We Need to Talk About Bertha!

Saturday July 19, 2025 10:30am – 11:30am Marion Public Library, Meeting Room B, 600 S Washington St, Marion, IN

Bertha Meckstroth (1875-1960) created during her lifetime 180 iconoclastic quilts she called “sculptures in cloth.” Utterly original, her masterpieces featured reverse applique, trapunto, and hand quilting. Her will stipulated the 89 works still in her possession be kept together, citing the $70,000 she set aside for their stewardship. Instead, her life’s work was scattered to the wind. In a probing and entertaining presentation that received a standing ovation at QuiltCon 2024, Mary Fons relates the shocking story of a woman done wrong.

About the Presenter: Mary Fons is a writer, editor, and livestreamer who specializes in quilt history and the life of quilts in popular culture. Her livestream broadcast, Quilt Nerd, airs twice a week on Twitch.

Since 2016, Mary has worked in various capacities at Quiltfolk, serving as editor of Quiltfolk magazine (2017-2021), and contributes currently as a writer and online workshop instructor. In 2023, she became the creative director behind the Quiltfolk Foundry project. Prior to that, Mary was editor and creative director of Quilty magazine, and developed, produced, and hosted more than 250 episodes of Quilty, a how-to show for beginner quilters on YouTube with combined views in the millions. On television, Mary hosted or co-hosted Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting on PBS alongside her mother, Marianne Fons. She is the author of Make & Love Quilts: Scrap Quilts for the 21st Century (C&T/StashBooks) and Dear Quilty (F&W Media). She has served as a columnist for Quilts, Inc., and her articles on quilt history and culture have appeared in publications such as Quiltfolk, Blanket Statements, Curated Quilts, Modern Patchwork, and Love of Quilting, among others.