by Sylene Argent
As a way to raise funds to cover the costs of art supplies and t-shirts, 4H Barn Quilt Club leaders Brenda Anger and Cindy VanderVeen hosted a fundraising yard sale on Saturday and Sunday at a location down Talbot Street in Essex Centre.
Anger and VanderVeen were pleased to welcome patrons to the yard sale and explain the significance of the relatively new club. The leaders showed off designs the youth members in the club designed last year and what they will create this year. They also outlined the many steps artisans take to create the large mural-like art pieces, which begins with a simple grid and evolves into a coluorful show piece.
Some smaller barn quilts were available for purchase during the yard sale as an additional means to raise funds for the club.
The club was introduced last year, which marked the 4H Barn Quilt Bandits as the first of its kind in Essex County.
The creation of the unique club began with a conversation held at one of the 4H meetings. Anger said her granddaughter had mentioned she wanted to join such a club and asked her to become a leader. Anger then solicited VanderVeen’s help to organize the club.
In 2017, the club had six participants, which blossomed into fifteen in 2018. In the inaugural year, the club even made space for adults who wanted some direction in learning the art form.
Both leaders believe the Barn Quilt Trail sparked interest in the young 4H members in wanting to learn this art form.
Anger added that the smaller barn quilts can also be added to fences.
The 4H Barn Quilt Bandit members create their own art pieces on plywood, which is judged on the club’s achievement day during the Harrow Fair. For fairness, the youth are divided into age groups. In addition to creating their own pieces, the members also collaborated to create a large 4x4 barn quilt. Last year’s large barn quilt was auctioned off during the Harrow Fair and raised $325 for the club. It is now on display at the Feed Store in Harrow.
The need to fundraise for 4H Clubs is important in ensuring the participating youth members are not charged to participate, VanderVeen explained.
Comments