Country quilt wins award in national competition

by Jay Simons

WHITEPINE -- A country quilt made by Sarah Naegeli has won second place in the national Grange quilting contest. Naegeli will receive a monetary award for her efforts.

The quilt entitled, "Good Night Ladies" after the country music song by Jerry Jeff Wellker, is designed around chickens.

The full size quilt contains multitudes of tiny colorful squares of fabric that picture chickens walking across the full-size spread. The back is chicken material.

The wife of Bill Naegeli, Sarah is a rancher, does soil percolation tests on property in the county, and is mother of four young children. She began the quilt prior to the birth of the couple's youngest son, Logan, who is now 10 months old.

Sarah says she began sewing under her mother's tutelage when she was in the second grade but acquired her love of quilting from her grandmother who made quilts for each of her 13 grandchildren.

She says it's one of the ways she can give creative expression to her inner self. "My brother Pete Scherzer, does pottery; my other brother, Ed, was a painter and I quilt." She makes all her children's clothing as well as the whimsical hats her daughter, Mariah, wears.

Sarah also is musically gifted. She plays piano, saxophone and the banjo.

Naegeli's quilt won a blue ribbon in the Grange statewide contest held in Kalispell this year. Her sons Derek and Jacob also won blue ribbons for their photographs. All state blue ribbon entries go on to compete in the national contest which was held in Spokane this year.

Sarah's quilt took second place.

She is passing her own love for quilting and expertise onto five young women in her 4-H group -- Kelsie Eggensperger, Joanne Paulsen, Arielle Regier, Lacey Kinkaid and April Hill.

She is also assisting her son, Derek, in his 4-H poultry project.