will be on display there until Nov. 11. The quilt display is a favorite yearly event that transforms the gallery into "a pleasant plethora of pattern and patchwork."

Handmade artisan quilts from across the nation are hung gallery style for everyone to see in their full glory. The competition features both traditional and eclectic quilts as well as wall hangings

For more information, click here.