Stitching Memories

– Concordia’s All-Day Quilt Show

Concordia Retirement is gearing up for an All-Day Quilt Show on Wednesday, March 20th. This event will showcase a stunning collection of quilts created up to a century ago, presented by talented residents and quilters from the community. It is truly remarkable to witness the preservation of precious moments through these handmade creations. The meticulous attention to detail and precision involved in quilting guarantees that every piece is a genuine work of art, deserving to be treasured by future generations.

Where else you can go to enjoy such a vast array of quilts in Northwest Arkansas? There are innumerable quilt patterns, fabrics and styles for quilters to choose from, and rarely are two quilts ever alike. At quilt shows we often see unique color combinations and quilt patterns that we would have never dreamed of using. There’s so much creativity displayed under one roof; you don’t want to miss it.

Betty O’Neill, a Concordia resident and former president of a local quilter’s guild, will be displaying two quilts. The first quilt is an Enigma quilt pattern in rich earth tones. The second quilt is a beautiful, double-sided king-sized quilt that placed “Best in Show” at a quilt show years ago. This award-winning quilt has an oriental flair, with peacocks as centerpieces on both sides. The color themes and styles of the two sides are vastly different. On one side the peacock is surrounded by a more traditional-looking pieced quilt using blues, greens, and yellows along with some of the peacock feathers incorporated in the blocks. On the other side of the quilt a collage of peacocks is in the center, surrounded by black fabric beautifully quilted with white thread. Along the left and right borders are eight quilted geisha girl portraits, adding a touch of Japanese culture to the design.

Another resident, Ruby Norman, will be showcasing a unique star quilt that she pieced together for her mother. She skillfully assembled pink and white triangles to create the star pattern. To add a touch of elegance, Ruby embroidered white squares in the middle and corners of the quilt using complementary pink thread. As a former teacher, Ruby maintained contact with some of her students, including one from her first sixth-grade class who shared her passion for quilting. This student not only finished the quilt but also added a beautiful quilting pattern to enhance its overall appearance. The fact that a former student helped with the quilt makes it even more special.

A new Concordia resident and avid quilter, Margaret Vannatta, transformed her spare bedroom into a dedicated quilting room. She chose her apartment because of the stunning Bella Vista views and the abundance of natural light that streams through the windows. When she spent time at a cabin on Beaver Lake, she found a lovely leaf. Upon returning home, she used the leaf as inspiration to create a quilt pattern. Margaret proudly displays this quilt, adorned with leaves in beautiful fall colors, on her bed. She will also be showcasing another large quilt which features a unique matching round pillow adorned with several loose individual flower petals attached to the center.

Another unique and remarkable quilt being showcased is a tie quilt from Joyce Sheldon’s grandmother. The material used for the quilt is from several precious wedding dresses her family wore. This quilt was pieced together in the late 1800s by her grandmother and her sisters. Joyce shared that back then wedding dresses were not white; they used darker colors and fabrics with designs on them. Her mother’s wedding dress was a black beaded dress with a fancy matching hat. She wanted her mother’s dress to be preserved and enjoyed by others, so she donated it to the Historical Society of Clinton City, Iowa.

Joyce will also be displaying a quilt her husband’s mother created. It features a beautiful star comprised of orange and yellow triangles on a cream background. One of the things that makes this quilt extra special is that if you look closely, you can see tiny spots of burgundy. These spots are the places where quilters poked their fingers and bled while sewing the intricate quilt pattern onto the quilt.

Of all the many metaphors for life, one of the most enduring, it seems to me, is the metaphor of life as a quilt. Put together bit by bit using rather ordinary materials, yet the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts, and in the end, it tells a beautiful story. Each quilt holds both known and unknown memories within its stitches. They hold memories made by groups of girls and women sitting around the quilt, visiting while each sewed on a section. Current owners of a quilt also have memories of their loved one who passed the quilt down through the generations. Even the current-day quilts, like the leaf quilt mentioned above, hold a special memory for Margaret, who found the leaf that inspired the quilt when she was enjoying time out at Beaver Lake.

Please stop in on Wednesday, March 20th to see all the lovely quilts that will be displayed or call us today at 479-855-3714 for more information.