News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A local quilting group invites you to see their handiwork this weekend as the Cookeville Crazy Quilters hosts the Southern Charm Quilt Show.
Cookeville Crazy Quilters Chairman Peggy Jones said the group started in 1979 and meets twice a month at the Putnam County Library to quilt together and promote the art of quilting. Jones said the name Crazy Quilters might be misleading to some as the group is in fact not crazy.
“There’s a pattern it’s an old-time kind of quilt that was started in the 1800s and made with all kinds of fabric that people could find and fancy stitches in it called the crazy quilt,” Jones said. “So the group was named after a kind of quilt that is made.”
Group Member Becky Carlson said the group originally started with 10 quilters and was started by a woman who craved to have a local group in Putnam County and now has grown to 40 quilters.
Jones said the show is to display the work that local quilters have done and to help reach quilting enthusiasts in the community. Jones said she believes the best part about quilting and probably what has kept it relevant to this day is the socializing that takes place while quilting.
“Many years ago it was an opportunity for women to get together what is known as the quilting bee,” Jones said. “A large group of women, maybe neighbors would get together to talk about what was going on and quilt all of them together onto one quilt. They had old frames that were raised up to the ceiling of their homes and would bring them down for a day of quilting and enjoy the comradery of quilters and I am sure they kept up with a lot of gossip in the area at the same time.”
Jones said quilting has also evolved and has become a million-dollar industry. Jones said the group welcomes all quilters regardless of quilting experience.
“It has become an art, so there are traditional designs in quilting as well as art designs,” Jones said. “You may have heard of modern quilting. It is something that our group is for all skill levels. We encourage new people and younger people are coming into the quilting world and it is just a fun way to meet new people and be creative.”
Jones said the show has over 200 different quilts on display this weekend. Jones said surprisingly enough she has seen a lot of men who are into quilting visit the show.
The Southern Charm Quilt Show takes place at Central City Church in Cookeville Saturday from 9am-4pm. If interested in joining the Cookeville Crazy Quilters feel free to attend one of their monthly meetings at the Putnam County Library. The group meets on the first Thursday of each month at 4:30pm. The group will not have a December meeting and the next meeting will be on January 2nd at 10am.
