Julia Spidell and Pawnee Choate pause with a replica of the quilt that was sent to Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa.

Alleghany residents recall pieces of quilting history

Although Alleghany residents Julia Spidell and Pawnee Choate have never seen their names in the limelight of Broadway, in 1988 and early 1989, their names and faces were in a variety of magazines for their work on a quilt that made its way to the Kremlin.

Needle to Thread

In 1977, Spidell was in her new Alleghany home and taking care of her husband, Robert, who had become ill from a bite from a tick. The couple had moved to the area from Florida upon Mr. Spidell’s retirement. During the first year of his illness, she acquired live-in help which “took up a lot of money,” she said.

“I decided I needed to do something to bring in money and I needed something to keep my hands busy,” Spidell continued. “I decided that I would try quilting. I had done a couple quilts before and I took them to Rooftop of Virginia. They took a couple in there and then Martha Womble saw them. She had a gift shop out in Roaring Gap. She got in touch with me and she wanted some for her gift shop, The Doll’s House.

I made one or two wall hangings and she started taking orders and she commissioned quilts. The quilting business grew and grew. I was busy most of the time with the quilts and I was delighted because it was really nice.”

Spidell and Choate noted that Womble was a prominent individual in the county, being related to the Hanes and Chatham families, and that she knew the ambassador of protocol in Washington, D.C.

The Ball Starts Rolling

In late April 1988, Spidell got the call that started it all. Picking up the phone, she spoke to Womble and learned that she had been requested by Abassador of Protocol Christine Hathaway to create a quilt that would be mailed by Womble to Washington.

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