SAC CITY — Two outstanding Iowa quilters will be featured at the 10th biennial Sac County Quilt-A-Fair on Sept. 19 and 20 at the Sac County Fairgrounds, Sac City. As the Sac County Area Quilters planned this anniversary show, they searched for speakers who would represent the best of traditional quilting, as well as an expanding interest in art quilts. “We are so excited to welcome Judy Martin back to Sac City,” said Carolee Franzkowiak, who coordinated the speakers and vendors for this year’s Quilt-A-Fair. “Judy was with us in 2023 and she ‘wowed’ the audience with her star-themed quilts. She had a great time also, and let us know that she would gladly return. Joyce Franklin came to Sac City to teach a workshop for our area quilters last year and she agreed to return as a featured speaker as well. We think both presentations will be entertaining and hold something of interest to our visitors,” she added.

Joyce Franklin currently owns the Pieceworks Quilt Shop in Winterset, Iowa, just down the block from the Iowa Quilt Museum. Joyce will present a trunk show and talk called “Out of my Box” on Friday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. The presentation will be in the 4-H Building at the Sac County Fairgrounds. Joyce says she was born to sew, or sort buttons and play with fabric scraps. She did not actually sew until she was seven and when she could finally join 4-H, she had the perfect excuse to buy fabric, set goals and meet deadlines. She was mentored and encouraged by both her grandmothers and was a blue-ribbon sewer by the age of 10. She studied Fashion Merchandising and Advertising, then became a copywriter and graphic designer. When she moved home to Iowa after time in California and Guam, she created her own job in a tiny fabric shop in Creston. Eventually, she owned Quilts & other Notions, one of the largest independent stores in Iowa. She thought she would retire when the development group in Winterset enticed her to open a quilt shop there. Joyce is an active teacher and workshop leader, sharing her love of creative quilting. She has had the pleasure of teaching and guiding quilters of all ages, from 4-H kids to grandmas.

Judy Martin is one of the world’s foremost quilt designers. Her work remains rooted in the style of traditional quilts, but she brings a fresh and original perspective with her designs and patterns. This year, Judy will focus on her many variations of Log Cabin quilts as she speaks to the Quilt-A-Fair audience on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. in the 4-H Building. Judy’s background also includes learning to sew at an early age, making her first quilt out of dressmaking scraps. She was editor of Quilter’s Newsletter and Quiltmaker, where she became one of the principal pattern designers on staff. In 1987, she and her husband, Steve, started their own publishing company, Crosley-Griffith. She has written 28 quilt books and has published approximately 2,000 original designs. Judy Martin will be inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame next year. Over the course of her prolific four-decade career, Judy has inspired and empowered quilters to do their best work.

Visitors to the Quilt-A-Fair will also have the opportunity to learn from some area quilters and vendors who will offer demonstrations at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. each morning, as well as Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. Topics will include the Ten Sisters Piecing Grid by Wise Monkey Quilt Shop in Denison; Stack and Whack by Vera Thomas and Bonnie Rahn; Cartonnage Sewing Caddy and Fabric Box with Hinged Lid by Marlene Armbrecht; and Fun with Rulers by the Quilted Steeple Quilt Shop in Lone Rock.

“From the very beginning of the Sac County Quilt-A-Fair in 2007, we have secured amazing speakers to come and share their stories and expertise at this rural Iowa quilt show,” said Sue Peyton of Sac City. “Our speaker in 2009 was Eleanor Burns, a quilting celebrity who came from California to see our Sac County Barn Quilts and share her love of quilting at the Quilt-A-Fair. Many of our speakers have had their work recognized with “Best of Show” awards at national and international shows. Some have designed fabric, tools, and written books that quilters recognize and find useful. During this 10th anniversary show, we are honored to have speakers who are well known for their work and creativity and we know our guests will enjoy their presentations.”

For more information about the Sac County Quilt-A-Fair, please check the Facebook page of the same name or www.barnquilts.com.