02-25-2024 Harford Mag - Flipbook - Page 62
Peg Dougherty shows detail of her qult called Flowers, Birds and
Thorns, 2018.
BY MIKE KLINGAMAN Harford Magazine
eg Dougherty has made more than 500 quilts through
the years. At 78, she has no plans to quit.
“I’ll quilt until I can’t bend my fingers,” said
Dougherty, of Pylesville. “I told my kids that if I
ever end up in a nursing home, just give me a box of scraps,
a needle and thread and forget about me.”
Why stop? She’s an award-winning crafter whose quilts
have earned national acclaim, toured the country in exhibits,
helped warm the homeless and sold for sometimes hefty
sums. One buyer offered $2,000 for a king-sized scrap quilt.
Dougherty gave it thought.
“Make it $1,700 and we’ve got a deal,” she said.
Most of her quilts are gifts for family, friends and
fundraisers. Birds, trees and flowers are her trademark motifs,
though, for her mother-in-law, she stitched one to look like a
crossword puzzle bearing the names of loved ones. Another
quilt, she made from a pair of old denim jeans.
“I liked quilting, right off the bat,” said Dougherty, whose
first effort was a wedding gift for her daughter. “Quilting
appeals to both sides of your brain. As a retired science
teacher, I’m mathematically inclined, but there’s an artistic
side to me, too. I enjoy the creativity; it’s like painting with
fabric.”
Americans have been quilting since Colonial times; the
craft’s origins are unknown, though it’s believed to have
started thousands of years ago in Egypt or Asia. In the
U.S., quilting took off in the 1800s, during the Industrial
Revolution, slumped after World War II and bounced back
with the advent of Earth Day in 1970.
P
62
| Spring 2024 | harfordmagazine.com
In 2021, there were 10 to 12 million quilters in North
America, according to the Craft Industry Alliance, 99%
of them women. Each spent an average of nearly $3,400 a
year on supplies for a hobby that generated $35 billion in
annual sales.
Many, like Dougherty, belong to groups of like-minded
artisans (hers is the On The Line Quilt Guild, in Pylesville),
where they meet regularly to share know-how and often
donate their works to charities.
On quilting days, Dougherty may toil in her studio for
hours, eyes and fingers working in sync to the sounds of
country hits from Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Willie
Nelson.
“I’ll get engrossed in a quilt, lose track of time and [stitch]
from 10 a.m. until dinner, unless the dogs remind me that
it’s time to go out,” she said.
Not all quilts are perfect but “I’ve learned not to stress out
over mistakes; they can become ‘design elements,’ ” she said.
“Most quilters are their own worst critics; something you
