Martinsville-Henry County Welcomes Visiting Quilters

The 2012 Virginia Quilt Shop Rally begins today and includes six quilt shops across the region, and for the first time, The Martinsville-Henry County Visitor Center / The Artisan Center. So if you see people traveling around town this weekend with colorful strips of ribbon attached to their bags and vehicles, it's a good chance that they are quilters! 

Participating quilters will visit each shop to collect stamps on a quilting license and quilters that visit all seven stops during the four-day rally will be entered into a drawing for great prizes. At each stop the participants will receive a free quilting pattern and color-coded ribbons to show stops that they have visited along the rally. The event offers fun for quilters of all experience levels. This year's rally will feature Island Batik design exclusive fabric that will only be offered for purchase, at the six quilt shops after the rally begins. Each shop will create an original project using this exclusive fabric, available in a variety of colors.

According to Brenda Feeny, one of the rally coordinators and owner of The Sewing Studio in Martinsville, "We are so excited about this year's rally and can't wait to see who will visit. In past years, we've had visitors from as far away as England. The rally is fun for quilters of all ages. We encourage you to visit The Sewing Studio, Inc., even if you know you can't visit all seven locations, you will want to go to as many as you can." The Sewing Studio in Martinsville will be giving away a free Babylock Grace machine, valued at $699.99 as one of the rally prizes.

The Martinsville-Henry County Visitor Center / The Artisan Center, located at 54 West Church Street, is an official stop during the rally and is hosting a quilt show featuring quilts from both past rally participants and local talent. The public is encouraged to come view the quilts and vote for their favorites. The winner in each category will receive a basket of locally made products. The Visitor Center / Artisan Center will offer extended hours throughout the weekend for the rally and weekend shoppers. Hours for all stops are Thursday - Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 1-4 p.m.

According to Jennifer Doss, Director of Tourism for Martinsville-Henry County, "When we heard about the Quilt Shop Rally last year, we definitely wanted to get involved in the program so that we can help showcase the wonderful arts and culture venues that our area has to offer. By partnering with the six other quilt shops we are able to introduce facilities such as Patrick Henry Community College's Artisan Center to the visiting quilters as well as promote upcoming events such as Piedmont Arts exhibit "The Art Of The Quilt" which will open later in the fall."

Locations:

• Sew Biz - 92 & 94 Harvey St, Roanoke (Bernina machine giveaway)
• Radford Creative Quilting - 6342 Peters Creek Rd, Roanoke
• Quilted Expressions - 3622 Old Forest Rd, Lynchburg
• Quilting Connection - 25174 Virgil Goode Hwy, Boones Mill
• The Sewing Studio - 1310 Memorial Blvd S, Martinsville (Babylock machine giveaway)
• Sew What Fabrics & Batiks Etcetera - 460 East Main St, Wytheville
• Martinsville-Henry County Visitor Center / The Artisan Center - 54 West Church St, Martinsville

Photos from the rally are available on our Facebook page.

The mission of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation is to create new job opportunities and expand the tax base for the area. The organization strives to support and develop local industry, as well as market Martinsville-Henry County globally as an exceptional place to live, work and play.

The EDC is a public-private partnership between the City of Martinsville, Henry County, the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce, the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber's Partnership for Economic Growth (C-PEG) and the Harvest Foundation of the Piedmont.