Above: Quilts, wall hangings, aprons and more are set up for viewing at the Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont. The Red Rock was also recently decorated for the holidays.

FAIRMONT– A tasteful display of Christmas colors and patterns can be viewed at the Prairie Star Quilt Guild’s holiday quilt show. The show can be viewed at the Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont beginning today.

Deb Wallace, a member of the guild, said they wanted to do Christmas or winter themed quilts for the month of December. She shared that the quilt guild has been around since the 80s.

“We’re not a bunch of little old ladies that sit around quilting and gossiping. We do a lot of service projects for the community,” Wallace said.

Some of those include making and giving quilts to veterans, bags for children going into foster care, donating quilts to assisted living facilities and most recently, giving quilts to CADA.

“We want to have a presence in the community,” Wallace said.

She said members meet the second Monday of every month at the Fairmont Evangelical Covenant Church. The daytime group meets at 1:30 p.m. and the evening group meets at 5:30p.m.

There are over 50 members in the group, hailing from all around the area. Wallace said they have members that come from St. James, Iowa, Blue Earth and all around Martin County.

The guild typically puts on a big show each year, but has opted for several smaller ones the past few years.

“It’s been harder to find a venue, last year with Covid, and this year still with Covid, we’ve been searching for places and this has worked out wonderfully for us,” Wallace said of the Red Rock Center.

She said it’s not as big of a space as they’ve previously had for shows, which have taken place at Bethel Evangelical Free Church and the Fairmont National Guard Armory, but it works well for them now.

“It’s a really nice venue for showing off quilts,” Wallace said.

There are about 40 pieces on display, which includes quilts of various sizes, table runners, wall hangings, stockings and several aprons.

“We’re not limited to just making big quilts for beds,” Wallace said.

She explained that there are also different techniques of quilting on display, from appliqué to panels and quilt blocks, to hand quilted and machine quilted.

Like many other clubs, Wallace admitted that Covid has impacted their numbers, but acknowledged that they still have a healthy number of dedicated members.

“We have some really talented and creative ladies who are members of the guild that do some beautiful work,” Wallace said.

She said they welcome new members to join, whether it’s experienced quilters or a beginner with interest in learning.

While there’s not going to be a meet and greet, several events are planned over the duration of the show. Robby Vee’s Rockin’ Holiday Show is this Friday, a community reading of the Christmas Carol is slated for Dec. 9 and Glenn Henricksen’s annual holiday concert is on Dec. 17.

Wallace hopes these events will give people an opportunity to view the show.