Pins and Needles- stitching creativity and community

The Bob Ruud Community Center was transformed into a vibrant tapestry of color and creativity this month, with the Pins and Needles Quilt Show taking over the space for two days of exhibition in celebration of the immense talent of Pahrump’s fabric artists.

Hosted by the Shadow Mountain Quilters, the Pins and Needles Quilt Show marked its 28th year and with the birthday of the United States this summer, the theme for the 2026 show was “American Pride.” All around the main room of the community center, quilts were placed on display, with designs ranging from floral to geometric, from whimsical to naturalistic, offering a huge array for attendees to admire. And of course, there were plenty of patriotic quilts to be scene, with red, white and blue, fields of stars, Bald Eagles, military symbols and more. After all was said and seen, this year’s Pins and Needles Quilt Show was definitely one that left the members of this guild beaming with delight.

“The show was great! Comments from guests and volunteers alike were so optimistic and enthusiastic,” Shadow Mountain Quilter Joyce Higginbotham told the Pahrump Valley Times. “From all the beautiful entries, patriotic displays and numerous features of the show, everyone seemed happy. We packed a lot into that little community center and we could have done even more with a larger space.”

There were 108 total entries in this year’s Pins and Needles Quilt Show, including 96 quilts of varying sizes, six quilted accessories/clothing and six non-quilt works of fabric art.

“Entries were limited to Shadow Mountain Quilters members this year, in an effort to showcase our local talent,” Higginbotham noted. “There were beautiful and unique entries, from a renaissance dress to the beautiful embroidered quilt made by Rosemarie Gotowicki.”

Gotowicki was doubly honored at the show, with her entry “Rosie” featuring Rosie the Riveter taking home a first-place ribbon as well as special award from the National Association of Certified Quilting Judges, the Award of Merit.

“Rosemarie’s embroidered ‘Rosie’ quilt was made with 400 individual squares, each of them different, taking hours to make and many spools of thread,” Higginbotham detailed.

Taking a few moments to speak with the Times during the show, Gotowicki said the subject of her piece was close to her heart for many reasons, including the fact that women in her own family had entered the workforce to support the nation during World War II.

“My mother, Helen Rose and my grandmother, Rosie, were both riveters and that was really the first actual movement for women to show they are capable of doing things like that,” Gotowicki remarked. “All the squares are embroidered with their own design and each square took me an hour and a half to do! I worked on it over six months.”

“It has so much to it!” fellow Shadow Mountain Quilter Marilyn Herbert raved. “It’s just got a whole story to it.”

Throughout the show, attendees were treated to a variety of demonstrations, as well, with those versed in the craft providing tips, techniques and advice on various fabric arts topics. The Bed Turning was well-attended, with layer upon layer of quilts being revealed as the stories linked to them were told. Vendors included Orchid Owl Quilts, Snapdragon Quilting and Pahrump Mercantile, Terri Holloway was on site to provide her expertise in quilt appraisal and there were all kinds of raffle baskets to be had.

Each year also features the Opportunity Quilt and this year’s American Pride quilt was the work of several of the quilting guild members, with Violet Touchton piecing it, she and Cathy Shultz quilting it, Patty Smith adding the binding and Gotowicki creating the custom embroidered label. Measuring 94 inches by 112 inches, the Opportunity Quilt was won by Chuck Marino of Pahrump, with Higginbotham remarking, “As a proud veteran, he was excited to be the winner.”

“We thank Cindy Deschamp for chairing the raffle baskets, which have become a popular feature of the show, as well as all of the members who assembled the bountiful offerings,” Higginbotham stated. “Our Shadow Mountain Quilters founder, Lynn McDonald, once again chaired and narrated the ever-popular Bed Turning, which was full of interesting stories; the last quilt on the bed was the 2027 Opportunity Quilt, which had a preview showing four times during the show.

“Thanks always go to our ribbon chair, who was Jeannie Kay this year,” she continued. “Thanks to Karen Olivetti, who had the busy job of accepting entry forms, taking in the entries and caring for them throughout the judging process, as well as bringing them to setup and then checking them out after the show. Jean Jopski did a wonderful job of picking the challenge this year, which featured ‘Welcome Signs’ and the wall at the entry was covered in colorful and creative creations. Thanks to Monda Eagan and her crew for managing the Shadow Mountain Quilters Boutique, giving members a chance to sell their handmade items.

“We hope everyone enjoyed the decorative and mostly patriotic displays throughout the show, assembly by the sister team of Jana Ebig and Jill Ray,” Higginbotham concluded. “There were so many volunteers and the show never happens without them but I would like to especially thank the husbands who offer their labor and time to help us set up the show and tear it down each year. These wonderful men show up and help with a smile. This was the 28th show put on by the Shadow Mountain Quilters and there is not doubt it was a success. We hope to see everyone next year.”

For more information on the guild visit ShadowMountainQuilters.com

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com