Earlville Opera House is hosting its annual Quilt Show from July 18 through September 12 to celebrate Central New York’s rich quilting culture.
The Quilt Show takes place in the East and West Galleries, with an opening reception on Saturday, July 18 from 1-3pm. Gallery openings are always free and open to the public.
During the Quilt Show, patrons and guests are able to vote for their favorite quilt. The winner of the “People’s Choice” will be given the opportunity of having a solo exhibit in the Arts Café during the 2027 Annual Quilt Show.
CLick Here to Submit an Application to join this annual event.
Arts Cafe Solo Quilter
2025 People’s Choice Award Winner - Lynn Brockway
Born and raised in New Jersey, Lynn came to central NY to attend college in 1976, and has been here ever since. Currently, she lives with her husband Tom, also her daughter and grandson, in Cassville, NY.
She began her teaching career as a teacher’s assistant, then furthered her education as a Special Education teacher in 2002. Lynn taught at the Sherburne-Earlville elementary school from 2004 to 2022.
Early hobbies were crocheting and counted cross stitch. She always loved browsing the wonderful array of fabrics in the stores- but was never very good at making clothing.
In the early 1990’s, she took a beginner’s quilt making class at a local community college. Finally, she could play with the fabrics she loved! As a traditional quilter, she made quilts through piecing, appliqué, and English Paper Piecing techniques. Her only problem was starting projects and often not completing them. So, they’d be packed away in anticipation of finishing them at some time in the future, perhaps in retirement?
She retired from teaching in 2022, and that winter began exploring how to make fabric collage quilts. She took no formal classes but learned from reading about collage quilting and watching YouTube tutorials. The most influential fabric collage quilters she followed were Emily Taylor, Susan Carlson, and Maxine Tarsey. It felt like she was painting with fabric!
Lynn taught her first collage class “Introduction to Fabric Collage” last fall. In August 2025, she entered her “Longwood” quilt in the Earlville Opera House’s annual quilt show. She was amazed and honored when it won the People’s Choice Award.
Lynn continues to share her love of collage quilting through teaching and trunk show lectures.