I had the pleasure today of visiting with not one, but two, of my favorite quilting sisters. Joyce and Hilda are great friends. Friends to each other and friends to everyone they meet. To visit with each of them separately in their homes today was a rare treat.
Joyce and Hilda are seldom still. They are often not at home waiting for visitors, but instead are out galavanting about. They participate in several small stitching groups that meet about town, they are active in guild meetings and go to several quilting retreats every year. And, when they aren’t engaged in a church or stitching activity, they might be out shopping, in the pouring rain, looking for that perfect quilt backing to finish a project.
Does this sound like your typical image of more-than-90-year-old friends? If not, you’d be wise to revise your stereotype. Joyce and Hilda are dynamos. Their minds are sharper than a size 14 straw needle – I learn something every time I talk with either of them.
Hilda lives alone in the two-story house she’s occupied since 1990 or so. She now has her sewing studio downstairs because her children worried about her climbing stairs so much while she was home alone.
Some of the approximately 100 bed quilts she’s made since she began quilting in 1987 are still here, others have been given away. She’s hasn’t counted all the art and wall quits she’s made, but they are numerous and spectacular! An avid student, Hilda has about a dozen trips to the John C. Campbell Folk School on her resume. There she has explored topics such as basket making as well as quilting.
Her children and grandchildren are artistic too. Her house is filled with art she likes and art they have made. Pottery, wood turning, jewelry making, fabric printing, drawing, painting, all are in the family DNA.
The sewing studio is a haven for any stitcher. There’s a cutting table open on all sides for easy access, and at a comfortable height for the statuesque lady. A machine, tv, design wall, comfortable chair for hand stitching in front of the tv, cabinets to house the fabric overflow, and a fireplace for cozy wintertime work. A serene workspace for a quilter of any age.
My visit with Joyce was not focused on stitching today. We sat on her glorious wrap-around porch overlooking the lake. Her luscious plants were a topic of conversation, as well as her recent experiences as caregiver for her 95-year-old sister. We discussed her work with Western Union during WWII, her civilian work at our local Air Force installation during its early years, and her 33-year career at a wholesale pharmaceutical company.
Joyce was one of the charter members of our quilt guild in 1985. Hilda joined the group in 1987. Just think, each of these women was a career woman before being such was expected. And, since retirement, each has had a long and productive career as a quiltmaker. Many ribbons and awards have decorated their quilts along the way, and we are all still learning from them.
I’ve written before about missing the opportunity to explore quiltmaking in depth with my grandmother. But with the quilting sisters now in my life, I’m reclaiming some years of experience and love. Oh, how I love these women!
The photo is of an art piece made by Hilda. It hangs over the mantel in her studio.
