Walking the Tracks
Jul. 9—GREENSBURG — From the time I was very young, my grandmother was one of my favorite people. I remember her sewing on an old industrial machine that my grandfather built just for her.
He was a Singer sewing machine repairman for the better part of his life. He put together industrial machine parts and built a machine for her use, changing the treadle drive (the pedal you pumped to make it sew) into an electric motor drive and adding an oil pan.
And that's actually how they met; she worked as an industrial sewer at Cosco in Columbus for many years and she met him while he was on his regular rounds.
I can remember Dad helping him move that machine for her on occasion, cursing and grumbling because the oil pan spilled easily, leaving an oily mess behind.
My mother learned to sew on that machine, and I learned to sew on it as well.
So, I've always been interested in sewing, and more specifically, quilting. I don't have time to sew nowadays, and I never had the time nor the creativity to quilt, but that was my mother's hobby when younger.
All this means nothing more than than I'm familiar with how much intense labor and attention to detail the art of quilting entails. To quote T.S. Elliott: "It isn't just one of your holiday games."
I've talked to many quilters in the last few years, and I've come to realize that even though many think quilting is a dying art there is a large number of local folks who spend their free time sewing, specifically quilting. And despite what one would think, that number is growing.
There are statewide guilds (an "old-timey" word for an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area) and quilting groups galore in many counties in Indiana. As a matter of fact, there are several quilting clubs in our local area.
When you hear the conversation that ensues as a group of quilters (mostly women, but there are an increasing number of men who participate) in this area, occasionally you'll hear the name Nancy King.
So, I decided to investigate this Nancy King person and learn her story.
Nancy and her hubby, Dr. King live in Greensburg. Both of them have lived successful lives and stay busy with their own pursuits.
Nancy's hobby, and the way she earns her mad money, is using her quilting talents for her own humor as well as using her "long-arm" sewing machine to quilt and bind other people's works for them.
She started putting together quilting blocks for her kids' beds in the '70s. "And then I put it aside because I went to college," she said.
An occupational therapist by trade, she didn't have much time to quilt for 20 years due to college and a full career. Now, she spends most of her time doing the thing she loves, networking with other quilters, attending national quilting shows and working on her own pieces.
Currently, King works with a charity group in Lafayette who make quilts for Peyton Manning Hospital or for needy kids otherwise. The group sends her tops (the finished hand-cut and sewn part of the quilt) and Nancy puts them together with a bottom and a layer of batting. She then binds the edges for them and puts the finishing touches on with her long-arm machine.
And her long-arm quilting machine is a doozy of a toy that she loves to play with. Made by the Gammill company, it's was an expensive toy.
A long-arm sewing machine is a sewing machine head with a long throat. The distance between the needle and the back of the sewing harp (the throat) is what characterizes a long-arm machine. The long-arm comes with the sewing machine head, rollers and frame. The sewing machine head moves on wheels forward and back, left and right, along the frame. They can be hand or computer guided as it rolls on the tracks to quilt the quilt.
The frame has rollers on which the quilt top, batting and backing are rolled. The quilt "sandwich" remains stationary while the machine moves across it.
King works from patterns in the computer-drive mode, but she enjoys "dropping the belts" (disengaging the computer drive) more. "That's the funnest part," she said.
As for the blocking of the quilt (a process of stretching and steaming a finished quilt so it hangs square), she said that sometimes the quilting process throws it "out of square."
"If it's not for a show or something, I don't worry about it," she said.
King's home is decorated with quilts, and there are trunks full of them she's created as heirloom pieces for her grandchildren.
Once a year, she attends a quilting show in Paducah, Kentucky that offers classes, quilting merchandise, quilting goodies and networking. "It's a lot of fun, and I learn so much," King said.
As for male quilters, she doesn't know any, but said that the quilting magazines often feature stories about them.
"I'd hoped that when I got my first long-arm that my husband would enjoy it, too," she said, "but it's just not his deal."
And as for passing the talent/art down to younger folks, she said that most of the local quilters are increasing in age.
It's kinda sad," she said. "Because it's a lot of fun."
Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-651-0876 or email bill.rethlake@greensburgdailynews.com