PORTERDALE, Ga. — Only one thing has been able to stop Porterdale resident Candace Hassen from letting others know about a skill that has combined both beauty and warmth for Americans for centuries.

Mother nature.

Hassen, an acclaimed craftsperson and much-sought speaker on the art of quilting, was forced to miss teaching a class because of an ice storm in, of all places, Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Also, Hurricane Elsa severely affected the size of her audiences for appearances before gatherings of The Quilting Guild of the Villages in The Villages, Florida, and Manatee Patchworkers in Bradenton, Florida, in early July 2021, she said.

Now, however, she will get the chance to demonstrate her quilting expertise for a nationwide audience when she appears on the nationally broadcast "The Quilt Show" with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims later this year.

"I'm thrilled," Hassen said. "That's exactly what I've been working toward."

"The Quilt Show" is a subscription-based broadcast available at thequiltshow.com that bills itself as "the world’s first full-service interactive online video/web TV site created just for quilters worldwide, with over 160,000 registered members in more than 100 countries."

Quilting experts Tims and Anderson host the show, which works to feature some of the top quilting experts in the U.S. 

Anderson hosted a TV series titled “Simply Quilts” on cable TV station HGTV from 1997 to 2007.

Hassen said show producers asked her to show 10 to 12 of her homemade quilts and discuss how she produced the items. She is set to tape her appearance March 30 for airing in June, she said. 

She offers her designs and schedules her speaking engagements via her website quiltdesignsbycandace.com. 

Her quilts have been sold at art festivals throughout the Atlanta area, while her work has been featured in such national publications as McCall's magazine and online on Pinterest.

She has traveled as far as Ohio and Texas to speak to quilt guilds and shows, she said.

However, she admitted she often does not know about the status of shows for reasons ranging from safety fears about the pandemic to the Southeast's sometimes uncertain weather. 

"I don't even know myself what's going on," Hassen said, laughing.

As a result, she also is forced to supplement her income by working for an Atlanta-area retailer between her trips to Dallas, Texas, or Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, she said.

Hassen worked as a weaver for 34 years before devoting full time to quilting.

The Chicago native grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, and relocated to Georgia at age 19.

"I did some quilting in high school," she said.

While working to earn an undergraduate degree in art from Georgia State University, she began working for custom rug designer Montagne Handwoven and stayed for 34 years.

However, Montagne moved its operations to North Carolina and Hassen said she had to find another way to support herself — which she did by weaving her own blankets and other items and selling them at area art festivals. 

Meanwhile, an exhibition of 398 quilts from different countries that was exhibited throughout Georgia as part of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics reawakened her love of quilting from her youth, she said.

Porterdale Mayor Arline Chapman, who also is an artist, convinced the city council in 2018 to designate Hassen as Porterdale's "Quilter Laureate" as part of a larger effort to increase the visibility of the arts in the historic mill town that was built on textile manufacturing.

Chapman said at the time a “Quilter Laureate” is similar to a “poet laureate” who is called on to create poems for special occasions. Hassen has the talent to do the same thing with her quilts, Chapman said.

“Her quilting talents are super," Chapman said. "Bestowing this title was our way of honoring her talent and excellent contribution to Porterdale."  

Chapman said she met Hassen when both were participating in the town's Community Garden — which Hassen helped organize, the mayor said. 

Hassen has been active for many years in other projects that enhance the town's quality of life. She published a community newsletter, was active in the Newton Trails nonprofit, and in such organizations as the Porterdale Arts Alliance — which is not currently meeting because of the pandemic, Chapman said.

She also has been able to teach about her craft throughout the Southeast despite facial paralysis that followed a 2006 surgery to remove a benign tumor from between her ear and brain, the mayor said.

Hassen said she hopes the appearance on a nationally-known quilting show will lead to more speaking engagements and teaching jobs.