Quilt show still a major part of Cedar County Fair

HARTINGTON — King size, crib size, wall hangings and table runners made up the 81 quilt entries in the 2024 Cedar County Fair quilt show. Of those 81 quilts, ten were entered in the new class for quilts that were gifted to someone and displayed; showing off the talents of their creators, some as much as 50 years ago.

Best of Show went to Marilyn Puppe, her quilt is now eligible to compete at the 2024 Nebraska State Fair with other Best of County entrants.

Other winners in the quilt show were as follows: Quilts measuring over 75 inches; Grand Champion, Marilyn Puppe, Reserve Champion, Jarinda Sudbeck. Quilts measuring 45 inches to 75 inches; Grand Champion; Marilyn Puppe and Reserve Champion, Marilyn Puppe. Quilts measuring under 45 inches; Grand Champion-Mari lyn Puppe, Reserve Champion, Jarinda Sudbeck.

The Cedar County Piecemekers Quilt Club sponsors a viewer’s choice award as well. Throughout the fair, visitors are asked to vote for their favorite quilt; this year’s winner was Jarinda Sudbeck with her Pineapple quilt containing 3900 pieces.

The Piecemakers also sponsor a quilt challenge at the fair each year. A challenge is selected at a meeting and sold ($2) throughout the year, with participants bringing their creation to the fair to be judged on how well they followed the challenge.

The 2024 challenge was monochromatic; participants were to create a wall hanging or small lap quilt using only the color that they drew from a sealed envelope. The challenge for the 2025 fair is “Mad Magazine.” Participants can select an envelope containing a page from a magazine and create a small wall hanging or table runner based on something on the magazine page. If anyone is interested in joining in on the challenge you may contact one of the members of the Cedar County Piecemakers Quilt Club.

A raffle was also conducted by the Piecemakers Club. A quilt and other items were made by club members from fabrics from the late Jeaneen Kuehn’s collection. Winners of those items include Piper Dendinger, quilt; patriotic hot pads, Judy Hahne; scarecrow wall hanging, Barb Paulsen; scarecrow wall hanging, Carol Tramp; bird hot pads, Barb Paulsen; pink table runner, Elaine Arens; fall table runner, Marilyn Puppe; and baby blanket, Anne Kaiser.