If idle hands are the devils workshop, there is no fear of that occurring in Kathy Allens cozy home on the west side of Humboldt.
A long-arm quilting machine takes up much of the first floor of her small two-story house, and it often is stitching an intricate pattern.
Kathy, 72, was a California girl much of her life. She moved to Arkansas in 1993 and on to Humboldt about 10 years ago. The Kansas connection was son Greg and wife Pam, who had married and were having babies. Kids are a strong attraction; grandchildren just as much.
Id worked all my life but had never learned to sew, which led her to Heavenly Kneads and Threads, an early addition to Humboldts downtown revival.
Kathy bought a sewing machine and when she asked about material and notions, she learned a quilting class was about to start. She joined in.
I bought all I needed (for a quilt), made my first one, and Ive never quit.
Soon a second phase took hold.
When she went to have her sewing machine repaired, Kathy was introduced her to long-arm quilting machines. I tried one, and loved it.
She also made it known that she would quilt for others, and soon the machine, with her at the helm, was turning out one completed beauty after another. The process has someone piece a quilt top and then drop it by Kathys for intricate final treatment.
Generations ago quilts were a staple of every household. Women often gathered to lay out quilt tops (those pieced) on frames and secure them to backing by the long and tedious process of hand-quilting.
A standard later, when quilts became a much-sought folk art object, was quilts with tight hand-stitching, at least 10 stitches per inch. Thats what Kathys machine does.
Her cottage business picked up steam during a quilting class in Yates Center when attendees were advised: Take your quilt to Kathy for finishing.
The word got out. Kathy is much in demand by quilters throughout the area. Its really snowballed. She even gets quilts in the mail, from as far away as Virginia and Alabama.
T-shirt quilts her first came from Alabama have become popular as birthday, Christmas and graduation gifts. They are made from T-shirt panels that recall hallmark moments in a young persons life.
She has two grandchildren to dote on. Breanna is a registered nurse, having earned degrees from the Mary Grimes School of Nursing at Neosho Community College and the University of Kansas. Joe is studying electronics at Pittsburg State and is interning in Iowa this summer. Greg and Pam live in Paola. They have purchased land near Humboldt for a home when they retire.
