“Anyone who works on a quilt, who devotes her time, energy, creativity, and passion to that art, learns to value the work of her hands. And as any quilter will tell you, a quilter’s quilting friends are some of the dearest, most generous, and most supportive people she knows.” ~ Jennifer Chiaverini
This website is dedicated to quilters everywhere. Here’s one of our own.
It was 1978 and our featured quilter and her neighbor decided to take a quilting class. Amidst a small circle of polyester leisure suits, wide-collared blouses, and oversized glasses, the instructor introduced templates and a variety of hand-pieced blocks. The Drunkard’s Path quickly became her favorite—so much so that her digital life followed suit, with her usernames becoming various iterations of the pattern name.
When the class ended, a member of the quilting crew suggested they keep meeting to encourage each other in their quilting. Eight quilters met every Tuesday except for holidays and did so for over 20 years. Now she feels fortunate to belong to a quilt guild because she is encouraged in her quilting and has learned a variety of techniques and developed a good number of friendships.
When her children were young, she chose not to use strong words to show frustration, but decided her expressive word would be “barn”. These days, “barn” is often replaced. She admits to talking to her sewing machine and after it makes a loud noise, she says, “I will clean you after a couple more stitches.” If she forgets, she apologizes. “It is nice that it doesn’t talk back to me”, she adds.
She knows ladies whose stashes she wouldn’t mind swapping—if only for the artful blend of their color palettes. Her wish would be all their fabric that has teal in it. She counts herself lucky to have some of Lori Cosby’s stash. Scrap quilts are a favorite and her stash has a variety of colors and designs.
Her guilty pleasures are the classic trifecta of a well-lived life: a slightly over-extended fabric budget, a glass of good wine, and a piece of decadent chocolate.
Her worst quilting disaster is when intending to cut a thread, but instead cutting the fabric. Trying to applique a piece of fabric to cover the hole so it looks as if nothing happened is tricky. Small blocks are “way too much work” and she tries to avoid them, but “sometimes life happens”.
She says she could not live without her sewing machine, not wanting to spend time sewing blocks by hand even though that was her method when she began quilting. She doesn’t currently have a favorite block, but does like applique with her least favorite being bargello. If she couldn’t quilt, counted cross stitch, needlepoint or embroidery would be her next choices, depending on how well her hands were still working.
Who is our Featured Quilter? Do you recognize her? Shhh, keep it under your quilt and come ready with your guesses to our next meeting when it will be announced.