Quilters' guild plans home tour

The River Heritage Quilters' Guild's second home tour, scheduled for Saturday in Cape Girardeau, promises to be a delight to the eyes and features a variety of themes and ideas on how to warm up a home with quilts.

It will include the Rose Bed Inn, 611 S. Sprigg St., a bed and breakfast owned by Eldon G. Nattier and James F. Coley. The bed and breakfast will have on display heirloom pieces belonging to guild members, and refreshments will be offered there.

But Nattier and Coley aren't the only men interested in quilts. Twelve quilts hand embroidered by Lee Layne of Charleston, Mo., will be on display at Vickie Clubb's house at 2125 Yorktown. Inez Layne, Lee's wife, did handwork at night, and her husband wanted to learn how.

"Teaching him to embroider was the easy part," Inez Layne said. "The hard part was that he was color blind, so I had to lay the colors on the arm of his chair in the order that he would sew them on the blocks. And even then, he would sometimes get them mixed up."

When Lee died in 1983, he had completed 12 blocks, which his wife quilted and gave to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as keepsakes.

Machine quilts

Another man inspired by his wife is Lacie Betts of Tamms, Ill. He runs a machine quilting business and will work at it full time when he retires from the Illinois Department of Transportation soon. Two of his quilts, which have won blue ribbons at the Du Quoin State Fair for machine quilting, will be on display at the Clubb home.

Vickie Holyfield's home at 1722 Cecilia also will be on the tour. Her house is done in holiday themes. Her vintage 1968 Camaro convertible will be parked in the driveway and will be displaying an American eagle quilt hand embroidered by her father. Her living room will be decorated for Halloween, the master bedroom, dining room and kitchen will be decorated for Christmas and another bedroom will be decorated in snowmen.

Other homes on the tour are the Louden residence, 1709 Greenbrier, and the Wilson residence, 179 Kelly Court.

A bus group from St. Louis is going to make the rounds, having heard about the success of the first year.

There will be handmade items for sale at the homes.

Tickets are $10 and may be purchased today and Saturday at The Sewing Basket, 2504 William St. in Cape Girardeau, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, contact Vickie Holyfield, 335-3356.