Georgia Quilt Museum

Lora Pasco

By Cathy Skrypek

    Lora Pasco, a native of Worth County, Georgia, has lived in Atlanta for 48 of her 75 years. Personally, I had a difficult time believing she was in her 70s.
    In November 1963, after her divorce, she met future husband Jack through a Buckhead singles group. His wife and mother had recently died in an auto accident. Both enjoyed bowling and dancing, and soon became good friends. They were married on July 18, 1964, and formed one large family consisting of Jack’s 85-year-old aunt, who passed away a few months later, and eight children (four each). The oldest was in the service and the youngest was 5-1/2. With so many beds, the children had to make theirs before school while Lora maintained the home, cooked meals and sewed the children’s clothes.
    While the youngest was in high school, Lora decided to take up quilting. Her mother made quilts that were “not fancy, not appliquéd”. Lora liked the Sunbonnet Sue so her mother showed her how to make one. She used the blanket stitch and no Wonder Under. It had not been invented yet. The Village Quilt Shop was the setting for Lora’s first class, Pauline Spinks’ “Dogwood Appliqué.”
    Then she saw Joyce Seline’s Baltimore Album and signed up for the yearlong class saying, “I don’t know…I think I can do that.” She tried to complete two blocks a month for a total of 20. In the 10th month she assembled it and in the 12th month the top was completed with the appliqué border. This quilt won first place and Best of Show at the Georgia State Fair in Perry and first place at the Yellow Daisy Quilt show. It was entered in the juried show in Lancaster, PA. Interestingly, Lora chose pastel greens and pinks with a touch of blue for this quilt, to match her home decor. The traditional red and green was made later. Oh, by the way, it took Lora four months to hand quilt her king-size Baltimore Album.
    Lora has quilts on every wall in her home with a 12-inch stack on her guest bed. Quilts are rotated seasonally on one of the walls. Her quilting pal Shirley Durden, who has won first place and Best of Show ribbons herself, states it is “wonderful going stitching there.” Lora’s workmanship is inspiring.
    Three years ago, she taught her sister, Lina Breeden, to quilt. Since then, they have come to the Quilter’s Mission Retreat in Toccoa. Lora has taught paper piecing and demonstrated machine appliqué at the Yellow Daisy, Gwinnett and Perry guilds. She did a trunk show at the trailer jamboree in Perry and the Yellow Daisy Guild. Her quilts have been displayed in a museum near the Village Quilt Shop and in Quilts Across America. Lora has won many, many ribbons and awards for her quilts. During the Olympics, she made a quilt that was presented to Malta.
    In her spare time, Lora, like many quilters, makes and donates quilts to charity, namely Habitat for Humanity and Genesis House, a homeless families shelter. When asked to make one, she makes several. Her oldest daughter Pat is the proud owner of a quilt Lora donated to the Habitat auction. Since it was for Habitat, Lora asked Pat to bid on the quilt and she won. Lora made her a second quilt. They are entitled “Pat’s Backyard #1 and #2.”


December 2002
 

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