Quilting - A tradition recorded with needle and thread

By Stephen Van Smith

Old quilts tell a story. Wrap yourself in one and you can almost feel the love poured into the hours of tedious labor it took to produce the covering.

Quilts not only serve to keep us warm, but many are beautiful works of art. And this art form is being kept alive by the members of the A to Z Quilters Club in Geraldine.

In the winter months, when there's no gardening or yard work to keep them busy, eight ladies meet to carry on a local tradition that started 25 years ago. "Some of us were already quilting in our homes," says Evelyn Guest, 86, of Geraldine. "We talked about it and decided to form a quilting club. It's more fun to quilt together."

"In the old days, people made quilts for cover," says Maudell Tidmore, 78, of Dawson, who serves as president of the club. "We don't do that anymore. We do it for the enjoyment."

The club meets two days per week, four hours each day, in the former jail building in the old downtown Geraldine area. The room where they do their quilting was once a fire truck bay, before the building was renovated for community use.

Each member of the A to Z Quilting Club works on designs and quilting squares at home to produce their own quilt tops. Members take turns (in alphabetical order) bringing a top for everyone to work together on to complete a quilt.

Those who quilt with the club two days per week get two completed quilts each year. Those quilting one day per week get one completed quilt annually.

Meet the members

Quilting means many things to these ladies, who each have their own story about how they came to quilting:

Bobbie Shores, 67, of Dawson

"I'm the newest... and the slowest," laughs Shores, who joined the club last year. After retiring from her position as bus driver at Fyffe school, Shores became part of the group.

"I've always enjoyed doing things with my hands," she says. But it's not just the handiwork that keeps her quilting. "I enjoy the fellowship. It's been a real blessing."

Willodeen Mauldin, 75, of Geraldine

Staying busy is an important part of staying young at heart. "We're at the age where we're not as active as we used to be," Mauldin says. "But we can sit here and quilt."

Quilting with her friends touches the past for Mauldin, who was taught quilting basics as a teenager. She has been developing her skills since moving to Geraldine and joining the club in 1978.

Floelle Burke, 73, of Geraldine

"I enjoy doing things with a needle," says Burke, adding that the time she spends quilting gives her husband time to pursue his interests.

Quilting became more special to Burke, a 20-year veteran of the club, upon discovery of a fascinating genealogical nugget. She has been told that one of her ancestors, an English tailor by the name of Loftin, is credited with inventing the thimble, the metal thumb protector that is a necessary tool for anyone using a needle. (Note: Burke shares this ancestor with fellow quilters Gwendolyn Richey and Evelyn Guest.)

Gwendolyn Richey, 83, of Geraldine

"I'm the fastest member... and it's a good thing, too, or we never would get anything done," laughs the spirited Richey. Although she has quilted most of her life, Richey has spent more time at the craft since her husband's death 11 years ago.

"I did 11 quilts last year," she says, which is in addition to the ones she works on with the club. "I've quilted 84 since 1984, with just a little help on some," she says.

Bernice Harris, 72, of Dawson

Even though Harris joined the club just last year, quilting has been part of her life since her youth. "My mother carded the cotton for filler," she remembers, referring to the process of brushing cotton between two 'cards' to prepare it for use in a quilt.

"When I retired from Arrow shirt factory in Albertville in 1993, I started quilting at home," she says. Harris now enjoys the fellowship found in the quilting club.

Maudell Tidmore, 78 of Dawson

Many of Tidmore's quilts are part of her legacy, heirlooms she gives to her two daughters.

Although she had quilted some throughout her life, Tidmore began seriously pursuing the craft in 1985. "I had lost my husband, and needed to get into something," she says. The quilting club has proven to be an excellent outlet.

Mamie Higgins, 78, of Geraldine

For the past two decades, quilting has been an important part of life for Higgins. She quilts at home, in addition to her work with the club.

Higgins sells some of her pieces, while giving others to family members. "I've given a lot of quilts away," she says. Her work has also won several ribbons.

Evelyn Guest, 86, of Geraldine

The senior member of the group, Guest has a long history of quilting experience. "I helped my mother get quilts ready," she recalls. "I pressed the scraps, and helped put batting on the lining."

Guest is a charter member of the quilting club.

Community quilters

The A to Z Quilting Club produces more than beautiful quilts. Club members also use their talents to benefit their community.

Since 1986, area quilters have raised thousands of dollars through an annual quilt show. Billie Crumly is given much of the credit for launching the effort. "Billie got us started with quilt shows," says Mauldin. "She inspired us."

Shortly after moving back to the 100-year-old family farm house in 1985, Crumly put to work what she had witnessed while living in Georgia. "I had seen quilt shows in the Atlanta area, and I knew we could make some money with one," says Crumly.

The efforts began as a way to help Geraldine build a new library. ""Our first show was held in the hull of the library," Crumly recalls. "There weren't any walls up yet, so we hung quilts for petitions."

That first show raised $600. "We were excited," Crumly says. "We thought that was wonderful."

The show later moved to Crumly's farm, where she and husband John hosted hundreds of guest who came to view the quilts displayed throughout their home, on hay bales, in the barn, and other spots.

"I chaired ten shows on behalf of the library," says Crumly. "The last one, we cleared $7,200."

A quilt show is now held every spring at the Geraldine Homemakers building. It raises a few thousand dollars each year, and benefits a variety of projects. "We give away two $250 scholarships," says Tidmore. The money also benefits St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Sav-A-Life, and a project to dig wells overseas.

Preserving the art

While members of the A to Z Quilting Club enjoy the fellowship, they are doing more than passing away the time. They are keeping alive an important folk tradition that is in danger of disappearing altogether.

"It's an art," says Tidmore. "I'm afraid that when this generation is gone..." she pauses, reflecting on the sad possibilities, "well, the younger generations just aren't quilting."