HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. - Rooster Creek Company's second annual quilt show promises a swirl of colors and patterns, plenty of door prizes and artsy vendors.
The quilt show begins today at Summit Plaza and continues through Saturday. Beyond the quilts, though, there will also be a chance to help a little girl in need.
"(Sophia) has medical expenses; she got a service dog and needs to train it," festival chairman Brenda Harvey said.
Sophia Six is the second child whose service dog will receive training through funds raised by the event, Harvey said. Rooster Creek will raffle off two large quilts made by members of its quilting guilds - one with a polka-dot pattern and one with an hourglass pattern.
"We wanted something that was quick and easy so we could get it all put together, and we wanted something everyone can do," Harvey said. "We have quilters that are beginners, and we have quilters that are very experienced."
Sophia's mother, Sarah Dice, said training the service dog will help keep Sophia safe and healthy.
"When Sophia was 2, she got diagnosed with epilepsy," Dice said. "We were hoping that by the time school started, she'd grow out of it; but it doesn't look like she's going to."
Doctors told the family it would likely be years before Sophia outgrew her condition, so it would be wise to get a seizure alert dog. However, the organization Dice was working with to acquire the dog only provides service dogs who haven't been trained. A dog trainer in Tebbetts will train the dog in basic obedience and canine good citizenship - a four-week course.
"It will $1,400 for the first part of training," Dice said. "I'm really grateful for her grandparents, Michael and Teresa Cuno, for doing this raffle for her."
Mike Cuno owns Rooster Creek; his son is Dice's boyfriend.
Depending on the results, the dog may need further obedience training. Then, she'll learn how to be a seizure alert dog, which will cost much more.
Remarkably, Dice said, Elsa - a German shepherd and Labrador retriever cross named after a Disney character - has picked up some of the basics on her own.
"She's already alerted us for three seizures," she said. "When my daughter has a seizure, Elsa alerts us and stays still next to her for 30 minutes after the seizure is over."
That's no small feat for an energetic dog like Elsa.
"She loves her; she's her best friend," Dice said. "Elsa's been sick for the past couple of days, and Sophia has been helping take care of her. They're inseparable."
Harvey said Rooster Creek has been displaying the quilts and has already raised more than $200 in raffle ticket sales. Tickets cost $6 for five, and the winning tickets will be drawn on Monday.
Colorful events
Aside from the raffle, there will be plenty of other attractions at the quilt show.
Visitors get to help pick the quilt show's winners out of the 164 entries.
"Anybody could enter a quilt," Harvey said. "Every quilt is a good quilt, that's kind of our deal. We have no quilt police."
Attendees pick their favorite in each of five categories (adult, vintage, art, child and miscellaneous, which includes things like table runners) and favorite overall. Each category will have a first-, second- and third-place finishers.
Fourteen vendors - from the area and around the country- will be bringing their sewing-related wares to the show.
"We've got one guy that's coming, and he takes old sewing tables and turns them into lamps," Harvey said. "There's also a local lady who makes ironing board tables with storage, which is really neat.
"(The) Rooster Creek guild has donated close to 900 door prizes."
Linda Bratten, who sometimes teaches classes at Rooster Creek, will do live quilting-related demonstrations. The full schedule can be found at facebook.com/roostercreek/
Harvey said she hopes this year's show draws an even bigger crowd than last year's, nd helps more people find their way to Rooster Creek.
"Rooster Creek is like my second home," she said. "I'm out there all the time because I love it. I've never seen another shop like it."
If you go
What: Rooster Creek Company Quilt Show
Where: Summit Plaza, West Simon Boulevard, Holts Summit, Mo.
When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today-Friday; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday
How much: $5 admission