Molly Campbell
May 26, 2025 - Quilting, like so many folk arts, is disappearing. However, from the enthusiasm of those attending the monthly meeting of the Timpson Area Genealogical and Heritage Society last Wednesday and the beauty of the quilts they brought to display, you wouldn't know it. Molly Campbell, Jeannie Rhodes, and Elizabeth Goff shared the history of quilting as well as the techniques and skills required to create quilts which are works of art and often become family heirlooms.
“I first want to tell you about the Retired Senior Volunteers Program, which sponsors and supports our local quilting group,” began Mrs. Campbell, whose license plate frame says “I Love Quilting!” “I have been there for 13 years and Jeannie has been involved for longer than that. Our advertising is mostly by word of mouth and we get a lot of quilts to complete that way. The money we receive for the creation of these quilts is used to support community services in Timpson. For decades local women have been meeting in our storefront office on the square and creating beautiful quilts for sale as well as finishing quilts started by others.”
“Quilting has been around for a long time. It was used to create window coverings, mantles, rugs, and clothing as well as blankets over the centuries. The social aspect of quilting has always been important, as women met together, bringing scraps of cloth to use and trade and to share patterns, news, quilting tips, and gossip as they worked together in creating a quilt. The skills and tastes of the quilters were reflected in the quilts they created, preserving the memory of those who created them long after they had passed on,” Campbell continued.
Jeannie Rhodes
“There are many different geometric patterns used in quilting, from the simple to the complex and intricate. The “monkey wrench” pattern was one of the first and, while we don't have an example of that on display, we do have a “churn dasher” pattern. There were 'crazy quilts', 'strip quilts', and 'spool quilts'. There have been 'mourning quilts' and patriotic theme quilts. In the old days, the tools used in quilting were just scissors, needle, and thread,” Campbell said as she walked around the room pointing out different patterns and techniques used on the quilts on display. During the Depression, flour, sugar, and animal feed manufacturers became aware that women were using the material from their sacks to make clothes, so they began making their sacks using colorful print material. Mrs. Campbell pointed out a vintage quilt in the display that used flour sack material. Pointed to another, she continued, “This quilt was made by my grandmother and great-grandmother in the late 20's or early 30's usual a shell design. Many old quilts are now valued in the thousands of dollars but I wouldn't take a million dollars for this one!”
Pointing to two of these quilts Mrs. Campbell had brought to display, Jeannie Rhodes added “These are the two basic designs that the old ladies used, the 'shell' and the 'roof-top'. You can see that this quilt uses material from a feed sack.” Continuing Mrs. Rhodes pointed to the material in a thread-bare old throw and said “These are wool trousers that belonged to my grandfather, Newburn Green. This throw uses the tie method of joining the three layers of material together that was once common. We have three examples of 'friendship' quilts on display. This one was brought by Cecil Whitton. Each lady would create a block and sew her name onto it. They would later get together in a bee and assemble to top and create a quilts, and each lady got one. ” Pointing to another friendship quilt, she said “This quilt was created in the Corinth community and brought by Elizabeth Goff'. “One of the names on that quilt is of a woman who died in 1937, so we know it is a least that old,” explained Mrs. Rhodes.
“In the early days of Timpson, women in a community met in individual homes to quilt. The quilt would be hung from the ceiling while the quilters were there and then taken down and rolled up when they were not,” Rhodes said. “The first quilting group I remember was at Timpson Missionary Baptist Church. I was just a little girl and played under the quilt while the ladies worked on it. Later that group met at Diamond Gary's home and then we went out to Good Hope at Blair. Doris Askins was in charge there. Later we moved into town to the Automatic Gas building and then to Esther's Closet. The group moved into its current location in the Timpson RSVP office on the square when Gail Hairgrove and Billie Joy Allen were in charge there.
Elizabeth Goff
TAGHS member and long-time quilter Elizabeth Goff shared that what appears to be a complicated pattern is really just an arrangement of basic geometric shapes. “Everything is just a square, a half-square, a triangle, or a half-triangle. It is the arrangement of those basic shapes into a pattern that makes the quilt unique. In the olden days women took old newspapers and cut their pattern out of it, sewing their strips onto the paper. When they were finished, they cut it to the size they had chosen and tore the newspaper off. Walking over to the display table, Goff continued, “These are the tools used in quilting. The first thing a person needs to learn to use in quilting is thimble, because you have to push the needle through three layers of fabric. A quilting thimble has a ring around the edge so the needle will not slip off and stick your other fingers. Needles come in a variety of sizes. Many modern quilters use a rotary cutter but many still prefer scissors.”
“People don't realize how much time is involved in making a quilt. It takes us about six days to make a full-size quilt. We charge $100 to make a full-size, $125 for queen-size, and $150 for a king-size quilt. You provide all the materials,” said Mrs. Campbell. “Y'all probably need to go up on your prices!” interjected TAGHS member Paul Smith. “We don't personally profit from the work we do,” added Campbell. “We enjoy it and donate our time and use the income to help fund community projects. We are pleased when people entrust a treasured quilt to us to work on and we do the best work we can.”
TAGHS meets at 2PM on the third Wednesday of each month in the meeting room of the Timpson Public Library, located on the corner of Austin and Bremond Streets. The public is always welcome.
