Quilters Neighborhood, the 2025 biennial judged quilt show sponsored by the Upcountry Quilters Guild will be held on October 10 and October 11 at The Market at the Mill, located at 225 Pumpkintown Highway in Pickens.

Quilt Show hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. Admission is $5, and children under 12 are admitted free. Ample free parking is available.

More than 100 quilts will be on display in 15 categories, including modern, pieced, art, mixed technique, applique, hand quilting, and holiday themed.

The judge for the show is Kathleen Rountree from Hendersonville, North Carolina. She is a prize-winning quilter and active member in national and international quilt shows and competitions. Kathleen was featured with a show of her quilts at the McLean Textile Gallery in Washington, D.C.

The Guild’s quilts from “Hometown Challenge” will also be on display. This challenge was to design and make a wall-hanging quilt that describes the member’s hometown.  Members voted on the quilts and awarded first, second, and third place ribbons based on the quilter’s depiction and story of their hometown.

A Presentation Quilt was pieced by 21 members, appliqued by Carol Clanton, Cathy Coster, Jean Gardiner, and Margorie Imperatrice,­­­­­­­ and quilted by Gail Sexton. The quilt pattern is a variation of “Summer Village” by Edyta Sitar for Laundry Basket Quilts. Raffle tickets for the Presentation Quilt are $1 each or six for $5 and can be purchased at the show or from a guild member prior to the show. The drawing will be held at the end of the show, and the winners do not have to be present to win.

There will also be vendors, a boutique, and a ‘Second Time Around’ booth. Raffle tickets for Fat Quarter baskets will be on sale, as well, at the show.

Plan to spend the day and enjoy delightful restaurants as well as antique shops to explore. Also, many quilt blocks have been hung throughout the Pickens area as part of the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail. Pickens is located at the west end of the Doodle Trail, a former railroad bed. The railroad line was nicknamed the “Pickens Doodle” line, because the freight engine could not be turned around and had to run backwards from Easley to Pickens, resembling the motion of a doodlebug. This trail is used by walkers and bike riders yearround. 

For more information about the show, contact chair Cheryl Budnaitisat cabudnaitis@gmail.com or visit the guild’s website at www.upcountryquiltersguild.com.

Guild meetings are held at Pickens Presbyterian Church in the Fellowship Room at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Retreats, quilting bees, and workshops are held with members enjoying fellowship and learning from each other. Community service projects are chosen each year, and, for 2025, quilts are being made and distributed to Hands of Hope Pediatric Hospice Care and 83 to Quilts of Valor for the Easley National Guard Unit currently serving overseas and returning in October of 2025.