threads afar

Textiles, people, and places.

August 11, 2026

Revisiting Amish quilts in Shipshewana

A return to the countryside where Norma's textile and travel story began.

Photographs & story by Norma Schafer
Star-pattern quilt in a Shipshewana shop
Quilts and textile traditions · Shipshewana

In northern Indiana, quilts became a way for Norma to explore culture, community, and the work of many hands.

Her first Folk Art Tour of Northern Indiana grew out of visits to Shipshewana and a friendship with quilt collector Rebecca Haarer. They developed the tour through Indiana University’s continuing education program in 1984.

Returning to the backroads.

Four decades later, Norma returned to the countryside and sat with Rebecca to remember those early visits. Farmhouses, buggies, and quilts brought the past into view.

Horse-drawn buggy on an Indiana country road
Backroads in Amish country
Two women visiting a Shipshewana textile shop
A visit shaped by people and memories

A thread that continues.

The visit becomes a reminder to notice, listen, and make time for people.

Read Norma's original article

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