Anita Shackelford has been a quiltmaker since 1967 and began teaching in 1980. She is an internationally recognized teacher and lecturer who loves combining appliqué and fine hand quilting to create new quilts in 19th century style. She also enjoys using her sewing machine for many parts of the creative process and has recently added longarm quilting to the mix.

Anita has been featured on several television programs, including Today’s American Quilter, Kaye’s Quilting Friends, Linda’s Electric Quilters, and Simply Quilts. Her work and antique quilts from her collection have been featured in several gallery and museum exhibits. Her quilts have been exhibited in shows across the United States, in Australia and Japan, winning many awards, including twelve Best Of Show and many for workmanship. Two of her quilts have received the Mary Krickbaum Award for best hand quilting at a National Quilting Association show. Her quilts have been published in American Quilter, American Patchwork & Quilting, Better Homes & Gardens’ Fashion Ideas, Love of Quilting, Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine, Quilting Today, Quilting International, Quilt Craft, Traditional Quilter, Patchwork Quilt Tsushin, Americana
Magazine, Award Winning Quilts and Their Makers Vol I, The Quilt: Beauty in Fabric and Thread, Rodale’s Successful Quilting Library, and Great American Quilts, 2001.

Anita is the author of THREE DIMENSIONAL APPLIQUE and EMBROIDERY EMBELLISHMENT: Techniques For Today’s Album Quilt, ANITA SHACKELFORD: SURFACE TEXTURES, APPLIQUE WITH FOLDED CUTWORK, COXCOMB VARIATIONS, INFINITE FEATHERS, and A MODERN MIX, all published by American Quilter’s Society. Books and quilting tools marketed under her own business name, Thimble Works, include OHIO COLLECTION, PENNSYLVANIA PLAIN & FANCY, RucheMark ruching guides, Berries, Grapes & Tendrils, and the Infinite Feathers Design Template. She is also a major designer of computerized quilting patterns for the Statler Stitcher.

Anita has been a member of the National Quilting Association since 1982 and served four years on the NQA Board as membership chair. She is a charter member of the American Quilter’s Society and the Museum of American Quilter’s Society. Anita travels extensively, teaching and lecturing for shops, guilds and quilting conferences. She is a quilt judge, certified by NQA, qualified to judge Masterpiece quilts, and has been involved in judging shows at local, regional and national levels. She is currently the program coordinator and serves on the faculty for NQA’s Quilt Judging Seminar.