Another Great One Is Gone: Harriet Hargrave

     Harriet Hargrave died earlier this month. I was familiar with her store in the Denver area, Harriet's Treadle Arts, not far from my old office digs. (She'd actually purchased it from the Lemans after they decided to sell, and concentrate on their other business nearby:  Quilter's Newsletter Magazine.)   

     But I knew her for more than that.

     She was one of the few designers out there careful to make her reproduction fabric lines actually resemble the original fabrics. Her '1880s' and '1890s' shirtings and indigoes were generally spot-on, and perfect for backing and binding old quilt tops. (If you couldn't afford the original fabrics, that is. Sometimes you can't...or shouldn't.)

     Harriet was one of the great pioneers for machine quilting techniques. Her books on this subject were some of the best.

     And she was an inspired teacher, who paid special attention to details like fiber content, and the best ways to utilize those fabrics and battings. Granted, she didn't enjoy sharing the limelight -- I taught at a guild's annual conference one time with Harriet. In spite of my friendly overtures (and I tried), she would have nothing to do with me. Must have been the Crazy influence...it wasn't history and old fabrics. I know we shared those loves. In spite of this (and maybe because I am not that intimidated by strong personalities), I admired her very much. 

     She moved to Missouri in 2017, but was still very much a Coloradoan at heart -- and one of modern quilting's best influencers. 

She will be missed.

From her obituary:

Harriet Jane Hargrave of Carrollton, Missouri, and formerly of Arvada, Colorado, passed away peacefully with family by her side, at 4:41 p.m., Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at her home in rural Carroll County. Harriet lived innovatively and was granted an earthly life of sixty-nine years, seven months, and eight days. On October 2, 1952, in Osborne, Kansas, the Lord blessed the home of Floyd Keith and Harriet Frances (Carey) Frazier with their daughter, adorning her after her mother's and many past generations given name, Harriet. She attended school in Denver, Colorado, and graduated from Iver C. Ranum High School with the class of 1970. After graduation, she attended Colorado State University, graduating in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in Home Economics. Harriet was united into marriage in Denver, Colorado, on June 7, 1974, to Richards J. Hargrave, and this union was blessed with a daughter, Caroline (Carrie). She was a member of DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) and a member of Mile Hi Church in Lakewood, Colorado a Center for Spiritual Living. Right out of college Harriet became the head pattern designer for Alpine Ski Design. Harriet started quilting seriously in 1974, working alongside her mom. Her early quilting career included producing baby quilts for craft shows and teaching adult education classes. In 1981, Harriet opened a quilt shop, Harriet's Treadle Arts. Her specialties at the time were free-motion embroidery, machine arts, and machine quilting. In 1982, Harriet attended one of Mary Ellen Hopkins's seminars. Mary Ellen's streamlined techniques and innovative design ideas led Harriet toward some visionary thinking, causing her to give up the machine arts and develop new techniques and teach only quilting. She was world-renowned for being a true "mover and shaker" in quilting. In the late 1990s, she was voted one of the "88 Leaders of the Quilt World." Harriet created and inspired a new generation of machine quilters with her bestselling book Heirloom Machine Quilting, which enjoyed 25 continuous years in print. She was also the author of Mastering Machine Appliqué and From Fiber to Fabric and co-author of The Art of Classic Quiltmaking. In 2009, Harriet and her daughter, Carrie, began writing the Quilters Academy series - a skill-building course to teach precision piecing. The fifth and final volume was released in December 2015. Harriet was responsible for a myriad of products pertaining to machine quilting, and she developed batting with Hobbs Bonded Fibers and designed fabric for P&B Textiles and Marcus Brothers. She traveled nationally and internationally for 37 years teaching thousands of women and men to quilt. At the age of seven, Harriet and her family left their farm in north-central Kansas due to the wells going dry and moved to Denver. However, she visited her aunt's family farm every summer, and she would often say. "You can take the girl off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the girl," which later enticed her to retire in 2017, closing the store, selling her home, and moving to a beautiful 40-acre farm in Carroll County. Her daughter, son-in-law, and her grandson also sold their home and moved to Carroll County to be with her. She loved the farm life, which involved her four horses, and her grandson Zachary, re-establishing the gardens and enjoying being in the country. She was also avid about following politics and was headstrong in her beliefs. Harriet revived her teaching this past year by helping Carrie homeschool Zachary and she was truly proud of her accomplishment in teaching her grandson to read and write. Harriet is survived by her daughter, Carrie Jones, and her husband, David, of rural Carrollton, Missouri; Her best buddy and grandson, Zachary Ian Jones; a sister, Linda Sue Thompson, of Chandler, Arizona; and a cousin, Rena Rouse of Ozawkie, Kansas. She was preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Harriet Frazier. A Celebration of Life, with all family and friends invited, will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 28, 2022, at Harriet, Carrie, and David’s home, Patchwork Hill Farm, 24233 CR 234 Carrollton, Missouri 64633, with Pastor Richard Colliver officiating the service. There will be a one-hour visitation prior to the Celebration of Life Service. A second Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 p.m., on Thursday, June 2, 2022, at Morningside Manor 13251 W 64th Avenue, Arvada, Colorado, 80004, with Rev. Norm Bouchard officiating the service. Refreshments will be served following the service. As an expression of sympathy and in memory of Harriet, contributions are suggested and will be donated to Missouri Forget Me Not Horse Rescue.

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