Quilting Retreat and Trunk Show held in Oklee

Oklee Quilting Supply and Thief River Falls Quilting Guild sponsored a guest speaker and quilt trunk show event on Friday evening, March 23rd at the Oklee Hall. The guest speaker was Doug Leko who founded Antler Quilt Design in 2008, when he was still a high school student. Working in his mother’s quilt shop had helped him develop his skills and refine his art, and soon Doug began to develop and market his own designs.

Since then, his reputation has grown along with his business. He has a vibrant and growing collection of patterns available at quilt stores around the U.S., Canada and the world. He is also online at antlerquiltdesign.com. His work has been featured in McCall’s Quilting and Quiltmaker, and American Patchwork & Quilting.

Doug was a very good speaker and teacher (he held a class the following day in the Oklee Hall) and has a wide following among quilters around the world. His energy and passion coupled with his unique level of expertise and innovative quilt designs make him a favorite among quilters.

There were over 60 people on Friday night at the Trunk Show with Doug Leko. Leko started his quilt show with the first quilt he ever made at the young age of 5. His mother owned a quilt shop and since he spent lots of time there, his mother said he might as well learn to quilt. Leko had brought about 30 quilts and runners for this show. He also had a table set in the hall with a good selection of his quilting books, templates he had designed, threads, and other miscellaneous items quilters need for their art.

On Saturday in the Oklee Hall, Leko held a class to a group of over 20 people who learned how to make the English Knot quilt he had on display. People came from many directions and distances to attend this class. He was a good teacher, walking around and pointing out hints and techniques to the quilters.

While this was going on at the hall, there was also a Quilting Retreat held at the Oklee Inn with a good sized group of people, approx. 30, gals working on their own projects. Some of these folks came from Hastings, MN, south of the Twin Cities. It was larger than last year’s Quilting Retreat. Everyone was having a good time visiting and working on a wide variety of projects. Not all of them were quilts. 

Oklee Quilting got to show off their newly decorated/remodeled Quilt Shop as they were open extended hours after the Truck Show and longer hours on Saturday.