A STITCH IN TIME

Every other year “Quilting in the Pines” fills the Pinehurst Fair Barn with color and creativity. Since its beginning in 2004, the show has gathered quilters and their work from all over the Southeast to be shown and judged. Sponsored by the Sandhills Quilters Guild, the 2026 show is Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25 – 26, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults and free for children under 18.

Beyond the judged quilts, the show includes a variety of vendors, a boutique of quilt-related and craft items made by guild members, a quilt raffle, a silent auction, a children’s scavenger hunt, raffle baskets and food trucks. All proceeds from the show go toward gifting handmade quilts and pillowcases to local charities, including Habitat for Humanity and Falcon Children’s Home.

Members of the Sandhills Quilters Guild include traditional and modern quilters, art quilters and storytellers. All quilts are true expressions of the artist’s vision, often telling stories of why the art was created.

Among the guild’s award-winning members, Mary Abbott Williams started her quilting journey at age 5, choosing fabrics to add to her babysitter’s projects. Abbott Williams has matured into a multiple award-winning traditional quilter who finds joy in studying and re-creating antique quilt patterns and motifs with the ultimate goal of “making quilts that look like they belong in another century.” This year she’s curating the balcony display, which will feature her reproduction quilts from the 1760s to the 1800s in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Christine Weld is a modern quilter and Army spouse who has found quilt guilds across the country ready to welcome her wherever her family has relocated. From the Colonial Piecemakers Guild in Williamsburg, Virginia, to the Hudson Valley Modern Guild, Weld has discovered a social network of sewists. She joined the Sandhills Quilters Guild before her family even moved to the area. During the pandemic she designed modern quilts on her blog and submitted a pattern to Moda Fabrics for its “Bakeshop” line. Now, with Moda quilt patterns in four books published by Martingale & Co., Weld continues to lend her talents to the challenge of creating new and exciting modern quilts using precuts.

Linda James’ art quilts are exquisite expressions of her creativity. She started her sewing journey making doll clothes, and her search for appropriate fabric led her to the Quilters Gallery Shop, where she gawked at the completed quilts for so long the staff came to check on her. James loves it when her quilts tell a story that engages the viewer. “My first show entry featured funky twinkling stars with odd cuts of fabric. It reminded me of peering at the stars in New Mexico with my brother at my side,” she says. James won the Viewer’s Choice award at the 2024 show. Her work with needle and thread has led her to create eye-popping quilts, winning multiple quilting awards and launching a longarm quilting business.

Abbott Williams, Weld and James are just three reasons “Quilting in the Pines” captures the passion and creativity of the art.