Three Rivers Quilters hosts annual show at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows

The third was spectacular, with white windmills sprinkled with flowers popping against royal blue.

All the quilts have names, and the name of the third one was Not Your Mother’s Drunkard’s Path.

The Drunkard’s Path is the theme of this year’s Three Rivers Quilt Show, taking place March 30th – April 1st at the Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. It’s the biggest fundraiser of the year for Three Rivers Quilters Pittsburgh, which will celebrate the fabled quilt with more than 100 exquisite quilts designed in Drunkard fashion and several off-topic entries from artists from Southwest Pennsylvania and beyond.

“The (Drunkard’s) Path was a pattern from England. Basically, the foundation block is a square with a quarter circle,” said Liz Hays, co-chair of the exhibition committee for Three Rivers Quilters.

Like a quilt, where the closer you look, the more detail emerges, the Drunkard’s Path’s simplicity is just a surface.

“In the early 1900s, when the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement started, they took over the block and called it Drunkard’s Path and started making quilts to raise money for their programs,” said Pam Bice, vice president of Three Rivers quilters. “They chose blue and white because white represents purity and blue represents water, which is the purest drink. Most two-tone quilts made during this period were red and white.”

Also known as “Rob Peter to Pay Paul,” “Solomon’s Path,” and “Wanderer in the Wilderness,” the pattern is believed by some to have its origins in ancient Egypt. But the design of this first royal blue puzzle masterpiece is more akin to the Path patterns that emerged in the early 19th century.

This quilt itself was hand-sewn by Jan Burke’s grandmother, co-chair of the quilt show committee.

“It’s one of the oldest patterns. The quilt behind you was made by my grandmother. And that’s a drunkard’s trail, and I’m guessing it was made around 1918, in there somewhere. I was quite surprised as most of their quilts that I own are very ripped from feed bags. This one was blue and white, there is a lot of blue. We pretty much believe why this one was made that way, because of the blue, the meaning.”

There are countless ways to walk the path of the drunkard. Some artists prefer the traditional pattern, while others, like Liz Hays, who crafted the green blanket, take liberties with their design. The design itself has been modernized while retaining the original pattern of squares and quadrants; Take, for example, the spectacular windmill quilt that will be raffled off on the last day of the fair.

Artwork was assembled by Burke, quilted by Sharon Hansen and bound by Beth Conlin.

“When they brought it to me to exhibit at the Creative Arts Festival, I was like, how’s that a drunkard’s trail,” laughed Bice. “It took me a while. I actually cut a hole in a piece of paper so I can hang it up and say look at this pad.”

Quilting has been viewed differently in recent years. Actually, you could say it has a moment. There are between 10 and 12 million quilters in North America, and quilting is projected to be a $5 billion industry by 2026, according to the Craft Industry Alliance’s 2021 report.

“Quilting is not a craft; it’s a fine art,” Burke said. “From this humble quilt,” she nodded to the royal blue quilt, “to this one that’s unique,” she pointed to the green quilt, “we, as quilters, enjoy the themes.”

Along with this year’s Drunkard’s Path theme, the guild worked on a Busy Bee collection last year. Each month, members receive a concept and spend time quilting without knowing what the final product will look like or represent.

“They would just say, do 24 log cabins in a month, and at the end of the year you get how it all fits together,” Bice said. “We introduced famous women who have been lost to history. We will have an exhibition about the women at the show.”

These women include Madam CJ Walker, an African-American entrepreneur, political and social activist, and America’s first self-made millionaire; and Stephanie Kwolek, a western Pennsylvania woman who invented Kevlar.

“It’s kind of cool that this is National Women’s History Month,” Hays added.

This nod to the past ties history to the present, and the Three Rivers Quilters hope a new generation will join the show and carry on the tradition.

“We don’t hoard our knowledge,” Hays said.

In addition to the annual show, the guild hosts monthly meetings and shows, and narrates, regular lectures, and other membership events. Guild members spend time creating for arts festivals and making beautiful quilts for charities including the Linus Project, the Ronald McDonald House, the Oncology Center at Jefferson Hospital, and Mom’s Place.

“We donate between 120 and 150 quilts a year,” Burke said.

Donations are heartwarming – no pun intended – and it’s nice to see quilting efforts helping the community. It’s also great to see quilts glittering off the displays at the annual show.

“There’s nothing like the thrill of walking in there and seeing your quilt hanging,” Burke said.

Everyone, no matter what your level or expertise, is invited to watch demonstrations, learn history and techniques from local quilters, and appreciate the fine art of quilting throughout the three-day event.

“There’s always stuff, no matter what. I think that’s where we all start: the love of the material,” said Bice.