FAIRMONT - Janet (Pinky) Saxton's sewing room is filled to overflowing with piles of quilted fabric.
The piles, which represent hours upon hours of intricate, detailed work, are being readied for a trip from Welcome to Fairmont in advance of Prairie Star Quilters Style Show on Sept. 11, where Saxton is the featured seamstress.
Saxton never expected to be a quilter. When her sister-in-law invited her to join the Prairie Star Quilters in 1983, she didn't want to. She and her husband were busy building their home, and she wasn't a quilter.
She had done extensive needlework - which is why her sister-in-law thought she might enjoy the craft.
But three years later Saxton had the opportunity to take a beginners quilting class at a local fabric store, and she was committed.
"You can really get hooked," she said. "It is really addicting."
Over the years, she has quilted blankets, wall hangings, jackets, purses, and even hats. The variety is one of the aspects of quilting she most enjoys.
"I just do whatever I want," she said.
Saxton creates for herself and her family, choosing not to sell her work, simply due to the intense time commitment involved in making a piece.
As the years have passed, she has found she is making fewer and fewer large quilts, her hands just get tired easier. She also switched from hand-stitching each piece to a machine, but can still spend months cutting and piecing fabric from her patterns and just as long sewing them together.
She meets monthly with her guild, sharing ideas and showing other members what she is working on.
For the style show, the group is given a challenge, a piece of fabric from which they have to make something - anything quilted - which will be judged by the public at the show. She said of the 70 members of the guild, 8 or 10 complete the challenge piece, and she enjoys seeing different interpretations of the same fabric.
Her challenge piece for this year is ready and waiting, but what it is and how it looks is a closely guarded secret.
Welcome State Bank, in Welcome, displays five of Saxton's quilts in its waiting area, of which two are the same pattern and started with the same fabric, but look very different simply because of the way the fabric was laid.
Included in the bank's display is Saxton's favorite quilt of the innumerable ones she has made over the past 14 years.
Blue and pink on a black background, the intricate quilting and hand applique technique took Saxton longer than her other projects, an aspect that gives it a special place in her heart.
Saxton isn't exactly sure which pieces she will display at the show, but said she will bring as many as she can. Her quilts will be displayed during the 11:30 a.m. punch time, when visitors are encouraged to visit the show's boutique, which features homemade items from participants.
A catered meal follows at noon, and the style show at 1 p.m.
Tickets, which are available until Tuesday, are $12 and can be purchased at HyVee in Fairmont or from Prairie Star members.
