Cozy up to a quilt this October — and November!

Cindi DeSpelder specializes in kaleidoscope quilts.

Just in! We’ve extended this popular show through November! Our winter hours start Nov. 1, so we’ll be open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Come see these amazing creations.

Multiple quilters will be exhibiting at Twisted Fish Gallery during our “Adventures in Quilting” show in October (and now, November!)

“Moon Over Water” by Christine Zimmer

Cindi DeSpelder’s specialty kaleidoscope quilts are composed of 136 to 216 separate pieces. She starts by searching for appropriate fabrics, which must be “bilaterally symmetrical,” then pieces together a design, a laborious process that often takes as long as the construction. She makes templates, finds other fabrics to complement the original, plays around with the design some more, starts building wedges … and eventually machine-stitches the circle, which has to lay flat. The kaleidoscope is eventually hand-appliqued to a background.

DeSpelder started quilting in 1988 and the second quilt she made was voted the Viewer’s Choice at a City Opera House quilt show in 1989. The Twisted Fish Gallery will be her first gallery exhibit.

Other quilters exhibiting in “Adventures in Quilting” are Christine Zimmer, Marcia Waara, Sylvia Walworth, Gail Ingraham, Kathleen Glynn, Lenore Crawford, Maggie Quinn, Debra Danko, Shannon Maisel and Shanna Robinson. All are well-known textile artists from around the state; Robinson is exhibiting her work in ArtPrize 2015.

“Forest Floor with Pink Lady Slippers” by Sylvia Walworth

“Adventures in Quilting” continues daily through Nov. 28 at Twisted Fish Gallery, 10443 S. Bayshore Dr., Elk Rapids. Twisted Fish Gallery features original art from local artisans both at its Elk Rapids store and online at the Fine Art Mart.