New Quilting Information Meeting at Old Independence Regional Museum
Are you interested in learning to quilt? Do you enjoy sewing or crafting items from material? Old Independence Regional Museum is hosting an informational meeting for anyone interested in quilting, sewing or crafting together. Novices and skilled practitioners are all welcome!
An initial meeting will be held on Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at the museum, located at 380 S. Ninth Street in Batesville, Arkansas. During the meeting participants will be invited to share their particular areas of interest and meeting time availability. Future group meetings will be established based on audience feedback.
Mrs. Ruth Kent Cook, a native of Batesville and long-time resident of Rosie, will lead quilting sessions. Mrs. Cook is an elementary and special education teacher who spent her career teaching in Oil Trough and Southside schools. “My mother and mother-in-law both quilted, but I didn’t learn until after I retired, about five years ago.” Since taking a beginning quilting class in Mtn. View, Cook has continued to quilt regularly, creating handmade items to give to others. Her favorite quilts are those she has made for treasured friends and family. Most recently she crafted a small quilt for a friend to use while undergoing chemotherapy treatments. In addition to quilting, Cook also enjoys embroidery, wool embroidery, crocheting, and a creating a variety of crafts. She volunteers weekly at Old Independence Regional Museum.
Historically women have quilted, creating bedspreads and coverlets by sewing together three layers of material. The top layer was often decorative, sometimes using pieces of fabric sewn together to create a design. In this way, scraps of fabric from old clothing or sacks could be repurposed. The middle layer, or batting, was usually a soft material such as cotton or wool which provided a layer of warmth. The final backing layer was usually one large cloth or sometimes scraps pieced together. Quilts were used as personal bed coverings in homes or given as gifts. Quilting provided opportunities for women to socialize as they worked and became a form of artistic expression.
The tradition of quilting has been present in Arkansas since the earliest settlers arrived and has continued to be handed down from generation to generation. From hand-sewing homespun and hand-dyed materials to machine quilting store-bought material, quilting remains a relevant and ever-changing art form. Today both men and women participate in quilting guilds and clubs, and beautifully quilted works of art are offered for sale or display.
The Old Independence Regional Museum houses a collection of quilts ranging from the pre-Civil War era to modern day with varied designs such as YoYo, Rose of Sharon, Carolina Lily, Flower Garden, and Friendship. In addition to quilts, the textile collection also includes quilt tops, blocks, and pieces, coverlets, wall hangings, bonnets, frames and clamps. The quilts are carefully stored in a temperature and humidity controlled environment according to best industry practices.
The quilting informational meeting is open to the public. For more information, contact Terri Crawford, Humanities Educator, at (870) 793-2121 or oirm.educator@gmail.com. The museum is located at 380 S. Ninth Street in Batesville and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission fees are $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, students, and military, $2 for children (6-12), and free for children 5 and under.
Old Independence serves a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820s Arkansas territory.
This humanities program is made possible by local support from Independence County and the City of Batesville, as well as by Challenge Grant Endowment funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Pre Civil War Quilt purchased in Sulphur Rock and gifted to OIRM by Lou Ann Hance
A velvet “Crazy Quilt” made by Mary E. Todd Heuer in the 1930s, gifted to OIRM by Don Heuer
Phone: (870) 793-2121
E-mail: oirm.educator@gmail.com
Cathy Drew is a lifelong resident of the region that she loves to promote. She was born in downtown Batesville in the late ’60s, located in one of the eight counties she now enjoys encouraging people to visit.
Drew became associated with the Ozark Gateway Region in 1990 while working at the ad agency (The Media Market Inc.). The agency handled marketing for the regional association, where she and her co-workers produced an annual tabloid publication. She began working as the Ozark Gateway Region director in June 2000.
After Drew became director, she took the region to the next level by helping the tourism organization create a new website and moved it from the old newspaper paper tabloid publication to a color magazine format. She helped open a visitor center for the Ozark Gateway, allowing visitors to pick up information from the entire state 24/7. Over the years, Drew has helped the organization meet new marketing goals, such as in- and out-of-state marketing, assuring that all 100,000 copies of their magazines are distributed each year.
In 2016, she assisted in creating the first Ozark Gateway Region Golf Classic. The tournament continues to grow each year, allowing the organization to expand its co-op program and helping each county have dedicated promotion. Drew stays busy at Ozark Gateway as the ad sales manager, magazine editor, day-to-day office operations, trade show representative, and magazine distribution representative, all while ensuring that the region is represented all over Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Drew was featured in several local and statewide publications over the years, as well as the 1997 cover of the Ozark Gateway Region tabloid, along with her then 4-year-old son, Jon. She has received several awards, such as the Batesville Rotarian of the Year in 2010 and a three-time Paul Harris Fellow.
She also has served as an Independence County election commissioner for several years. She now serves as their co-election coordinator, helping with behind-the-scenes management of voting equipment, day-to-day election deadlines, and poll worker training.
Drew serves on the Arkansas Travel Council Board of Directors, is Batesville Rotary Club Past President, and is the Rotary Clubs’ current publicity chair.
In March of 2018, Drew was honored with induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame for her many years of dedicated service to the tourism industry.