STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 10
First, it’ s the colors, circles, swirls and squares drawing you in.
Then you have to step closer to get a better look and admire the beautiful handiwork of a handmade quilt. Some of these treasures are found in places like antique shops or at the Payne County Free Fair, evidence there were – and are – still people in love with creating art through fabric, tiny stitches or swirled patterns captured on a sewing machine.
Hand quilting – the stitching together of multiple layers of padding and fabric into a design – is said to date back to 3400 BCE. People used quilts for warmth and protection, and in the 18th and 19th centuries, women typically gathered in what were known as“ quilting bees” to help each other complete a quilt.
But crafting them gradually shifted to a passionate pastime, not to mention a fine art.
Stillwater resident Frieda Grischowsky said she’ s always loved sewing, even as a young girl in Switzerland. She moved to the United States when she was 36. One day she walked by a quilting store and decided to check it out.
“ I got hooked,” Grischkowsky said.“ So, ever since – and that was about 40 years ago – I have been making quilts.”
Grischkowsky, 76, has now made hundreds of quilts – so many, she doesn’ t keep track.
“ My sewing room is my happy place,” she said.“ It’ s exciting to work with all the fabrics and colors.”
Inside a back room at Sew and Sews on Perkins Road, six women gather to craft their quilts. The camaraderie between friends flows freely.
Meg Klatke didn’ t learn to sew when she was younger, but retirement was the moment she decided to quilt.
“ I’ m having a wonderful time, and I’ m creating something and it’ s pretty when I’ m done with it,” Klatke said.
In Stillwater and surrounding counties, you can find quilters meeting regularly, whether that’ s independently in small groups or in quilters’ guilds.
The Cimarron Valley Quilters’ Guild, which formed in 1986 in
Stillwater, meets on the second Saturday of the month. Other area guilds include the Pioneer Area Quilters’ Guild in Ponca City( meets first Monday of the month), the Piecemakers of Cushing and smaller guilds in Perkins, Perry and Pawnee.
Quilting has risen in popularity in the last two or three decades both nationally and internationally, with quilting shows and festivals held yearly. At one Stillwater show, the guild saw up to 2,500 people attend, said Susan Oliver, who has been an active quilter in the Cimarron Valley guild for more than 30 years.
The Cimarron Valley guild has about 70 members – ranging in age from 40-plus and up – who regularly meet at the Central Rural Electric Cooperative community center at 3305 S. Boomer Rd. for a potluck and workshop to learn from speakers who focus
Frieda Grischkowsky works on a quilt at Sew and Sews.
‘‘
My sewing room is my happy place,” she said.“ It’ s exciting to work with all the fabrics and colors.”
– Frieda Grischkowsky
STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 10