Mae Gades never runs out of ideas for her new quilts

Photos and Story by Peggy Cameron
 
In 35 years she’s created 43 full size quilts, 58 crib quilts and 16 wall hangings.
“I’ve added to that number recently, but haven’t kept track,” says Mae Gades of Benson.
The assessment of her heart-felt work was tallied in 2014 and her quilting has continued at a steady rate.  
“I never run out of ideas,”  she claims.
This year Mae took a “basket” design quilt to the Swift County Fair, one which she says was a real challenge because the design was on a diagonal.  It also featured her first try at machine designs….the flowers you see in the corners of the quilt design.  Daughter-in-law Amy Jobgen helped her download the floral designs into her sewing machine and she’s proud of that accomplishment for an 85 year old woman in a computer-savy world.
Recent estimates put Mae among the 21 million quilters in the U.S., most of whom are female.  The average age is 62....
 
For more on this story, pick up a copy of the August 23 edition of the Monitor-News.
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Pictured: Mae Gades sits by her yellow quilt that won a grand championship ribbon at the Swift County Fair. She makes all kinds of quilts for all kinds of seasons and events.