Heart in Hand Quilt Guild president sews up project

Jan Voiles

Ann Reddick of Rush County, as president of the Heart in Hand Quilt Guild, has one major focus right now — sewing up plans for the club’s quilt show. Club members have made a colorful donation quilt which along with other items will be displayed at the Heart in Hand Quilt Guild Quilt Show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 5 in the Rushville Elementary gymnasium. The admission charge is $2 at the school, which is located at 400 W. 16th Street, Rushville.

Also available that day are chances to win a hand-made, sampler quilt. Proceeds will go to the guild and its charity projects like Rush County Victims Assistance.

The show is open to anyone who would like to participate. To enter quilts or quilted items for display bring them to the RES gymnasium from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. April 4. For more information contact Reddick at 565-6170. Plan now to display your quilt keepsakes.

In conjunction with the quilt show there will be an all-day sewing seminar from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. the same Saturday in the RES gymnasium sponsored by the Rush County Extension Homemakers. There will be seven interest topics to choose from: Jelly Rolls & Charm Packs by Nancy Mason, Understanding Cotton Theory by Cheryl Hasketts, What’s New by Diana Bruns, Panel Pizzazz by Cathy Burkett, Quiltsmart by Ardy Wilson, Machine Paper Piecing by Judy Bowling and Needle Felting by Joann Koch.

The speaker will be Dale Drake on “Caring for Grandma’s Quilt.” The fee is $20 with lunch included. For reservations or information call the Extension Office at 932-5974 by Friday.

“I want to encourage people to make reservations for the sewing seminar. They get a chance visit other quilters and the vendors’ booths,” Reddick said.

There will be vendors from Muncie, Shelbyville, Richmond, Batesville and Greenfield, according to Reddick.

The first show was in the Rush County Courthouse, Reddick recalled.

“This is possibly the eighth show,” she said. “We have them every two or three years.”

The first donation quilt was completed in 1995.

Reddick is in her second year of a two-year term as the quilt guild president. Other officers are Pat Carrigan, vice president; Libby Bales, secretary; and Kathy Wright, treasurer.

The 19 members are from Rush, Decatur and Henry counties, and Indianapolis. They meet at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the Country Quilt Barn near Arlington on U.S. 52 W.

The guild was formed in the early 1990s and is affiliated with the Rush County Cooperative Extension Service. Each gathering starts with a business meeting and ends with a lesson.

“The lesson is at the end so they can leave if they need to,” the president explained. She described the meetings as short, lasting about one hour to 90 minutes.

Another part of each meeting is a show and share time when members show what they’ve made or share ideas.

Special events include an autumn pitch-in dinner and a Christmas celebration at a member’s house.

The seamstresses will have a charity work day in April.

Reddick encouraged anyone interested in quilting to come to a meeting. New members are welcome. Dues are $12.

One project the group has undertaken is a challenge; each member was given a packet of fabrics and told to come up with a small hanging quilt. The only stipulation was that the design include a house. Several members have met the challenge and will display their completed wall hangings at the quilt show.

The donation quilt will also be displayed.

“Each member made one of the blocks, then made her own based on the same block,” Reddick said. “Each meeting another sampler quilt block would be made and members could add them to their own.”

She shared that she heard at a seminar that there are 27 million quilters in this country today, both men and women.

“As a hobby it weaves people together,” was another memorable statement from the meeting.

A graduate of Mays High School, Reddick grew up in Center Township. The daughter of the late Roy and Crystal Reddick, Ann has one sister, Joy Reddick of San Antonio, Texas.

Other hobbies include making cloth art dolls and reading, especially mysteries and about quilts.

Reddick taught school several years at Connersville and is now retired, which gives her more time to pursue her hobbies, especially quilting. Now she doesn’t have to wait until summer to apply needle to cloth and be creative.



Jan Voiles can be contacted at jan.voiles@rushvillerepublican.com or at (765) 932-2222 ext. 107. Add a comment to this story at www.rushvillerepublican.com

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