Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Pine Bluffs quilter Rachel Manley, left, assisted by Jo Wells, holds her purple star and tree quilt. The quilt was made with a kit purchased by her sister-in-law, Rachel, who passed away. She then made the quilt and gave it to her nephew as a wedding present.
On the first Saturday of every month, a growing group of women meet to quilt and share stories of their quilting adventures.
At the gathering, a member will "show and tell" the other members about a new or unique technique such as how to put binding on,"paper piecing" or hand embroidering on quilts. They also showcase the quilts that they have made. The quilters are open to suggestions from anyone wanting to learn a new procedure. In addition, they welcome new and old quilters.
The group continues to make quilts for the Nebraska State Patrol troopers in this district and then troopers keep them in the vehicles to give out to children involved in an accident.
This year they are working on a mystery quilt. For January, Clue 1 for the Free Falling Mystery Quilt states that quilters have four fabrics and describes how they should contrast and or have lots of color.
Another project that the quilt club is working on is in celebration of the new dog park. The quilters are making a dog quilt to be raffled off in June for the one year anniversary of the dog park. Individual members will make a dog block and blocks will be put together as a quilt.
Interested persons will be able to purchase a ticket to win the dog quilt. The proceeds will be given to the Kimball Area Foundation for the dog park.
According to Linda Sherman, quilting is very individualized.
"I made three quilts last year, two twins quilts and a baby quilt," she said.
But Linda said that some people make one or two quilts a month, while others are pleased with one finished product every 1 to 2 years. Quilts have a variety of patterns, and Linda said that some can be completed in 8 hours while others take over 200 hours.
"Depends on the pattern and the amount of time they put in," she said.
Rachel Manley of Pine Bluffs showed off her giant star quilt which she made while she was incapacitated after foot surgery. Her husband brought her sewing machine and quilting items to her to keep her busy,
The group started in 2005 and was refereed to as the Kimball Nimble Thimbles Quilt Guild. Melody Farrar was a founding member, while Mary Ann Chapin, Claude Jones and Vicki Grubbs were some of the first officers. Claude Jones is still an active member of the Nimble Thimbles.
For most of their lifespan, the quilting group met at Park Terrace Community Center, but as their numbers have strengthened the guild has move to the Kimball Library Cultural Room.