Quilter's Guild features Somers' Dawn Siden

Dawn Siden’s quilts are like her children — she loves each one equally, but for different reasons.

There is the miniature square quilt with intricate stitching and pieces no larger than a dime. It hangs beside her current pride and joy, a blue-green hummingbird comprised of 500 swatches of fabric. Draped over leather couches in her living room are large, pattern-based quilts; one in a Christmas motif complete with fabric peppermints and another showcasing the blended whiskey Crown Royal with a crown-shaped quilting pattern over the entire blanket.

“I consider myself and eclectic quilter — I do it all,” Siden said, perched on a chair inside her quilting room at her Somers home.

Siden is the featured quilter at this year’s Flathead Quilter’s Guild show, which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.

She’s known for her painstaking attention to detail and creative eye — and has the ribbons to prove it. Over the course of her 20-year quilting career, she’s won dozens of quilt-show ribbons and been juried into the prestigious International Quilt Show in Houston 17 times. Her intricate hummingbird quilt, “Hummingbird Haven” won first prize at the Hoffman Challenge — a contest run by the so-named California fabric company which challenges quilters to incorporate a specific fabric into their pieces. The quilt took her five months to complete, working five to eight hours a day.

Siden picked up sewing at an early age. Her mother sewed for her as a child, and gave Siden the remnants so she could fashion her own creations. Siden started out making doll clothes and stitched her own outfits in high school and college. After Siden had her children, her sewing took on a motherly edge — she had a fondness for creating Halloween costumes and even customized her daughter’s prom dresses.

But quilting came later.

When her husband’s motorhome research began occupying his evening hours, she realized she needed a hobby, too. She came across a quilting contest by House of Fabrics out of California and decided to give it a go. Siden had never quilted before, so she bought a book on the art and did her best.

“I’m extremely competitive — not that I want to beat you, I just want to win,” she said. “I’m there for that ribbon.”

Her first-time effort was good enough to earn her a spot among the finalists.

The next year, she got serious and took second.

From then on, Siden was hooked.

“My mind is always creating,” she said.

To develop her skill, Siden read quilting books, took classes and entered contests. Many of her quilts came out of a desire to try her hand at new techniques which helped her build a vast library of sewing skills over the years.

The majority of her quilts are original designs. She’ll find inspiration anywhere from life events, competition themes and Pinterest, and sketch out her vision on a large sheet of paper. Once she colors in her design, Siden will begin the lengthy process of cutting and sewing the individual pieces of fabric. She’s especially proud of a lakeside scene depicting she and her husband near Flathead Lake celebrating their wedding anniversary while fireworks explode overhead.

She says most quilters who sell their works don’t make more than what they put into them — the materials alone can easily cost $500.

“I don’t make it to sell it,” she said. “I make it to be creative and win a ribbon, and once that’s done, I’m onto the next one.”

Siden describes herself as a slow quilter, crafting just three per year, depending on size.

This year, an array of her art quilts will be on display in the booth she’ll run as part of being the show’s featured quilter.

“The main thing is to inspire people to dive in — give it a try,” Siden said.

The guild has put on the show for about 30 years which draws anywhere from 135 to 150 entries. Attendees can also visit vendor stations and the guild’s boutique, which is stocked with quilts and other handmade items. On Friday, quilts entered in the show will be judged by two separate votes: guild members cast their ballots for the peer award and members of the public vote on first, second and third place.

“What’s cool about that, I think, is people vote with their heart,” she said of the public process.

Win or lose, Siden will keep on creating.

“Quilting is my passion and I spend as many hours as I can at it,” she said. “It’s the ‘what if’ … What if you try this? What if you try that?”

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss may be reached at 758-4433 or mreiss@dailyinterlake.com.