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 This
dynamic group contributes a great wealth of community service,
sponsors community events, hosts educational presentations, plans
trips, makes handicrafts, and, of course, quilts exquisite quilts
and quilted pieces of all kinds: art pieces, lap quilts, wall
hangings, baby quilts, table runners, shoulder bags, pillows,
Christmas stockings, as well as the traditional bedspreads. Let’s
just say, if it is made of fabric, a quilter has quilted it.
And if these quilters have quilted it, they also have likely given a
good portion of it to a worthy charity. At the opening of their July
meeting, Leslie Keller, representing Head Start, brought thanks from
the preschool teachers of the Head Start program. This summer the
Quilt Guild made and donated 79 cot sheets for use during the
children’s nap time. With daily use and washing, these mattress
coverings can wear out quickly. Keller reported that the Quilt
Guild’s donation saved Head Start $1,300. This amount does not
include children’s quilts also made and donated by the Quilt Guild
earlier this year for the same purpose. Head Start teachers had
already relayed to Quilt Guild Co-president Andrea Tibbs how much
they appreciated these child-size quilts featuring dinosaurs and
choo-choo trains and that they are often used as rewards for good
behavior. The best behaved earns first choice of quilts for nap
time!
Some of the quilts donated to Head
Start
Keller further went on to explain that the donation
of cot sheets not only saved Head Start money, but also helped
fulfill the government requirement of “In Kind.” Keller explained
that because Head Start receives $1 million from the government, the
program is required to find $1 million from other sources. The Quilt
Guild’s donation also helps in that way, she said.
Following Keller’s update, Co-President Tibbs introduced Quilt Guild
charter member Grace Wibben who told the story of the Quilt Guild’s
formation in 1983.
Charter member Grace Wibben
Wibben reminded the group of what many long-time
residents of Lincoln will also remember– the current Lincoln Amtrak
train station served as the site of The Depot restaurant for many
years. Along with the restaurant, she explained, the building also
contained several shops, including a quilt shop run by Judy Katz.
Katz’s shop sold fabric, patterns, and Amish quilts and hosted a
quilting class taught by Georgia Green in the fall of 1982. The
Quilters at Heart Guild grew out of this class. Wibben took her
mother-in-law to the quilting class and first meetings of the Quilt
Guild, knowing her mother-in-law would enjoy it. Wibben’s sister,
Roberta Ingram, also joined the new Quilt Guild as one of about ten
charter members.
Wibben herself had little interest in quilting at the
time because all individual pieces of fabric were cut and sewn by
hand. Wibben had no interest in the tedium (not to mention
hand-cramping) of that amount of cutting by hand. Then the new Quilt
Guild went to a demonstration in Gibson City where they were
introduced to the rotary cutter and everything changed.
Invented by Yoshio Okada in 1979, the rotary cutter looks like a
small pizza cutter. This invention was nearly as revolutionary to
quilting as the introduction of the modern sewing machine 140 years
earlier. Suddenly quilters had a razor-sharp circular blade that
could slice through multiple layers of fabric with a single swipe of
your arm! Wibben became a quilter.
Co-President Tibbs picked up the narrative after
Wibben’s account of the beginnings and offered a retrospective of
the many charities they have supported, their community
participation, and a reflection on what has changed and what has
stayed the same in the decades since sewing their first stitch
together. The quilters are rightfully proud of their history and
community.
Tibbs presented an extensive list of charities Quilters at Heart
have supported. They have sewn baby quilts for St. Jude’s, Project
Linus, and the Pregnancy Resource Center, in addition to Head Start.
They have made patriotic lap quilts for veterans at St. Clara’s
Manor, Christmas stockings for active military, and Quilts of Valor
for wounded service members. They have quilted lap quilts and
birthday quilts for nursing home residents.
Crocheted caps made by Donna Becke
for donation to hospice
They have made quilts and afghans for hospice. They
created a giant Christmas tree skirt and ornaments for the rotunda
Christmas tree at the Logan County Courthouse. They have donated
quilts for fundraising raffles to Mt. Pulaski Courthouse Foundation
and Toys for Tots, as well as items to the Oasis Senior Center. It
is worth noting that all fabric for these projects is donated by
members as well as their time, and the batting (the layer between
the quilt top and the backing) is purchased with members’ annual
dues.
Further participation in the community over the past 40 years has
included hand quilting demonstrations at the Railsplitter and
Balloon Festivals, hosting craft shows, and offering classes on
machine sewing and various quilting and sewing techniques. The Guild
has also organized quilt shows at Castle Manor, Railsplitter
Festival, and Postville Courthouse. They have taken bus trips to
Davenport, Iowa and Indianapolis, Indiana for quilt shows and to
Rosemont for the International Quilt Festival.
After sharing the history of the Guild, the July meeting continued
with the Challenge Raffle. The Challenge Raffle has existed almost
since the Quilt Guild’s inception. At each meeting, those interested
will donate one dollar in exchange for some of the pieces to a quilt
block and a pattern to follow.
July’s Challenge Raffle quilt block
Before the next meeting, each member who enters the
raffle will sew her Challenge quilt block following the same pattern
as all the others who entered the raffle that month and then bring
the completed block to the next meeting. Each raffle participant’s
name is entered into a drawing, and the winner receives all the
completed quilt blocks ready to be sewn together into a new quilt
top, plus any extra Challenge quilt block pieces.
After members collected their Challenge Raffle quilt
block of the month, the meeting continued with a review of upcoming
quilt shows in the Midwest by Co-President Helen Knecht, a brief
Treasurer’s Report and Committee Reports, and then the activity of
the night: the Make and Take. [to top of second
column]
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With a theme of “Christmas in July,” the quilters
made adorable Christmas ornaments demonstrated by Margie Sheley.
Margie Sheley leads the “Christmas in
July”
craft project
Learning new techniques and crafts, discovering new
items on the market, and other educational presentations has also
been part of Quilt Guild meetings since the beginning. Other
presentations over the past year have included the history of
thimbles, crocheted rag rugs, wool applique, and a guest quilt
appraiser.
Toward the end of each meeting is Show and Tell, in which members
bring in recently finished projects for the group to enjoy and
admire. Members also brought previous projects and works-in-progress
to the July meeting as part of the 40th anniversary observance.
Jennifer Helm brought a quilted wall hanging she made
for the 30th anniversary of the Quilt Guild in 2013. It features 30
fabrics, 30 hearts, 1930’s fabric, and is 30 inches in diagonal.
Other quilters brought items intended for entry into
the Logan County Fair and Illinois State Fair Textile Division.
“Windy Hill Farm” by Sandy Wilkerson
won First Prize and Best of Class
at the Logan County Fair
Several quilters brought pieces made for family or
friends, or a vintage quilt, and several brought in
quilts-in-progress started and donated by beloved charter member
Virginia Kendrick, who has been unable to attend recently.
Kendrick’s passion for quilting as well as her creative and
whimsical designs and prolific production has been an inspiration to
the Guild for many years.
Photos from 2018 and 2022 Virginia
Kendrick displaying some of her work
This active organization boasts members of all ages,
and many members attend with their sisters, mothers, or other family
members.
Quilters at Heart Quilt Guild meets the last Thursday
of the month at 7 p.m. at the Oasis Senior Center. The next meeting
will be August 24. The Quilt Guild warmly welcomes visitors and new
members all year. Anyone interested not only in quilting, but any
sewing, needlecraft, textile or fiber arts would enjoy the Quilt
Guild. More information and photos of an array of member-made quilts
can be found on the Quilters at Heart Guild social media page.
[Stephanie Hall] |
