Special to the Journal
Quilting is an art form that has enabled women to express their
creativity for hundreds of years through manipulation of fabric, batting and
backing to create warm and cozy bed coverings. They range from the fanciful,
created by women who had the resources to secure the necessary fabrics, to the
humble, made by those who used scraps from worn out clothing and feed
sacks. Regardless of resources
available, quilting was a necessary activity for women in most households.
Hand quilting slowed around the time of World War II for several
reasons. Women joined the workforce en masse, leaving them much less time to
pursue quilting. The new income
stream enabled women to purchase the necessary bed coverings that were now
being mass-produced in factories. Quilting was in danger of becoming a lost art.
However, in the last few decades, women (and men) have returned to
quilting as a means to escape the pressures of work and the world and to engage
in creating a work of beauty that brings comfort to the maker or to the lucky
person who might receive it.
Jackie Marshall, a member of the Crossroads Quilt Guild, said she has
made many quilts for family members since she first started quilting in 1984.
“I went to the library and found every book I could on the subject,”
said the self-taught Marshall, who said her favorite type of quilting is
piecing. There are three types, piecing, appliqué and whole cloth, she said.
Marshall stated that she was inspired by her great-grandmother’s quilt
that was given to her great-grandfather in 1898.
She said quilting provides a person with “ultimate freedom” and
explained that it was also therapeutic.
Eighty-plus members of the Crossroads Quilt Guild are among the legions
of women and men who find joy in practicing this revived art form. The Guild
will present their second bi-annual Middle Georgia Quilt Show “Quilting at the
Crossroads” March 15-18 at the Perry Arts Center, 1121 Macon Road, Perry. Show
hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Monday and 1 to 5 p.m. on
Sunday. Admission is $6; children
10 and under are free.
Over 160 fabulous quilts, ranging from the very traditional to modern
art quilts, will be on display. Not to be missed will be the picnic vignette,
made up of hundreds of quilted elements that will create a scene of one of our
favorite summertime activities. Also included in the show will be live
demonstrations, vendors, opportunities to win a quilt or a basket of quilting
supplies, a members’ boutique of handmade items, and scissor sharpening on
site.
For more information, please contact Jan Morales-Hill at 478-218-5494.
HHJ News
