Mother-daughter duos featured at weekend quilt show

Bertha Hegreberg, 92, of Willmar shows a quilt she made before her daughter Elaine was born, "and she just turned 70 two weeks ago." (Tribune photo by Gary Miller)

By WCT Newsroom

May 02, 2009 at 10:59 PM

Two mother-daughter quilting duos are being featured this weekend at the "Quilting by the Lakes" 2009 Quilt Show currently under way at the Willmar Civic Center.

Presented by the Country Quilters, the quilt show, which opened Friday, runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Civic Center, 2707 Arena Drive N.E., in Willmar.

Admission is $4; door prizes will be awarded and vendors will be on hand, as well as a large display of quilts.

Featured at the show will be a quilt raffle, the group's "Block of the Month" quilt, a number of featured quilters, mini-trunk shows and community service quilts, as well as the mother-daughter duos.

Hegreberg/Mead

Bertha Hegreberg, 92, of Willmar explains: "I have pieced them together, and she stitches them," referring to her daughter Elaine Mead of Grove City. "Her sewing machine is here in my basement."

Hegreberg said she started quilting before she was married, back in 1933-34. "I made $1 a week and room and board," she said. "I paid 10 cents a block at a dime store in Council Bluffs, so that's where my money went."

She also pointed out a quilt she made before Elaine was born, "and she just turned 70 two weeks ago," she said.

Now the two work together. "I used to do it by hand," Hegreberg said of the stitching, "but I got too old, my hands can't do it anymore."

Mead said, "Mom doesn't throw any scraps away. She uses it -- every piece."

Hegreberg also crochets and knits. She recently knitted 20 caps for soldiers.

Rasmussen/Bomstad

Joan Rasmussen of Benson and Deb Bomstad of Willmar have been quilting 54 and 15 years, respectively.

"Primarily, we work on our own quilts," Bomstad said. "She liked to do embroidery and put that into quilts, and some appliqué. I do mostly appliqué and piecing.

"We kind of have a little different style," Bomstad continued. "We do sometimes do the same quilt in different colors, and see how they come out."

Rasmussen and Bomstad did work together on the appliqués for the Country Quilters' group raffle quilt for this weekend's show.

"She actually designs a lot of her embroidery patterns," Bomstad said of her mother's work. "She's just gifted in her embroidery."

Mother-daughter duo — From the first of January to the first of October, Bertha Hegreberg, right, made 12 of these heart-patterned quilts, but her daughter Elaine Mead, left, only got six of them stretched, Hegreberg said. "There are 96 blocks in each quilt and 26 pieces in each block that are eight inches square. Each one of my five kids got one for Christmas." (Tribune photo by Gary Miller)