GILBERTSVILLE — The 30th annual Major’s Inn Quilt Show, featuring 225 quilts, will be held Friday through Sunday, Oct. 2-4. Show hours will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 2 and 3 and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 4.

This year’s featured quilter is Elizabeth Muscarella of Schenevus, a member of the Gilbert Block Quilting Group and a retired postmaster.

“My mom taught me to sew when I was 7. I made small items and Halloween costumes. After I married, I discovered quilting,” said Muscarella, who principally quilts by hand and sews the pieces together by machine.

Because of her preference for hand-quilting, many of her quilts employ the technique of English paper piecing, a method of patchwork in which fabric is wrapped around shapes made from thin cardboard or heavy paper. The shapes are then hand-sewn together one at a time, resulting in an intricate design. The paper or cardboard is then removed.

“One Thanksgiving, my dear friend Jannie Deweese introduced me to English paper piecing and I started a quilt that kept me occupied during lunch breaks, doctors’ visits, karate meetings and anywhere I was able to hand-sew. It is my oldest work in progress and my most ambitious quilt,” said Muscarella.

In retirement, Muscarella works at Thistle Hill Weavers in Cherry Valley, a custom weaving mill that weaves reproductions of 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century fabrics and trims for museums, homeowners, interior designers and the film industry. Mill owner Rabbit Goody is an internationally known textile historian, researcher and lecturer who has served as a consultant to major museums, weavers’ guilds and the film industry.

Several area quilting groups will also display their handiwork. In Stitches, a Sidney quilting group, will mount a special exhibit in the Clock Room. Quilts from the Night Owls quilting group in Delaware County, the Susquehanna Valley Quilters and the Triangle Guild of Whitney Point will also be on view. Janet Lent will give hand-stitching demonstrations, and the Gilbert Block Quilters will set up a boutique on the second floor to sell quilting supplies.

Also on the second floor, a memorial room dedicated to Martin and Marga Albanese by their family showcases this year’s theme, “Quilts of Freedom.” Red, white and blue are the predominant colors of these quilts, which feature abstract flags, the Declaration of Independence, stars and stripes and other patriotic images.

Two quilts and a basket donated by the Leatherstocking Quilt Shop will be raffled.

A $10 lunch offering homemade soups, sandwiches and desserts will be available each day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“We have fantastic quilts again this year. There’s a great variety of colorful and artistic quilts,” said Laurens resident Lucy Kise, a lifelong quilter who also helps with the many moving parts of mounting the show.

All proceeds from the quilt show go to the Major’s Inn Foundation, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the maintenance and restoration of the Tudor-style inn, whose construction was completed in 1901. The inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For information, call 607-783-2967 or visit themajorsinn.com.

- Information from Teresa Winchester