Ladies of the ATA Preserve Quilting Tradition
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Flossine Schrader wasn't sure there was going to be a quilt show at the 2010 Thresherman's Show this August, but a free venue was too good to pass up. The idea had been discussed as far back as Christmas, but plans were not finalized until the week before the Aug. 16-22 show.
In a week, Schrader and five other women put together 50 quilts to display in the building that will soon be the Illinois Rural Heritage Museum. Those five ladies are: Mary Mann, Verna Mayer, Sue Dalman, Mary Greer and Kathy Quandt.
The quilts ranged from modern, brightly colored quilts to homespun works of art. Most of them are treasured family pieces.
Schrader and her mother, the late Cordie Caupert, made several quilts together and separately. A bright, cheerful quilt with Scottie dogs on it was used by Caupert at Skilled Care during her final years. When Schrader made it, she gave each dog a name. One is Fala after Eisenhauer's dog, one is Mrs. Beasley after Bush's dog and another is Daisy like the pooch in the Blondie comic strip.
Mayer made quilts for each of her four children using chicken linen and other feed sacks. Chicken linen comes from chicken feed sacks and comes in multiple patterns.
One of the Greer family quilts in the hallway was made of bags used to hold shot from the time when people made their own shotgun shells.
Two autographed quilts belong to the Perry County Jail Museum and Historical Society.
Schrader strung clothesline then clipped the quilts to the line with clothes pins. The result was a charming hallway of quilts with access to two additional alcoves of quilts.
Visitors were also able to work on a quilt belonging to the American Thresherman Association. It was set up in the center of the big hallway with chairs all around. The quilt will be raffled off at Mardi Gras in October.
"We put it together in seven days," Schrader said on Friday. "I wasn't sure how successful it would be, but we've had quite a few people stop in. There were several who worked on the quilt this morning."
With luck, organizers will put together a 2011 quilt show.