Ramona Berg has been quilting since 2003, but in glancing at her portfolio, you wouldn’t know it. From simple table runners to oversized pieces featuring intricate stitching and designs, the collection is vast. And, come Friday, the public will get a chance to view these handiworks at the Country Quilters Guild’s 2015 show at the Willmar Civic Center, 2707 Arena Drive N.E.
Berg is the featured quilter for the three-day, biennial festival and fundraiser, which runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
“Proceeds from the show are used for educational programs and also for purchasing materials to make charity and comfort quilts which benefit the community,” Quilt Show Chair Kim Rhody said in a news release. “In the last year, Country Quilters made and donated more than 100 quilts for area soldiers and veterans.”
A nonprofit, the Country Quilters Guild was formed in 1983 to promote the art of quilting, Berg said, and its 125 members share in a range of styles that include traditional, antique, contemporary and fiber arts.
Some 300 of their quilts will be on display.
Berg’s works mostly reflect a modern style with batik - a technique of hand-dyeing fabrics by using wax as a dye repellent to cover parts of a design - and contemporary fabrics. She also has a fondness for asymmetrical designs that feature non linear and arc elements, a number of which are mounted as art and adorn the walls of the Craftsman-style home she designed with her husband, Corky, on Willmar’s southwest side.
“It’s a very rewarding hobby,” said Berg, a retired teacher. “It’s a creative outlet. If days go by where I don’t get to go into my sewing room I get crabby.”
Her featured piece at this weekend’s show is dubbed “Maple Island.”
An oversize coverlet framed in rich blues, it features a collage of multicolored maple leaves that represent jettisoned fall foliage.
The piece will be on display at Berg’s booth, where she will be available to discuss her process with the public and offer some pointers.
A number of other presentations are also scheduled throughout Saturday.
Cost for the event is $5 for adults. Children ages 12 and under can enter for free.
