LOWELL | Readers are Leaders, a machine-pieced quilt, was recently donated to the library by Carole and John Sutton in the memory of their longtime friend, Dick Keithley.
Carole, a library staff member of the library, is an accomplished quilter who was first introduced to quilting in 1964, when her mother-in-law took her up to the attic of the 1870’s family farm home and opened an old trunk that held a Civil War-era quilt.
She is the owner of Margurete’s Morning Star, a quilt made by Margurete Sutton, husband John’s grandmother, which appears in the 1991 book Quilts of Indiana (published by Indiana University Press).
Sutton has lectured extensively and prefers a “show-and-tell” presentation, blending quilt history with the family stories behind each work. Grandmother Sutton’s quilt is among the numerous quilts featured in the presentations, along with Sutton’s own creations.
Sutton has taught at Purdue University, Northern Indiana Arts Association, Indiana’s Heritage Quilt Conference, libraries, shops, numerous quilt guilds, and in her home. Her classes cover fabric selection, construction and piecing techniques for every skill level.
Sutton was nominated for Teacher of the Year in Professional Quilters Magazine, and her work has appeared in Traditional Quiltworks magazine, Issue #55 as a Featured Teacher; Miniature Quilts magazine, Issue #34 and #37; Miniature Quilts Book 2; and "Jacobean Rhapsody" written by Pat Campbell.
Two of Sutton’s quilts were selected to hang at American Quilter’s Society shows in Paducah, Ky. One of her wall hangings was awarded second place at Quilt America in Indianapolis.
John Sutton, a lifelong resident of Lowell, and his close friend Dick Keithley are both well known for their carpentry work. The Suttons wanted to honor their friend and also show their love of the library withg the quilt donation.
While Carole crafted the quilt in five weeks,and John did the framing, making the oak frame from wood on their property.
Readers are Leaders now hangs in the reference area of the library.
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