The exhibit brought together work from a wide group of Sewing Seeds quilters, including Cheryl Meyer, Deb Raschke, Pat Reckard, Shelly Hogue, Lynn Guggisberg, Shirley Wendinger, Anna Geiger, Cindy Wendinger, Jackie Forst, Lisa Thompson, Darlene Pelson and Darlene Halverson, whose pieces collectively showcased the range of techniques and creativity represented in the shop’s community.

The exhibit, which runs through the end of March, features approximately 20 to 25 quilts representing a wide range of techniques, from traditional piecing and paper piecing to embroidery, wool appliqué and collage quilting. 

The event drew a strong crowd, with quilters on hand to talk visitors through their work in an informal, open format.

Brenna Thordson, who helped host the reception on behalf of Lykke Books, welcomed the group and thanked them for bringing their work to the community.

Attendees gather inside Lykke Books during the opening reception for the Sewing Seeds quilt exhibit, which features work by the shop’s owners and staff.

“They’ve brought all these beautiful quilts to share with our community,” Thordson said. “We’d like to thank them for being here and for sharing their creativity with us.”

The collaboration grew out of Lykke Books’ ongoing effort to feature local artists in its gallery space. 

Jackie Forst, a Sewing Seeds employee and co-owner, said the bookstore reached out to the quilt shop with the idea.

“They had been featuring different artists there,” Forst said. “They wanted to feature quilting, the art of quilting, and asked if we would be interested in joining them in that effort.”

Brie Taralson, owner of Lykke Books, said fiber arts felt like a natural fit for the store’s artist series.

Brie Taralson, owner of Lykke Books, stands among quilts displayed during the Sewing Seeds exhibit Thursday evening.

“Fiber arts is such a big part of our community,” she said. “The work that Sewing Seeds and all of the quilters do, we’re actually on the map as a quilting destination. They’re works of art.”

Among the most talked-about pieces on display was a red-and-white yo-yo quilt created by Sewing Seeds staff member Anna Geiger. 

The quilt contains 441 individual yo-yos, small gathered circles of fabric, each sewn by hand and then stitched onto 3½-inch squares before being assembled into the finished piece.

“These were made by hand, they were sewn on by hand,” Geiger said, noting that only the final assembly was done by machine.

Geiger said she worked on the yo-yos during her sons’ baseball games when they were young, collecting scraps of red fabric over the years. 

Sewing Seeds staff member Anna Geiger stands with her red‑and‑white yo‑yo quilt, which includes 441 hand‑sewn yo‑yos collected over several years.

Several family members contributed yo-yos, including her niece Ashley Fischer, whose cow-print fabric is the only one of its kind in the quilt.

“It’s fun because Ashley was the only one that chose a cow print,” Geiger said. “So I know that’s Ashley’s.”

The quilt, which took roughly six years to complete, was inspired by an antique quilt Geiger found on an auction site. The border quilting was added by Ann Wendinger.

Also on display was a piece by Cheryl Meyer, who used Crayola crayons to color a traced fabric pattern before ironing the image to melt the wax into the cloth, then adding hand embroidery. 

The detailed piece took a full year to complete as part of a class taught by Karen Albrecht.

Brenna Thordson of Lykke Books welcomes guests to the Sewing Seeds quilt exhibit Thursday evening. The bookstore partners with local artists to feature rotating displays in its gallery space.

“That got me hooked,” Meyer said. “It’s my favorite.”

Shirley Wendinger stood beside her quilt River Song, created using a Kim Diehl pattern. 

She said she labels all of her quilts with the name and date they were made.

A quilt by Darlene Halverson showcased English paper piecing, a technique in which fabric is wrapped around cardstock templates and hand-stitched together before the papers are removed. The finished piece was entirely hand-sewn.

For the Sewing Seeds team, the exhibit reflected something larger than craft — a demonstration of what small-business collaboration can look like.

“In a small town, you support one another,” Ann Wendinger said. “A rising tide raises all ships.”

The quilts were installed about a week before the reception, and the display had already generated traffic between the two businesses. 

Wendinger said two groups of visitors spotted the quilts while stopping for coffee at Lykke Books and then came directly to Sewing Seeds.

“That to me is community,” she said.

Wendinger also spoke to the atmosphere inside the bookstore. 

“The sense of community in that building is beautiful,” she said. “The smell of coffee and the conversation when we were setting up that day was lovely.”

Deb Raschke, a Sewing Seeds employee who displayed a quilt designed by Tim Holtz called Lydia, said the turnout was heartwarming. 

She said that the store’s staff , roughly 14 people, all part-time, each contributed a quilt to the show. Nearly all of them also teach classes at the shop.

Quilting, the group agreed, is growing, particularly among younger people. Raschke said a separate quilting group she belongs to has 80 members, with about 20 who joined recently and are young adults.

“I think in COVID, people had to do something,” she said. “They found hobbies, they found pastimes, and I think quilting has really boomed since then.”

The quilt exhibit at Lykke Books is free and open to the public during regular store hours through the end of March. 

Sewing Seeds Quilt Co. continues to offer classes in quilting and related fiber arts throughout the year.