AUBURN - Caren Betlinski has come a long way since she began making quilts more than 10 years ago. She didn't even know how to sew a button at the time.

On Sunday, Betlinski was the featured speaker at the second of five trunk shows to be held at Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, in Auburn. The shows have been organized to run concurrently with the art center's 26th annual quilt exhibition, “Quilts = Art = Quilts.” The quilt show boasts 89 quilts from 80 artists, and lasts until Jan. 6.

A new quilt-maker will show work and speak at the art center each Sunday through Dec. 9. Some of the guests have pieces in the current show. Betlinski does not, though she showed a quilt in last year's exhibition.

During her talk, Betlinski told of how she went from a teacher who liked to paint with oils to a fiber artist with an eye for color and a passion for thread work

That passion was not always with her, though.

“I took home economics in high school. I loved the cooking part, and I hated the sewing part,” she said before showing and speaking about almost two-dozen quilts.

Betlinski spoke to a crowd of about 40 people, discussing her techniques and progression as a quiltmaker. When she started in 1995, her pieces were traditional. As she improved her skills, she began quilting more difficult landscapes and nature scenes - a fall afternoon in the Adirondacks, a bouquet of sunflowers, a rural farm scene.

For Betlinski, quilting is about more than sewing a blanket for a warm night.

“A lot of people only think of quilts as something for the bed,” Betlinski said. “A lot of us are trying to make them an art. Hopefully we'll succeed.”

Stephanie Schuster, who organizes the trunk shows, said the talks are meant to introduce the public to the work of area quilt-makers. While “Quilts = Art = Quilts” includes quilt artists from all over the county, only quilt makers from the region are invited to speak at the trunk shows.

“They are opportunities to really examine someone's body of work and their journey as a quiltmaker,” Schuster said. “We get to hear what they have to say as a person and an artist.”

Phyllis Blatchly, of Auburn, has attended the last two trunk shows, though she is not a quilter. Blatchly said she was impressed by Betlinski's work, especially a lavender-toned quilt called “Swamp Angel,” which depicts a great egret taking flight.

“Every one of these shows are different,” Blatchly said. “Everyone of them adds a great deal of insight (to the work).”

Betlinski said her love of working with rich colors while painting has continued in her quilting. Many of the pieces she showed were bright and bold.

And while she can obviously sew now, Betlinski said she still has a long way to go.

“I still don't do buttons, and zippers are iffy,” Betlinski said.

For more information about Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center and its weekly Trunk Shows, visit www.schweinfurthartcenter.org or call 255-1553.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.

Upcoming trunk shows

Nov. 25: Janet Root: A teacher of traditional quilting classes around Rochester, Root was nominated for Professional Quilter's Teacher of the Year in 2005.

Dec. 2: Bette Rogers: This quilt artist from Honeoye Falls made functional quilts while living in Japan. She studied the art of Japanese flower arrangement known as ikebana at the same time, and eventually combined her interests by making ikebana quilts.