Antique Quilt Show big hit

By Janice M. Howard / Style Editor for the Southern Standard

Antique show chairperson Lena Jones, left, presents the Best of Show ribbon to Thetis Keel, displaying the winning quilt and a portrait of her great, great-grandmother, Ruth Wilt, who had made the heirloom in the mid-1800s. (Margaret Hobbs photo)

The array of vintage quilts on display Sept. 7 and 8 at the fifth annual Antique Quilt Show brought a burst of color to Fairfield Village Courthouse as a first-day feature of the Warren County A&L Fair.

All entries were required to have been hand-pieced and hand-quilted prior to 1973. Most were dated from the mid-1800s to 1940s. Information included the approximate date of the heirloom, the name of its present owner and identity of the original quilt maker, if known.

Among outstanding examples of fine stitchery was the entry that won the People’s Choice Award. Mae Sparkman’s winning quilt, estimated at 40 years old, featured a butterfly design. She had purchased the partly quilted treasure at a yard sale in Kentucky and then finished it herself.

Claiming Best of Show honors was the heirloom quilt entered by Thetis Keel. It had been sewn in the middle 1800s by her great, great-grandmother, Ruth Wilt, who was a resident of Indiana.

Accompanied by a portrait of Mrs. Wilt and a coverlet, circa 1846, the Best of Show winner had been passed down through the family until an auction was held in 1992 and six family members purchased it together. Now, each owner has possession of the vintage quilt every six years as it travels from Tennessee to Ohio and California.

Debbie Allen brought a small bear she had made from a quilt piece to preserve what was left of a handmade treasure. A few years ago, she had purchased an old wooden ironing board being sold at auction. Padding underneath the old cover had been cut to size from a Friendship Quilt. It was embroidered with the date 1940 and two names, Lady R. Slatton and Ola Mae Roa? She’s interested in knowing more about the original quilt and its makers.

First, second and third place winners were as follows:

Class A – Pieced: Dot Panter, first; Melba Pistole, second; and Jean Gilley, third.

Class B – Appliqu?d: Mary Jo Brewer, first; Ethel Curtis, second; Joyce Owen, third.

Class C – Embroidered: Mae Sparkman, first; Jean Gilley, second.

Class D – Crazy Quilt: Sue Smartt, first; Wilma Cathey, second; Melba Pistole, third.

Class E – Unquilted Top: Wilma Cathey, first; Iona King, second; Mary Jo Brewer, third.

Class F – Most Unusual: Rose Walker, first; Ethel Curtis, second; Doris Erwin, third.

Class G – Friendship: Wilma Cathey, first; Willa Dean Savage, second, Eva Sue Bouldin, third.