Quilt artists lament rise in thefts

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, March 5, 2003 | 11:19 a.m.

In a city with high-end boutiques, ritzy jewelry shops and luxury cars, it's hard to imagine that folksy quilts would be targets for thieves.

But it happened to Marsha Chappell, owner of a Las Vegas quilt shop, and a California woman who runs a stolen-quilts Internet page say quilt theft is on the rise.

"It's getting sad that for some reason it's becoming more prevalent," said Sharla Hicks of Anaheim, Calif., who sells computer quilting software and has photos and descriptions of stolen quilts on her website.

"It's difficult to say why someone would steal them," she said. "Some of them are valuable, but they have more personal meaning."

Chappell, owner of Pieceful Pleasures at Windmill Parkway and Eastern Avenue, walked into her shop two months ago and discovered that her back door had been forced open and 10 quilts, valued at a total of $10,000, and three sewing machines worth $5,000 had been stolen.

Five of the stolen quilts were originals, and some took more than 100 hours to design and create.

She said she felt sick.

"You think things are safe because there are locks on the doors," Chappell said. "I thought, 'Why me? Why did this happen?' "

Chappell thought it might be connected to another quilt theft that happened in November in Salt Lake City, in which thieves stole nearly 40 quilts and six sewing machines worth more than $100,000.

However, the thieves in that incident appeared to know exactly what they were looking for, according to news reports.

Chappell thinks the burglary at her shop was done by someone with little knowledge of quilts. Some sewing machine accessories were left behind, and more valuable quilts weren't touched.

"They stole weird things too, like used scissors, when I have brand new ones right over there," she said gesturing toward a wall of quilting supplies.

The thieves probably stole the quilts to give as gifts, Chappell said. They had names such as "Spring Fling," "O Say Can You Sew" and "Swirling Leaves," and some were so original that if they were sold on eBay or at a quilt show, "they'd be spotted in a minute," she said.

While some quilts can be valuable, they have more sentimental value to the people who create them.

Hicks was on a quilt mailing list and started hearing about more and more people having quilts stolen, so eight years ago she began posting pictures and descriptions of stolen quilts -- much like children's advocates post pictures and descriptions of missing kids.

Several dozen quilts are listed, and Hicks pointed out that another site, which features missing as well as stolen quilts, has many more.

"When they send their pictures in, at least they feel like they're doing something," she said.

Hicks describes having a quilt stolen as "a personal loss." People who aren't quilters don't realize how attached quilters are to the pieces they create, she said, adding that she considers quilts works of art.

"You have an investment of time, money, memories," Hicks said. "Quilters are bringing their own personal interpretation to it, and many times they've made pieces that are irreplaceable."

Chappell said the quilts "become part of your soul, and each quilt you make has part of yourself in it."

She could re-create some of the quilts that were stolen, but said she isn't ready to do that yet. She filed a police report and put a sign in her store window and, while she would like the originals returned, she knows there is not much hope.

To the thief, she said: "Bring them back. No questions asked."