RONAN — For Lovie Bailey, sometimes the best way to keep track of time is by the quilts she’s given as gifts.

After all, she estimated she’s made, and given, about 185 quilts. It may sound like a lot, but it’s what you do when you have 10 children, 25 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.

And when you give each one a quilt for graduation, marriage and other special events, that’s a lot of quilting goin’ on — and a way to keep up on major milestones for your large family.

“I like to sew, it’s relaxing to me,” Lovie said. “Someone told me it makes them tired, but it relaxes me. When I’m uptight, I go find something to sew and I’m fine.”

Lovie’s hard work and dedication to quilting was recognized this year as she was the featured quilter at the Mission Mountain Quilt Guild’s Quilt Show in the Ronan High School gym, a three-day event that was a part of the annual Lake County Fair.

“I’ve learned a lot since I’ve belonged to the quilt guild because you learn shortcuts and techniques you wouldn’t necessarily do yourself,” Lovie, who has more than seven decades of quilting experience, said.

As the recipient of the honor, Lovie was one of the main attractions at the quilt show, having people sign her guest book and giving tips and advice to all interested. There were plenty of those who walked through the exhibit and recognized the grandeur and beauty of her work. Her hand-quilting technique is dying out, she said, as more and more people quilt with machines. To show the contrast, Lovie displayed more than 30 quilts, wall hangings and quilt tops for the event, taking a whole row in the RHS gym with just her work. The breadth of her work is staggering.

“Cutting out those pieces and setting them together into something pretty is an accomplishment, I think,” Lovie said. “A lot of men don’t understand that and they think ‘what are you cutting up that material apart for?’ The material is pretty, but it’s much prettier when it’s put together.”

Lovie celebrated her 85th birthday in June and this Polson woman is still going strong. After being born in Canada, she, her parents and eight siblings moved to the Mission Valley. Charlo and Valley View were two locations the family took up residences to ranch, farm and raise the large family.

Lovie said that when she began quilting, it wasn’t a hobby, but, quite literally, a way of life. Growing up during the Great Depression, her mother taught her to sew as a young girl, making quilts out of old jackets, which provided good warmth, she said. That carried over to when she was a mother of her own, as Lovie sewed clothes for her five boys and five girls until they were in junior high school.

“For my folks’ 50th anniversary, I made dresses for myself and the girls and shirts for their dad and the boys so that they’d all be dressed alike and people would know who my family was,” she said.

One of Lovie’s ongoing projects includes finishing a quilt for the Women’s Club to auction off as a fundraiser to get the club’s Valley View Clubhouse repainted.

“I became a member of the club in 1946 and am the oldest continuous member of it,” she said.

Though now living on her own in an apartment in Polson, Lovie still maintains strong family ties. Nine of her children still live in the Polson area, working in different fields and maintaining the Bailey legacy.

“I wanted to have eight [children] but I forgot to send in my order, so we got two more,” Lovie said with a chuckle. “I really enjoy family life, and I get together with my children very often.”

As the family grows, Lovie knows there will certainly be more gatherings — and more quilts to be made.