Dorothy Wagler walked into the Shawano Civic Center and asked the director, Joyce Natzke, if it would be possible to get help starting a quilting group.
Wagler, who is deceased, had just retired from teaching.
“She had never quilted and wanted to learn,” Natzke said.
Ruth Kriewaldt, who belonged to Evergreen Quilters in Green Bay, provided information on how to get started, and on Jan. 19, 1989, the Shawano Area Quilters held their first meeting. Twenty-five years later, the quilters are still going strong, growing from the original 14 members to about 60 now.
“I always feel like it’s my baby,” said Natzke, who was director of the Civic Center from 1988-1996 and is one of two remaining original members. The other is Hazel Kucksdorf.
“I have a scrapbook with all the quilts I made,” said Natzke, whose work includes wedding quilts for her children and baby quilts for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Throughout its history, the club has worked to share their knowledge and skills. In July 1989, the quilters had a booth in the women’s tent during Farm Progress Days in Shawano County to display their work and demonstrate hand quilting. Through the years, the club also has held classes featuring outside teachers, and now once a month, one of the members gives a presentation.
“We get new ideas,” Natzke said. “We have some talented members.”
The club has used members’ talents to help others, too. In May 1991, they started a quilt raffle that is now held every other year. For the first quilt, each member made one of the blocks. It was raffled off in April 1993 and brought in $1,000, which the club donated to the Civic Center for the purchase of a van to deliver meals for the Office on Aging.
The next quilt raffle will be in 2015. The club also has a boutique where they show and sell quilted items such as coasters, runners and baby blankets. The proceeds are used to buy fabric for the comfort quilts, books on quilting to donate to the library in the memory of a member who has died, baby quilts for the hospital and Safe Haven, and lap and nap quilts for Maple Lane.
“I enjoy being with the group and making comfort quilts to give to fire victims,” Kucksdorf said.
Kucksdorf said 143 quilts have been given away since 2001. Member Ione Kersten has been especially helpful making the quilt tops.
The quilters take trips to the American Quilters Society Show, which this year is April 26-27, in Paducah, Ky. They also do Shop Hops, visiting quilt shops in different cities. A prize is given to the quilter who spends the most money, which is tongue-in-cheek as most quilters have plenty of fabric on hand.
“We all have a stash,” Natzke said.
“I’ve got a closet full,” Kucksdorf said. “You never have quite the right color.”
The quilters have a picnic in the summer and a Christmas party in December.
“I’d say we have a pretty active group,” Kucksdorf said.
Officers are Kathy Brown, president; Barbara Ash, vice president; Carna Zimmerman, treasurer; and Carol Weyenberg, secretary. They meet the first and third Thursday of the month at 1 p.m. at the Civic Center.
For more information, call Natzke at 715-758-2718.
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