Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1470865
30 | SIGNATURE MONTANA "Quilts are decorative, and they insulate the walls," explains Crawford. "I change them out every season." Crawford's love for sewing and fabric began when she was 10 years old working on a sewing project with her mother and 4-H leader, Deanna Burgmaier of Power, Mont. "Quilting wasn't a project back then, but I sewed other garments while learning skills that later helped me in my quilting career," recalls Crawford. Burgmaier began quilting in 1984 when she took lessons in Sun River, Mont. By 2001, she had stitched together so many pieced tops that she purchased a long arm quilt machine to finish them. "I did one quilt for my mom and hand-quilted it because I had no other way to do it," Burgmaier recalls. "I like quilting because of the math side of piecing. I like my quilts to be perfect and precise." Quilting was still a relatively undiscovered art for Crawford until 2002, when she studied different quilting motifs at a quilt store in Billings, Mont., where she learned how the use of thread and quilting motifs could add another layer of design to a quilt top. "I learned quilting could add texture or change the color of a quilt, especially when using thicker thread," Crawford explains. In 2017, Crawford took a thread painting class from African artist Sophie Standing, where Crawford learned to "paint" while sewing. is "awe-inspiring" class offered a new avenue for her to explore, creating art with fabric. Crawford also created masterpieces using shredded fabric. She explored different methods, using livestock markers, rusty metals, and rocks and twigs from a nearby creek. Deanna Burgmaier stands with Clara and Shawna Crawford in front of a quit Clara entered in the 2016 Montana State Fair show. Burgmaier has taught sewing and quilting to local 4-H'ers since 1977 and shared her love for quilting with Shawna as a young sewer. Clara Crawford watches as her mom, professional quilter, Shawna Crawford, guides the manual quilter on a customer's quilt, using colored thread in her own design to create another layer of interest to the quilt. Photo courtesy of Shawna Crawford Photo by Brookelynn Ruckman