Copyright © 2002 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

TAHLEQUAH, OK - The Cherokee Nation recently held a quilt show as part of the festivities associated with the 50th Annual Cherokee National Holiday.

Joyce Morrow, of Farmersville, Texas, received the best of show award for her hand-pieced and hand-quilted "Grandma's Tulip" quilt.

Nancy Davis, of Nevada, Texas, won first place in the hand-pieced and hand-quilted division for a quilt entitled, "Rose of Sharon." Ella Mae Clark, of Wagoner, Oklahoma won second place for her original design, "In Flight," appliquéd with dragonflies.

"I got the idea from seeing dragonflies land on my coffee cup," Clark said.

Her mother, Lizzie Whitekiller of Hulbert, taught her to quilt. Whitekiller's hand-pieced and hand-quilted Double Wedding Ring took third place. Whitekiller was also awarded the prestigious Cherokee Living Treasure accolade for her lifetime achievement in quilting.

Cecil Shipp, of Tahlequah , won first place in the antique quilts division for a "Bow Tie" quilt. Shipp's grandmother, Mary H. Batton Shipp, hand pieced the quilt top in the 1940s. Mary Shipp died in 1978 at the age of 102, and the quilt top was packed away in a trunk for decades. Cora Turman, of Stilwell, finished the quilt this year.

A blue Texas Lone Star quilt received second place in the antique quilts division. The quilt was hand-pieced in 1906 by Ida Morrow and quilted in 1986 by Joyce Morrow.

Rosa Peterson of Vinita won first place in the baby quilt division with her original design of a "Buffalo" baby quilt, adapted and modified from a "cathedral windows" style. Other winners were Vicki Watt for "Snowball," and "Hearts & 9-Patch" by Wanda Landcaster of Vinita.

Terris Bluebird, of Etta, won first place in the children's division. Bluebird, daughter of Larry & Betsy Bluebird, also won first place in the children's division in the Cherokee National Holiday quilt show in 2000.

Bertie Carter, of Tahlequah, won first place in the machine quilts division for a puff quilt entitled "Blueberries and Buttered Toast." Carter's daughter, Kathy Carter-White, of Etta, received second place for "Batik Tie-Dye."

Robert Soontay, of Tahlequah, won first place in the miniature quilt division for "Joey Having Fun," a hand-quilted appliquéd quilt made for his grandson. Soontay learned to quilt as a child by watching his mother. At age 58, when he retired, he began quilting fresh, original and often bright quilts. Soontay's large-scale "Honoring America" quilt took second place in the appliquéd division, and features a patriotic motif including eagles, an American flag and "God Bless America."

Other winners in the appliquéd divsion were Joyce Morrow, of Farmersville, Texas, for "Dogwood Blossoms" and Louise Cameron, of Bunch, for "Indian Women." Cameron's quilt featured silhouettes of Indian women with yarn braids, shawls and long dresses, and was machine appliquéd, hand pieced and hand quilted.

Virgie Sanders Poe of Gilbert, Arizona, won first place in the wall hanging division. Poe's wall hanging was a hand-made depiction of the architecture of Sequoyah Training School from the era of 1958 to 1962. The Sequoyah Alumni Foundation entered it in the show.

"This quilt was made for the 40th anniversary of the class of 1962 and presented to the Sequoyah Alumni Foundation at the 2002 Reunion," said Poe. "The pattern is the campus as I knew it, from 1958 to 1962. My quilting is my own technique and ideas. I learned by watching my mother quilt by hand, and in home economics class at Eufaula and Sequoyah Boarding Schools. This is my way of saying 'Thanks' to Sequoyah for being a home away from home."

Kathy Longnickle, of Afton, won first place in the Trail of Tears division for her Indian quilt, featuring panels on a symbolic theme and bordered in rich tones.

For information about the next quilt show, contact Kathy Carter-White, phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2653).