Quilts link generations via stitches and love

Kathy Kroeger, chair of the upcoming 8th Biennial Quilted Treasures Quilt Show, works on a patriotic-themed wall hanging. Similar projects will be on display at the upcoming quilt show, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 27-28, at the Admiral Coontz Recreation Center, 301 Warren Barrett Drive. Contributed photo.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

In one week’s time, the vast expanse of Hannibal’s Admiral Coontz Recreation Center at 301 Warren Barrett Drive will be transformed from a community activity venue into a wall-to-wall exhibit of quilt art.

The Hannibal Piecemakers Quilt Guild will host its 8th Biennial Quilted Treasures Quilt Show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, March 27, and again from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 28. Some 300 quilts will be on display.

The event is open to the public. There will be a $5 admission fee.

Show chair is Kathy Kroeger, who as a child gained an appreciation for fabric art at the side of her paternal grandmother, Marie Bridges.

“Quilting has been part of my life for so long. Grandma started it. She did embroidery blocks, and put them together; that became a completed top. She would hand quilt it through a hoop.”

She sold these quilts for $35.

“She would plunk out one about every 10 days. That was her extra income,” Kroeger said.

“That’s where I started. She did it and I enjoyed it. She gave a quilt to her grandchildren as they graduated from high school.”

Kroeger describes quilting as “A rare and wonderful creation of the soul. It links (you to) those who stitched before, and those who will follow.

“A quilt is more than fabric,” Kroeger said. “It is batting and stitches. (But is also) the embodiment of love. Something of their hands to give to someone.

“It is something tangible. You absolutely can’t take anything with you,” Kroeger said. But when you pass a quilt on, it can last longer than a lifetime. “I have some quilts my grandmother made in the 1930s. (A quilt) represents someone else’s love of working on the quilt.”

Quilt show

The quilt show is not intended for quilters to just show off their work, Kroeger said, but to “show off our passions. Our guild is about teaching others how to make quilts and to be of service, and give to service projects,” such as the Honor Flight, food pantries, Christmas stockings, Quilts of Valor and more.

Noting that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Mark Twain’s famed novel, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” the guild will present a Mark Twain-themed wall hanging to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 27.

“It is a lovely to think that we have such a meaningful person who came from our small town,” Kroeger said, referencing Sam Clemens aka Mark Twain.

“Right now we are making lots of wall hangings or small quilts for veterans,” she said. At 1 p.m. Saturday, March 28, there will be a veterans presentation. “We will hand (7 or 8 veterans) small quilts. The quilts are usually red, white and blue, or with lovely fabric that depicts America.”

A “Quilt Academy” will also be a special quilt show feature.

This will consist of presentations or what Kroeger describes as “little lectures.” Among the lectures:

“One is ‘a bed turning,’” Kroeger said. This consists of putting quilts in a pile on a flat surface, then talking about each quilt in turn, including who quilted it.

The discussion might include the fabric and what era it came from. For example, a purple quilt, Kroeger said, “might mean the quilter wants to show off her very best talent. The quilt may not look like much, but it has a lot of history.”

Another lecture will delve into creative labels for quilts. A label is just a piece of square fabric put on the back of the quilt. “Quilts are named, just like children,” Kroeger said. “If I made this for Cathy, we might call it Cathy’s quilt.” Jackie Williams will make the presentation.

Another lecture will be harsh soaps to avoid, Kroeger said, a topic that applies to antique quilts. Father Greg Meystrik of Holy Family Church will share information he obtained from a Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Neb. 

An “opportunity quilt” will be on display throughout the event, and will be given away via raffle at the show’s conclusion. It is “gorgeous,” Kroeger said, made from a traditional pattern, 96x96 inches. Proceeds will be used to fund the quilt guild’s charity projects.

For those interested in learning more about quilting, the Piecemakers Quilt Guild members are ready to assist. They meet at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month at the Knights of Columbus hall, 1 Columbus, Road, Hannibal. Guests are always welcome to attend.

“Our guild is about teaching others how to make quilts. We do the quilt shows to share our talent and to answer questions. If you want to learn about something, come and talk to our quilt guild members,” Kroeger said.

Kroeger, a nurse by profession, never runs out of quilting inspiration. She has a stockpile of fabric acquired through the years, awaiting the next quilt vision.

“I buy a quarter of a yard here, and 3/4 yard there.”

The Piecemakers Quilt Guild began in 1992 with fewer than 10 members. Today, there are 60  or more members.

“Come on this day,” Kroeger said referring to the quilt show or the meetings, in order to experience the “warmth of quilters. We like to sew and like to teach.”