Quilting expert to speak at Plymouth Area Museum

PLYMOUTH — Local quilters or anyone with merely an interest in quilts will be in for a treat on May 19 when internationally-known quilting guru, Anita Shackelford, brings her extensive experience and quilting knowledge to the Plymouth Area Museum. The program is free and open to the public.

Anita Shackelford has been a quiltmaker since 1967 and began teaching about quilting in 1980. She is an internationally recognized expert whose skills in appliqué and fine hand quilting have taken her across the US and to many other parts of the world. Her quilts have been exhibited in shows throughout the United States, Australia and Japan where they have won many awards including 12 “Best of Shows” and numerous awards for workmanship. Two of her quilts have won the Mary Krickbaum award for best hand quilting at National Quilting Association shows while many of her quilts have been published in a variety of quilting books and magazines.

Shackelford has been featured on several television programs, including "Today’s American Quilter," "Kaye’s Quilting Friends," "Linda’s Electric Quilters" and "Simply Quilts." Along with her own designs, antique quilts from her collection have been featured in a number of galleries and museums.

Teaching and lecturing for shops, guilds and quilting conferences, Shackelford has traveled extensively. She is a quilt judge, certified by NQA, qualified to judge Masterpiece quilts and has been involved in judging shows at local, regional and national levels. For many years, she has studied, collected and worked on vintage and antique quilts and tops, and she enjoys sharing their stories.

The May 19 program will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Plymouth Area Museum, 7 E. Main St., Plymouth. Admission is free and attendees are welcome to bring quilts for evaluation by Shackelford.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Quilting expert to speak at Plymouth Area Museum