Barbara Montejo started a small quilt in 1990, saying she had finally completed it in the spring of 2026 – with the help of her friend Frances. Fast forward to Sunday, Oct. 25, Montejo’s quilt was on display for attendees to witness her decades-long project.
The Santa Clarita Valley Quilt Guild hosted its biannual quilt guild show with about 165 quilts on display at the SCV Senior Center at Bella Vida on Sunday.
Quilts, of all shapes and sizes, were displayed in the ballroom, where the only limitations were people’s imaginations.
Montejo said she had taken a class at the Glendale Quilt Guild in 1990 when she made her quilt but never got around to finishing it.
“And I started it, and I had finished the outside … and this, but this wasn’t finished. And I folded it up, and it was in a box, and I (looked) at it and (said), ‘Oh, maybe next time,’” Montejo said. “Because I had, I’ve made hundreds of (quilts), but then, when they said we’re going to have a quilt show, I said, ‘You know what? I’m finishing you. This is it.’ So, I did it.”
Montejo added that she was satisfied seeing the community come together to see each other’s work and to see her work.
Joann Lombardi and Darlene Stump, co-chairs of the SCV Quilt Show for the SCV Quilt Guild, were excited to see the community coming out to the quilt show.
“It’s fantastic. It’s just watching people come in and seeing their eyes light up, because they didn’t know a quilt could look like that. They only had an old-fashioned, traditional grandma’s quilt, in their mind, as what a quilt would look like,” Stump said. “But now they come here, and they see art quilts, and these just amazing works of art that, you know, look impossible for anyone to create.”
She added that being able to see everyone support each other and have fun at the show is amazing.
Lombardi recalled a story that happened before they opened the show about inviting her friend to come and see the quilts.
“And she and her husband came, and she is an artist. And so, when she left, she told me, ‘This is like visiting an art gallery.’ So, and she was just amazed, and each of the quilts had a little story with it,” Lombardi said. “So, she said one of the best things was reading the stories behind the quilts. So, it kind of gave me a good feeling that she really enjoyed it.”
When asked what they love about quilting, Lombardi said she loves the friendships she has made, and Stump said she loves planning out a quilt and see it come to life.
Rita Percer, who was walking around looking at the quilts, said she loved everything about the event because she can see the talent of the people making the quilts.
“The creative abilities that they all have, and how everybody just does everything so different. I just love everybody here,” Percer said.
One thing Percer wanted people to know is how long it takes to make a quilt – from the expensive fabrics to matching the points on the quilt.
“I’m hoping that this (the quilt show) will enlighten them and show them what everybody can do,” Percer said.
Percer added that she loves quilting because it makes her happy and brings out her creative side, calling it her passion.
