It Happened in Crawford County: A local quilter who shares her expertise worldwide

Mary Fox
·4 min read

Anita Shackelford is the daughter of George Ghist and Rosabelle (Rosie) Peterson Ghist. Rosie later married Cletus Banks. Anita’s siblings are Beverly Morgan and Mark Ghist. Anita’s Grandpa, James Connor Ghist (1879–1938), was the chief of Police for Bucyrus, and his son George was a captain. Anita went to Norton and then Kearsley schools. She played clarinet in the band and followed college prep courses in high school, graduating in 1965 from Bucyrus High School.

Anita Shackelford's quilting expertise has led her to author several books, make TV appearances and judge quilt shows at all levels.
Anita Shackelford's quilting expertise has led her to author several books, make TV appearances and judge quilt shows at all levels.

Anita studied at the Mansfield General Hospital School of Nursing, graduating from there in 1968. After graduation, she married Richard “Dick” Shackelford, son of Richard and Clara Brinkman Shackelford. Following their marriage, they went directly to Columbus where Anita worked at Grant Hospital and The Ohio State University Hospital.

In 1970, Dick was drafted and joined the Navy. While he was in boot camp, Anita came back to Bucyrus and worked briefly at the Bucyrus Hospital in obstetrics. Dick was sent to Florida for communications training, and Anita was able to go with him — a wonderful time in their lives. Dick graduated first in his class from communications school and was sent to Puerto Rico. Anita joined him there with their new baby. They lived in Puerto Rico until his discharge and then came back to Bucyrus.

After settling in, Anita went back to Bucyrus Hospital, working for the next 17 years in OB. Dick worked at the Timken Shipping Department with 30 years of service.

During the time Anita was working and raising a family in the 1970s and '80s, she made her first quilts. She credits her Aunt Virginia Peterson Reiff, her mom’s sister, and also her Aunt Betty Ghist Palmer. Anita started teaching at the Creative Needle, a shop owned by Ray and Betty Palmer on North Sandusky in the 1980-90s. She also continued to receive invitations to teach for quilt shops and quilting guilds across the country.

This album quilt of original patterns includes many designs that reflect Anita's family life. The family tree is surrounded by four seasons. Outer blocks contain a sailboat, garden basket, favorite flowers, and backyard animals. The family name is enclosed in a design taken from her Grandmother Peterson's wedding bracelet. Techniques include padded, corded, and stuffed applique, ruching, embroidery and stipple quilting, all done by hand.

The Statler Stitcher longarm came into Anita’s life about 16 years ago. It comes with the software to read and quilt digitized patterns. Anita also creates patterns for the longarm. They are available on her website anitashackelford.net. The website also shows many of her quilts, and the online business allows Anita to work from home.

Anita has been featured on several TV programs, including "Today’s American Quilter," "Kaye’s Quilting Friends," "Linda’s Electric quilters" and "Simply Quilts." Her work and antique quilts from her collections have been featured in several gallery and museum exhibits. Her quilts have been exhibited in shows across the U.S., Australia and Japan, winning many awards, including 12 Best of Show and many for workmanship. Two of her quilts have received the Mary Krickbaum Award for best hand quilting at a National Quilting Association show, which generally included 400-500 quilts each year. Her quilts have also been published in many books and magazines.

Anita is the author of "Three-Dimensional Applique and Embroidery Embellishment; Techniques for Today’s Album Quilt," "Anita Shackelford: Surface Textures," "Applique with Folded Cutwork," "Coxcomb Variations," "Infinite Feathers," "A Modern Mix," and "Teens and Tweens" — all published by American Quilter’s Society. Books and quilting tools marketed under her own business name, Thimble Works, include Ohio Collection, Pennsylvania Plain & Fancy, RucheMark ruching guides, Berries, Grapes and Tendrils, Perfect Spirals, and the Infinite Feathers Design Template.

Anita has traveled extensively, teaching and lecturing for shops, guilds and quilting conferences. She is a quilt judge, certified by NQA, qualified to judge masterpiece quilts, and has been involved in judging shows at local, regional and national levels.About 3 years ago Anita and Dick bought a property and built a home in the country, so they have lots of room to garden, grow flowers and fruit, raise chickens and preserve the food they grow.

Dick and Anita have two daughters. Jennifer Horsley is a jewelry designer at Rego and also quilts. Elisa Zealor and husband Dave own a Harley shop called Toyz, doing repairs and custom painting. Elisa also worked at Vasils for many years doing their embroidery work.

In closing, Anita says it’s been an amazing journey. “Imagine, being invited to travel across the U.S., including Alaska, and to Canada, Switzerland, Ireland and Australia to teach and having one quilt travel all the way to Tokyo for a show."

Go online for more of Mary Fox’s stories and photos on bucyrustelegraphforum.com. If you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Anita Shackelford shares her quilting expertise worldwide