PORT TOWNSEND — Inside the Northwest Maritime Center’s Wooden Boat Chandlery hangs an original, one-of-a-kind creation.
It’s a gift from quilting virtuosa Lynn Boettcher of Port Townsend, “The Advent Regatta,” and it will sail in September into a new home.
The quilt, which pictures 25 boats on a sea-blue backdrop, is the prize in a drawing to raise money for the Wooden Boat Foundation, and tickets are on sale now.
The deadline to purchase them is July 15.
At $1 apiece or six for $5, the tickets provide buyers with the chance to win “The Advent Regatta” in a drawing to be held Sept. 11, the last day of the three-day Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend.
To purchase tickets for the quilt drawing, visit the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St., or phone its Wooden Boat Chandlery at 360-385-3638.
New design
“Regatta” is a new design with no plans or kits behind it, Boettcher said.
It took more than 300 hours and 21⁄2 months to finish, she added.
The inspiration came in part from an advent calendar Boettcher made for a friend: It showed 25 trains marking the 25 days leading up to Christmas.
Her husband, Karl, is a sailor. The two of them played Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus at the Chandlery for the past two Christmases, and the idea for a 25-boat advent quilt popped into her mind early one morning, Boettcher said.
But while she had the vision, she wasn’t entirely certain how the quilt would come together.
So she consulted her husband, who is also a civil engineer, and together, they developed the boats-and-rigging design.
Other techniques Boettcher used include applique, foundation piecing, machine piecing and hand-guided machine quilting, with a silver fabric paint added for sparkle.
The quilt itself measures 45 inches by 47 inches and is patterned after a paper advent calendar, which traditionally has 25 small doors for each of the 25 days of Christmas.
Since “The Advent Regatta” doesn’t have such doors, it comes with a hand-quilted bag to hold the goodies that would have been hidden behind the doors.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
