Showing off clothes, quilts at 'Olympics of Sewing'

Sanders County 4-H’ers showed off the skills they’ve gained over the past year in sewing and quilting Sunday as they presented their work to judges and an audience at the 4-H Fashion Revue and Patchwork Parade at Thompson Falls High School.

For the second year in a row Sanders County 4-H Clubs teamed up with the Flat Iron Quilt Guild and used the guild’s 2008 Quilt Show as the venue for their competition. This year’s theme for the Fashion Revue and Patchwork Parade was the “Olympics of Sewing.”

Meghan Phillippi, an extension agent for Sanders County who works with 4-H, said the 4-H program is designed to teach kids life skills. She said the girls who entered their work into this year’s Fashion Revue and Patchwork Parade were able to display how much they’ve learned and what they can do.

“It’s fun to see what they have accomplished,” Phillippi said. “They’re developing those life skills.”

She said the events also have helped some of the girls who were previously unable to stand up in front of people and speak.

For the Patchwork Parade the girls entered quilted items in the quilt show to be judged by the quilt show judges and they were then eligible for quilt show ribbons as well as 4-H awards. 4-H judges also interviewed the girls to inquire about how much they’ve learned and improved and then determined the ranking.

Four junior 4-H’ers and two senior 4-H’ers participated in the Patchwork Parade with Kaitlyn Havens of the Trout Creek Mavericks taking first and Abby Croft of the Thompson Falls Mountaineers winning second in the Junior Division.

In the Senior Division Mariah Naegeli took first and the 15-year-old from the White Pine Happy Workers also won a Best in Class ribbon in the quilt show in the baby quilts category.

The 4-H judges for the Patchwork Parade were Barbara Farrington, Jackie Beckman and Jennifer Cline. Phillippi said it was the first year of judging for Beckman and Cline.

In the Fashion Revue each girl who participated showed their work to 4-H judges in an interview and then modeled the clothes for an audience. Five girls participated in the Junior Division and two in the Senior Division.

Emily Snell of the Thompson Falls Mountaineers 4-H Club won the top honor with the colonial-period dress she made and Abby Croft, also of the Thompson Falls Mountaineers, took second with her gaucho pants.

Among seniors, Mariah Naegeli won first again with the work shirt she made, though Naegeli was unable to attend the Fashion Revue to model her shirt. The judges for the Fashion Revue were Nanette Cox and Jean Polequaptewa.

First and second places in the Junior Division were chosen for the sake of awards. The Sanders County 4-H Council provided scholarships to Multi-County 4-H Camp near Bigfork in June for the top two junior members in the Fashion Revue and Patchwork Parade.

For the fashion show portion of the Fashion Revue, 4-H’er Meghan Brady provided narration and Ray Evans played the piano. Alexis Dean, a former 4-H’er, served as runway coach and photographer for the Fashion Revue. Phillippi and Shellie Anderson were the judging coordinators for Sunday’s event.

Phillippi said the Fashion Revue and Patchwork Parade are made possible because of so much volunteer help from parents and other members of the community.

“They put in a lot of time to help it to run smoothly,” Phillippi said.

Sarah Naegeli, the mother of Mariah and a volunteer 4-H leader, said the Fashion Revue has been going on for decades. She said the Fashion Revue was once a much larger event that it is now and had its heyday in Sanders County in the 1980s. Phillippi said the Patchwork Parade has been alive for about 10 years and that Sanders County 4-H Clubs helped to get the event started.