The Peacemakers Quilting Group will host a quilt show on July 31, at Paul H. Linn Memorial United Methodist Church on the campus of Central Methodist University, which will show off a special piece of Howard County and Missouri history. 

The Missouri State Bicentennial Quilt will be here for one day only, and there will not be any fee to come see it in person. The quilt is composed of blocks which each represent a different Missouri county and its history. Peacemakers members Jo Rohr, Linda Lembke, and Dorothy Jean Ayres worked on the Howard County quilt block. 

“The block had to be six and a half inches because there are 111 counties, so it couldn’t be very big or the quilt wouldn’t be transportable,” said Rohr. “There were no rules about technique and it didn’t have to be a certain kind of block. It was all up to whatever we wanted to do in our group.”

Lembke created the block design, said Rohr, and Rohr, Lembke, and Ayres all created different versions of the block using different colors in the fabrics. Rohr’s block was selected to be sewn into the Bicentennial Quilt. 

Rohr said the heart in the block is symbolic of Howard County’s history as “Mother of Counties.” The pattern of gold, brown, and green represents the importance of agriculture here. Light blue and grey-blue colors represent our skies and the Missouri River. The different shades of browns represent the different kinds of soils in the county, said Rohr, “next to the river is wind-blown loess, and there’s clay-based soil in other places.”

On July 1, Rohr and Ayres traveled to the Governor’s mansion by invitation, for an unveiling of the finished quilt. 

“It kind of makes me proud to think that I am going to be part of history in Howard County,” said Rohr of making the block that was selected for the quilt. “But we all worked together and I want the others to have credit as well.”

The Peacemakers canceled their 2019 show due to construction, and the 2020 show was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so this will be their first show in three years. The show is meant to give local quilters a way to display their works for anyone to enjoy and has helped raise funds for the Fayette Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry. Proceeds from donations this year will go to the food pantry and to the group’s Quilt of Valor project. 

The Peacemakers are seeking entries for this year’s show. Entry forms are available on the festival website: www.fayettefestival.org, and are due by Friday, July 20. There is no limit to the number of quilts or wall hangings an individual may enter, and there is no entry fee. Quilts may have been displayed in other shows. For more information, contact Linda Lembke at mathedperson@yahoo.com.

Caretaker Michael Denehey will travel with the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt to Fayette on July 31, and its display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day will coincide with the Peacemaker’s Quilt Show. The event is free and open to the public.