Rhoda's Quilting History

I need to start out this history with a picture of my daughter Christine, who dragged me from tailoring and the general sewing world into the world of quilting. She insists that I would fall asleep during the slide shows at her Thames River Quilting Guild meetings. I just may have, as I had not come to realize that quilting is a genuine form of art and worthy of my attention. I woke up when we attended a quilt show in Sumner, NY, where there were teachers such as Mary Ellen Hopkins and Trudy Hughes -- and Jinny Beyer may even have been there. During another visit to Christine's in Connecticut, she had signed us up to go on a bus to the International Quilters' Show on the Pier in New York City. After that, there was no turning back, and by the time I had turned out three or four quilts I declared myself to be a QUILTER.

I will show you a group of quilts that I remembered to take pictures of along the way. Marti Michell's "Toad in a Puddle" is on my bed, and I forgot to take a really good picture of it. 

Some of the quilters who have helped me along the way were Eleanor Burns and Kaye Wood through their TV shows and books. Of course, there was the great influence of Trudy Hughes and her NO TEMPLATES quilting. Because I am a math and geometry person and like to rely on measurements, rulers, and rotary cutter, her method suits me just fine.

Jinny Beyer refreshed my memory on colors and how to use them; the color method used is pretty much the same as draping our bodies in clothes, and that is an art I have always loved. Her border prints still baffle me at times and also her soft edges book, but, given enough time, I may even conquer those techniques.

Erma Gail Hatcher floored us with her appliqué at our North Dakota Quilters' Spring Fever workshop, last year, and I was happy to share with her and the group my version of her Arkansas Beauty quilt. I completed it and gave it to Ron, my nephew, who lives in Erma Gail's hometown of Conway, Arkansas. 

I couldn't possibly name these quilters without a mention of Georgia Bonesteel from North Carolina. Her TV shows and all her books (Yes, I do have them all!) have been a joy for me. Georgia Bonesteel was the featured teacher, a few years back, at a quilters' retreat in Bay View, Michigan, where she taught a class on her Masks, Moose, and Qupak quilt. I attended that retreat, and you will see two of the quilts that class inspired me to make. She is a lovely lady, and I want very much to visit her in Hendersonville, North Carolina. If you have heard her TV quilting show, you might be interested in knowing that the singer and guitar player is her son.