Relief Sale Quilts: Plain and Fancy

Plain and Fancy (90" x 96") Group Quilt Hand appliqued, machine pieced, and hand quilted by members of the Waterloo County Quilters Guild. Coordinated by Renske Helmuth. Auctioned for: $9000 in May 2011

Plain and Fancy is a group quilt designed and organized by Renske Helmuth; the design was inspired by Elly Sienkiewicz's book "Papercuts and Plenty".
Renske envisioned using a large variety of batiks in muted colors on a creamy background. In September 2008, she presented her vision to the Waterloo County Quilters Guild to see if there was enough interest; if so, she would offer some needle-turn applique workshops.
Sixty- five members ranging from beginner to advanced signed up. The workshops were held in January 2009. Enough blocks were returned to complete 2 quilts.In all, around 100 quilters worked on this quilt, either in piecing or handquilting!
After the hand quilting and binding were complete, "Plain and Fancy" was sent to the 2010 National Juried Show in Calgary, where it won honorable mention in the Bed Quilt category. The quilt was sold at the New Hamburg Relief Sale in 2011 and brought the top price of $9000.

From the blocks that were left, Renske made a second quilt top, which was handquilted by members of the Listowel Mennonite Church. It also sold at the 2011 Relief Sale, for $800.

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