Two things still pertain to quilt making, even though the concept of sewing padding between two pieces of fabric has gone through changes since frontier women saved every piece of clothing to recycle into masterpieces of domestic art.
The two things that haven’t changed: Every quilt has a story. And nothing goes to waste.
Last Saturday, the St. Clair County Quilt Guild held its biennial quilt show in Lowry City. The highlight of the show was a Bed Turning, a traditional way to showcase a quilter’s work while telling the history of bed coverings.
At a Bed Turning, quilts are layered on a bed, then each held up in turn.
As Julie Nold and Patty Clark ‘turned’ the quilts on the bed, Cindy Moran told their stories — the name of the pattern, who sewed the pieces together and who the quilt was made for.
More quilts will be displayed in Clinton this Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, at the 5th Annual Quilt Walk on the downtown Clinton Square. Running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, the Quilt Walk is a free event put on Clinton Main Street. Participants start at the White Flower Quilt Shop, 140 W. Jefferson, to pick up tote bags with the Quilt Walk map, then visit stores on the Square to collect different quilt-block patterns.
Clinton stores will also be displaying quilts, and there will be free bed-turnings at the Henry County Historical Museum and trunk showings at the Rotary Building.
“You’ll see a lot of us there,” the St.Clair County Guild members said.
A revival in quilt-making was triggered by the American Bicentennial in the late ‘70s, blossoming into quilt guilds and quilt fabric shops in most communities.
The St. Clair County Quilt Guild started in 1989 with five quilters, known as “the fast-fingered five.” It has grown to 30 members, who meet on the third Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. in the Lowry City Civic Building, with a workshop in the morning.
St. Clair County Quilt Guild has been holding a quilt show every other year since 1994, and this year, introduced a new element by inviting vendors to rent tables, turning the event the Quilters and Crafters Day Out.
“This is our first time having this big a show,” said Debbie Rodgers, event chairperson. “We’ve never had crafters.”
The quilt revolution was fueled by the use of rotary cutters and the invention of the computer-driven long-arm quilting machine.
With fewer people sewing clothes and the prevalence of synthetic fabrics, quilts are no longer made by recycling outgrown clothing. But quilters are still thrifty.
“We take fabric scraps and make them into dog beds for the Clinton Animal Shelter,” Debbie said. “Nothing goes to waste.”
Guild members use the workshop time on meeting days to work on their own projects, a guild quilt or one of the charitable quilts they make, Debbie said.
“It’s a lot of fun and educational,” said Patty Fugitt. “If you have any questions, someone is there to help you.”
“There are a lot of ladies and lots of experience to help you get started,” Debbie said. “I was a beginner two years ago.”
Thirteen vendors paid $20 for a table at the St. Clair County Giuld’s event, she said, which was held in the Lowry City Civic Center. The money raised to be used for scholarships for graduating seniors at each of the three St. Clair County high schools —Appleton City, Osceola and Lakeland. The guild also uses earnings to buy supplies to make charity quilts for the local boys’ ranch and other organizations.
The guild also raised funds by having the quilt-show version of a cake walk. For two dollars, people had a chance to win a layer cake, which in quilter lingo is a stack of 10-inch squares of coordinating fabrics.
Quilt fabric also comes precut in Jelly Rolls, strips of coordinating fabric a few inches wide by a yard and a third long. Honey Buns are narrower versions of Jelly Rolls, and Charm Packs are small versions of layer-cake squares.
The St. Clair Quilters’ Bed Turning included a quilt made by members for the guild’s former president, Claudia Higgins. Also shown was a bear-paw quilt a member made for a new grandchild, and a quilt with squares of vintage campers, a gift for a daughter who likes to take her R.V. on the road.
The oldest quilt shown was made in the 1920s by Mrs. Henry Moran, a relative of Cindy’s husband. Deborah Knowles rescued a quilt top and hand-quilted it, Cindy said, and Cathy Conrad and her daughter made a quilt from squares pieced by a former guild member.
Patty Clark’s quilt, with pieced and embroidered blocks of birds in their natural habitat, was a gift for her daughter, an ardent birder who lives in Arizona.
Of the many Garden Charm quilts was one made by Cindy in Civil War reproduction fabrics. The quilts displayed on stage were created by quilt guild members using Underground Railroad patterns of sampler blocks in different fabrics and colors.
For a crash course in the history of quilt patterns, plan to be at the Henry County Museum at 12:30 p.m. both days of the Clinton Quilt Walk, April 5 and 6, for a Bed Turning in the museum annex, just off the northwest corner of the Square at 203 W. Franklin.
There is no charge for the museum bed turnings or the trunk shows by Laura Piland, a Kansas City quilt designer. Laura is known for the exploding heart pattern, and will be showing quilts at 2 p.m. both days that span traditional to modern designs at the Rotary Building, 200 W. Franklin, across from the museum. Go to Laura’s website, sliceofpiquilts.com, for more information about her work.
Clinton Main Street’s Spring Sidewalk Sales will be going on during the Quilt Walk. Other Main Street events popping up in April: “Downtown is Blooming,” late-evening shopping on April 25, and “Promenade of the Square,” a photo-op for prom goers, on April 27, starting with a line-up to walk the red carpet at 2:45 p.m. For more information, go to Clinton Main Street’s Facebook.
The backdrop for the Promenade will be classic vintage cars provided by members of Crusin’ to Clinton. Car enthusiasts put on a free cruise night on the Clinton Square on the second Saturday of the month, May through October, from 4 to 7 p.m. For more information, check the Cruisn’ to Clinton Facebook.
The Greater Golden Valley Quilters Guild meets in Clinton on the first Tuesday of the month.
Clinton’s historic square, surrounding the shady grounds of the Henry County Courthouse, is the largest town square in Missouri, and the fourth largest town square in the United States.
