The talented members of the Gateway Quilters Guild’s “Cirque du Fabrique” group gathered at the Hoffmeister Center recently for an extra special quilt show paired with a surprise history lesson.
Cirque du Fabrique, a subgroup of the longstanding Gateway Quilters Guild of Merced, was organized with the goal of having all its members to push their limits and skills as quilters in all of their projects.
Regularly, the group will settle on a special theme and/or challenge, and then they showcase completed works for fellow members and other quilters in the area.
For this latest event, the ladies of Cirque du Fabrique settled on a particularly ambitious challenge —create a 30 x 20 inch quilt panels featuring a historical landmark or building from Merced County. And, to add to the challenge, each participant prepared an era-appropriate snack or treat for everyone to enjoy at the show.
While participants reflected on the extreme difficulty of the many techniques that they had to use for the quilts, everyone appeared to be truly excited to show off their hard work. They took turns explaining the many steps and thought that went into them. Additionally, since each of the quilts were based on key historical areas to our community, Sarah Lim, the director of the Merced County Courthouse Museum, was invited to gather as much information that she could on each of the landmarks and then share the historical details during the show.
The event featured the work of 10 members who all pushed their limits to render these fabric images, utilizing a huge variety of technical, artistic, and practical choices. The historical landmarks covered were: The Courthouse Museum, Lake Water Tower, Yosemite Railroad Station, Laura Fountain, Francher Monument, The Merced Welcome Arch, Our Lady of Mercy Church, Merced Theatre, Main Street 7-Up Sign, and the San Luis Reservoir.
Lisa Slaton, the president of the Gateway Quilters Guild, chose the mythical Water Tower of Lake Yosemite. When asked by the Times about the inspiration behind the choice, she said “I remember going to the lake many times as a child, and there were are always stories about that tower, that it might be haunted. And there was the lady who would come out at night, looking for her son or something. So, there was always this kind of mystery to me — so that’s why the fascination.”
Then, when asked about why she spends her time with the guild and working on these challenges, she quickly replied, “Oh, this is the best thing I ever did in my life. When I retired, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I gonna do?’ And, since, I have met the most wonderful people.”
The Times was then able to get a word in with Cirque du Fabrique’s creator and host, and longstanding guildmember Michelle George. For this show, she chose the iconic Laura Fountain for a very heartwarming and personal reason, saying, “The reason I chose Laura Fountain is because I was dating my now husband 25 years ago, and we walked by Laura Fountain. He had me throw a penny into the fountain and make a wish — I don’t remember what I wished. But, he was wishing that I was going to say yes. I wanted this guy to ask me to marry him, which is what he did. So, we got engaged there at Laura Fountain.”
Marie’s Mexican Kitchen and the iconic 7-Up sign on Main Street in Merced. This work was completed by Candie Autrand.
The old Gateway to Yosemite arch that was once constructed over 16th Street.
Our Lady of Mercy Church on 21st Street in Merced.
Michelle George chose the iconic Laura Fountain for her quilt project. George is the creator and host of the Cirque du Fabrique group.
Sarah Lim, the director of the Merced County Courthouse Museum, shares historical facts about each location. Here, she is speaking about the Lake Yosemite Water Tower.