On 8 and 9 August, 2008, the 2008 Bruce County International Plowing Match (IPM) Quilt Committee, a subcommittee of the Family Lifestyles Committee, held the 2008 IPM Quilt Show in the Teeswater-Culross Community Centre.

The IPM Quilt Committee is made up of Anne Hawkins, Chair; Sharon Courtney, Secretary/Treasurer; Margaret Cale, who organized the Quilt Block Challenge and who collected the quilts; Joan Wand, who manages the raffle tickets and quilts for the raffle; Maxine Zettler, who obtained vendors both for the Show and the IPM; and Kathy Boycott, who collected the ribbons. The room was attractively decorated by the Landscape Sub-committee of Family Lifestyles and the food booth was managed by the Cook Book Committee. All the delicious food was prepared from recipes in the 2008 IPM Best of Home Cookbook.

The 141 quilts entered in the competition were from "the best of the area's quilters" and demonstrated creativity, hard work, skill, and workmanship. The quilts were hung on frames constructed by Lynn Lowry and Gary Courtney who welded, nailed, and poured the concrete necessary for the frames to be free-standing. These frames will be used at the IPM and are available for rent from the Five Star Quilters Guild of Teeswater and Lucknow. The 111 quilt blocks submitted for the Quilt Block Challenge were made into four quilts by various quilting guilds and organizations. These four quilts were on display and will be auctioned at the IPM to be held from 16 to 20 September at the north edge of Teeswater.

To the uninitiated, all the quilts looked equally spectacular, but quilts are judged out of 100 points determined by several categories: 1) the quilt must meet all the requirements set out by the competition, for instance it must met the size requirement; 2) the quilting line must be close enough so that when a fist is placed on the quilt it must not meet empty fabric; 3) the colour must suit the pattern, subject or design; 4) the fabric cannot be mixed, it must all be the same, for instance all cotton or all poly-cotton; 5) the binding or edge must be equal and the back must reach the outer edge of the binding; and 6) the stitches must be even and go through all three layers that make up a quilt. Dorothy Gillespie and Jean Reilly, the judges from Hillsburgh, had the difficult job determining the first, second, and third place winners in each of the 17 classes.

The $3,700.00 in prize money went to the following winners: Class One - Theme Wall - 1st Joanne Miller, Tara; 2nd Kathy Boycott, Hanover; and 3rd Pat Golem, Hanover. Class Two - Pieced Quilt Hand Quilted - 1st Lisa Pennington Teeswater; 2nd Kathryn Jarabek, Wiarton; 3rd Winnie Conley, Belwood. Class Three - Appliquéd Quilt Hand Quilted - 1st Rosemary Heisz, Formosa; 2nd Mary Boyle, Lucknow; 3rd Diane Fitchett, Chepstow. Class Four - Machine Quilted Quilt - 1st Ann Hawkins, Wingham; 2nd Bev Martin, Fordwich; 3rd Kathy Boycott, Hanover. Class Five - Hand Quilted Quilt - 1st Alice Doelman, Lucknow; 2nd Margaret Fouts, Bayfield; 3rd Dianne Fitchett, Chepstow. Class Six - Group Quilt - Richmond Area Quilt Guild, Kemptville; 2nd New Millennium Quilt Guild, Hanover-Walkerton; 3rd Joan Wand, Kincardine. Class Seven - Crib Quilt - 1st Ruth Botting, Hanover; 2nd Mary Gunson, Tara; 3rd Shirley Grubb, Walkerton. Class Eight - Miniature Quilt - 1st Martha Schellingerhoud, Aurora; 2nd Pat Golem, Hanover; 3rd Joanne Miller, Tara. Class Nine - Landscape Quilt - 1st Betty Millen, Southampton; 2nd Sharon Collins, Arnprior; 3rd Kathy Boycott, Hanover. Class Ten - Original Wall Hanging - 1st Cheryll Tucker, Kincardine; 2nd Sharon Collins, Arnprior; 3rd Betty Millen, Southampton. Class Eleven - Wall Quilt - 1st Joanne Miller, Tara; 2nd Joan Wand, Kincardine; 3rd Sharon E. Zurbrigg, Brockville. Class Twelve - Wearable Art - 1st Joanne Miller, Tara; 2nd Fran Keating, Port Elgin; 3rd Mary Gunson, Tara. Class Thirteen - Cotton Flannel throw - 1st Joan Wand, Kincardine; 2nd Kathy Boycott, Hanover. Class Fourteen - Appliquéd Quilt - Track System/Long Arm Machine Quilted - 1st Doreen Wilkin, Hanover; 2nd Kathy Boycott, Hanover. Class Fifteen - Pieced Quilt - Track System/Long Arm Machine Quilted- 1st Mary Gunson, Tara; 2nd Betty Millen, Southampton; 3rd Gladys Fiss, Dobbinton. Class Sixteen - Youth Quilt - 1st Katherine Phillippi, Cargill; 2nd Alannah Young, Allenford; 3rd Kelly Hemstock-Weeks, Tara. Class Seventeen - 4-H Quilt - 1st Kim Hooey, Ripley; 2nd Rachael Coenen, Kincardine; 3rd Erik Burgess, Mildmay.

Viewers to the 2008 IPM Quilt Show chose five quilters for the Viewers Choice Awards: Alice Doelman, Mary Gunson, Gladys Elliott, Drika Foster, and Betty Millen.

People in the Photo:

L to R: Mary Hehn, Mary Henry, Betty Needham and Margaret Humphrey welcomed visitors to the 2008 IPM Quilt Show.