Jamie Russell, owner of the Fabric Peddler in Baldwin, is one of two featured presenters at the Feb. 18 Quilt Trunk Show Dinner Theater event at 876 in the village. Courtesy photo.
By Pat Stinson
BALDWIN ‒ Those who love quilts and those with an interest in quilting can learn more about their history, from the 1850s to the present day, during a Feb. 18 Quilt Trunk Show Dinner Theater presentation offered at 876, a restaurant with a reputation for creative dining owned by Paul Santoro and Dina Velocci.
The quilt show will be presented by Jill Engelman, curator for the Lake County Historical Museum, and Jamie Russell, owner of the Fabric Peddler.
The program will offer two seatings, one at 1 p.m. and another at 6 p.m. The cost of the program is $50 per person and includes a $10 donation to the museum. Reservations are required, and seating is limited.
The event is a fundraiser for the museum, which is planning its fourth construction project. Engelman said a proposed work room addition on the back of the current building will offer a dedicated space for looking at artifacts and creating exhibits, and funds will also be used to make the current research library on the second floor more accessible. She said they are reviewing “needs.” She added that the museum always operates in the black and has the money “in hand” before beginning a project.
Quilts, 1850s through 1970s
Engelman will begin the program with a history of quilts and quilt-making from the 1850s through the 1970s, using quilts from the museum’s collection.
“I’ll be taking quilts out of a trunk, talking about the quilt pattern and quiltmakers, and telling stories and draping them (quilts) over a rack,” Engelman explained. “It’s really for people who love quilts for themselves, quilt-making or quilts for art.”
She said quilting groups from White Cloud and Scottville have already made reservations.
Engelman, who curates a collection of quilts at the museum, said that family stories about quilts can be incorrect and “might be more folk history than fact.” She added that the fabric, thread and dye colors of each quilt can suggest clues to its age.
“I come to it from a historic standpoint, and I want to preserve these quilts,” she said, adding, “I am not a member of a quilt group, but I have a number of ancestors that were quilters” and she is proud of that heritage and the 4-5 quilts in her personal collection.
Quilts, 1980 to the present
Jamie Russell took over the Fabric Peddler in August 2021 when her Aunt Lee Ann Russell, who owned and operated it for 15 years, died suddenly. Russell said she served as a dental hygienist in the Navy (and still practices) and moved from Massachusetts to keep the shop running.
“I’d never sewn before, never quilted before,” she said. “I could barely thread a needle two years ago and learned a lot on YouTube and just kind of went full in.”
Russell said she does all the quilting in her shop, offering longarm quilting services for customers from Texas to Michigan and “all over.” She described the longarm process and product as three layers (batting between two pieces of fabric) sandwiched together and stitched, with a design on it, using a machine “like a CNS machine.”
She said she has more than 3,500 customers in her data base, so the quilt trunk show “seems as though it could be popular.”
“My responsibility (during the show) goes from 1980 and newer … talking about how the industry has changed from hand stitch to machine,” Russell said. “It’s more industrial … with table runners and hangings … and I’ll just (be) trying to expand the extent of what quilting and sewing actually meant.”
The menu for the event, according to a post on the 876 Facebook page, includes chicken pane with a green salad and mashed potatoes, spinach lasagna served with a green salad, and salmon with a green salad and “forbidden rice.” Desserts include tiramisu, French silk pie and chocolate pot de crème.
“Save the date for the coziest upcoming dinner and show you ever did see,” read a headline on restaurant’s Facebook post.
To make a reservation, call 876 between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, at 231-791-5876. The restaurant is located at 876 Michigan Ave. The Fabric Peddler can be found at 815 Michigan Ave., and the Lake County Historical Museum is at 915 N. Michigan Ave.
