A biennial event, Quiltistry returned after four years due to 2021 being cancelled over the COVID-19 pandemic. Displays were featured in the Brown County Museum Annex, Wanda Gag House, Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, Grace Community Church, Junique Center and Schell’s Brewery.

Glockenspiel and Schonlau Park and Hermann Monument did not show quilts this year, as inclement weather forced all of the displays to be indoors.

Cindy Manwarren came from Minneapolis to take in the different designs and quilt histories. She had never been before, but after being contacted by Sewing Seeds she encouraged a friend from New Ulm to visit the event with her. Of the places they visited, they found the Twister Sisters in the Junique Center to be the most unique.

“They were doing the twisted [style of quilting],” Manwarren said. “Its a tool they use. It was learning about a different technique.” She also enjoyed the variety of quilts she saw across six venues.

An assortment of miniature and larger quilts are displayed at the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame.

The Twister Sisters, Marilyn Foreman and Lisa Amundson, create their unique “Twister” designs using a tool called a pinwheel square. Amundson provided demonstrations for Quiltistry attendees and described the process.

“There’s six sizes of [pinwheel squares],” she said “You sew [color patches] together in to a grid, you put a border around it, and then you take the tool and you line it up on the seams. Then you cut it out with your rotary cutter and you cut out a whole row. And then once you line them up, you can start to see that [pinwheel shape].”

The duo had never been to Quiltistry before, and found there was a good local turnout and wide reach for the event.

“[I enjoyed] getting to meet the folks from around town.” Foreman said. “It seems like some people drove quite a distance to come today too. It’s got quite a following. I’m getting a lot of non-quilters too, people just said they wanted to look.”

The event was put together by the Thimble Box, Sewing Seeds, and Spinning Spools. Owner of Spinning Spools Val Besser found having the event indoors provided a silver lining.

Quiltistry attendees look at an assortment of quilts on the stair railings at Schell's Brewery. Quilts were also set up around the gift shop.

“When we were outside a lot of people just happened upon it and didn’t know what it was,” she said. “Now that we were indoors, a lot more people that know about it are coming.”

In addition to the business boom it provides the quilting shops, Besser found other businesses benefitted as well. Some even hung up quilts of their own.

“We know all of the restaurants and bars are packed with customers,” she said. “Several of the downtown businesses have displayed quilts for this event so they have had more people in. The quilts shops also had people buy things and it is a brand new thing for them discovering us.”

Those who picked up a passport from one of the quilt shops and went to all six Quiltistry spots earned a free 1,000-piece, quilt-themed puzzle.