LIHU‘E — Four of the five demonstration quilts were themed cats, coinciding with Aug. 8 being celebrated as International Cat Day by the Best Friends Animal Society.
“Meow!” said Jeni Harding, one of five members of the Garden Isle Quilters, which will host its Fourth Exhibit and Sale from Aug. 18-26 at the Kaua‘i Society of Artists gallery at Kukui Grove Center in Lihu‘e. “How many cats do you have in your household?”
Lea Ingram, another of the quilters, said she has a dog, and displayed a quilting piece showing a rooster.
“New to this year’s show is our donation quilt, where the sales of at least one hand-made item will be donated to a nonprofit organization of our choosing,” Ingram said. “Our ‘donation spotlight’ for this year’s show is the Kaua‘i Humane Society. The donation recipient changes each year.”
Harding, who has donated quilts to the new homeowners at the Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity’s key passing, said this is the group’s fourth show, and as of this year the Garden Isle Quilters is a nonprofit organization with the intention of furthering the awareness and understanding of the art of quilting.
For the Tuesday, Aug. 8 meeting where the group talked about the upcoming exhibit and other matters relating to quilting, including the search for a grant that will enable Harding to continue to provide quilts for new Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity’s home buyers, Linda Matthews, the group’s newest member, showed off a table quilt festooned with a variety of felines.
“Although the quilt exhibition and sale officially opens at 10 a.m. on Aug. 18, we will have an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. that evening,” said Toni Waas, showing off a tiger textiles bag decorated with maneko, or the traditional Oriental good luck cat.
“All five quilters will be there, and we’ll have some wine and cheese. Come join us and talk story since we are no longer under health restrictions,” said Waas.
The Garden Isle Quilters include Harding, Ingram, Waas, Matthews and Lesley Morris. The exhibit will feature a “diverse display from everyday to fine art quilts for sale.” The quilts are ready to be carried off, and for those who are not from here, shipping is available.
According to Best Friends’ data, more than 569 cats are killed in United States shelters each day. Nearly 2.1 million enter shelters across the country each year, and more than 200,000 of those are killed.
“Saving the lives of cats in animal shelters is the responsibility of everyone in every community,” Best Friends said in a release. “Animal shelters and the staff can only create and sustain lifesaving programs if they get community support and participation to achieve ‘no-kill.’”
