Entertainment
Calling All Quilters Festival offers one-stop shop for crafters BY LAURA LATZKO Quilters, crafters and sewers are similar in many ways to car club members, in that they spend hours working on projects, take pride in their finished work, enjoy getting together with like-minded individuals and love to share pictures of their progress. The Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival at WestWorld of Scottsdale September 2 to September 4 caters to enthusiasts at different skill levels with classes, demos, make-and-take activities and specialty vendors. Each day before doors open, attendees will have a chance to win anywhere from $10 to $100 in cash or gift certificates. Show Sponsor Mulqueen Sewing and Fabric Centers, a local company with four sewing and fabric centers in the Phoenix area, will also be giving away a $1,000 sewing machine and a $25,000 sewing room setup. The event is put on by Rusty Barn Promotion Group Inc., which holds two festivals each year in Phoenix. The company started doing festivals in Phoenix 27 years ago. Chris Butler, co-owner of Rusty Barn, says the festivals draw around 10,000 people annually and bring in people from other states, including California. Butler says the show is designed to get more people interested in quilting, sewing and crafting as well as helping local
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fabric stores to connect with new customers. “They’ve told us that after a show, they will have people coming in, looking for what they might have missed to finish their product, one, two and three Raylene Salazar of Quilters Haven months later,” Butler says. decorates her booth with quilts “It really does help them made by her mother. (Photo courtesy of Raylene Salazar) not just at the show, but it helps them after in making ments, cutting systems, yarns, knitting sales.” The festival offers an opportunity for tools, doll-making and needle-art supattendees to ask questions and have one- plies, fabrics, quilting kits and patterns, on-one conversations with the vendors, applique patterns and stenciling and embossing tools. especially if they are new to hobbies. Local quilt guilds will also be out at the “The vendors are very patient, very full of information. They know not everyone show to share information on their ofis a pro, and they know that’s our job, to ferings. Rusty Barn splits a portion of its educate the next generation,” Butler says. proceeds with the guilds, which help to Guests can peruse 300 vendor booths, promote the show. The guilds are also able to provide inmany of which have the newest and hottest machines, notions, patterns and formation on local resources for quilters, sewers and crafters in the Phoenix area. techniques on the market. Butler says recently certain hobbies Many of the vendors are national brands while some are locally-owned, such as longarm quilting, diamond beadincluding longtime exhibitor Quilters Ha- ing and chalk couture have become popular. ven of Fort Mohave. Classes and demos are geared towards A number of vendors have been attending Rusty Barn shows since the be- beginners to more advanced enthusiasts. Many vendors will also demonstrate their ginning. The exhibitors cater to people with products inside of their booths. Butler says that seeing finished projdifferent interests, with products such as sewing and quilting machines, embellish- ects at vendor booths, doing make-and-
take activities or watching demos can give newbies ideas on how to get started or what to tackle for their next project. “Beginners who just bought that machine during COVID get excited to take the next step up and learn how to create a garment or start quilting. They see what can be done and watch some of these demos, and it really gets them excited,” Butler says. Many of the longtime vendors have been in business for 20 years or more. Raylene Salazar of Quilters Haven, quiltershaven.net, has owned her company for 38 years and taken part in Rusty Barn festivals since the beginning. Salazar is continuing the work of her mother, who started the business and developed the company’s Less than Traditional technique. “She came up with a quick, easy way of making circle quilts that even a beginner
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