Karen Hagen discusses Kasha Quilts, a museum filled with her livelihood

In a small town outside of Moscow, Kascha Quilts is filled, covering ceiling to floor, from the basement to bathrooms with quilts. With over 350 pieces, Karen Hagen has been quilting away for over 30 years.  

Located in Genesee between Laurel and Ash street, Hagen opened the space to the community and fellow quilters to admire her work. She is also a part of Palouse Patchers and has participated in quilt shows and competitions.  

“Palouse Patchers is for quilters from Moscow, Pullman and the little towns around, whoever wants to belong to it,” Hagen said. “They have a quilt show every year, except last year, and I would always put in my latest quilts.”   

She has also been able to travel to Boise State University, Pendelton, Bend, Medford and the Oregon Coast on quilt tours.  

Palouse Patchers is holding a quilt show this April with floral-themed quilts that are available to be viewed at the Prichard and One World Cafe, Margaret Donelick, Palouse Patchers co-chair, said.  

Over the years, Hagen hasn’t sold any of her pieces except for few duplicates. Storing her quilts on vertical shelves to prevent creasing, she created Kasha, a tax-deductible non-profit, to display her work from over the years.  

“This really started in June when COVID-19 was going on starting in March… I was getting it pretty well together,” Hagen said. “COVID-19 has been going the whole time that I’ve had it open so it isn’t like I’ve had a big, quilt guild of people from, you know the Tri-Cities or somebody come in a bus and look which may happen once it’s over with.”   

Hagen has been working on adding her own special touches to the space, including painting the basement floors in a cow-print pattern, maintaining weeds and the building.  

She grew up in Viola on a dairy farm with a musically and artistically talented family and has lived most of her life with her husband and son. She first learned how to quilt in 1975, seven years before her mom passed away. Hagen said that she is saddened because she could have seen her mom doing projects with her.  

“I was in my 30s when I learned and had already wasted a lot of time,” Hagen said. “It sort of took over my life, although not exactly, I’ve always worked full time and hand quilting takes a long time.”  

A part of her museum is a quilt of her mother, adjacent to a quilt of her son. Almost every piece in her museum is hand quilted and every piece has special meaning to her.  

With leftover fabric, Hagen plans on holding quilting classes with schools around the area. Her classes would involve their teacher reading a child’s book and the children making themed miniature quilts off of the books.  

Kascha Quilts is located at 145 North Laurel St. in Genesee, open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  

Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce