The quilter selected for our June showcase is Patti Taylor.
Extremely knowledgeable and skilled, Patti is an excellent educator and asset to our sewing and quilting community. You can often find her teaching in our classroom. Keep an eye out for the next classes that she has scheduled!

1.  How did you get started in quilting?

When I was 9, my mom taught me to sew on her Singer Featherweight. By the time I was in high school, I was making almost all of my own clothing and had started branching out into other crafts including various kinds of needlework. I made my first quilt in 1980, when I was a 22 year old newlywed.

 

2.  What is one quilting notion that you can’t do without?

I have lots of tools that are very helpful and make the job easier: good scissors, rotary cutter and cutting mat, and rulers. But, the one item I can’t do without is my sewing machine. My hand sewing abilities really lack. I would never have been able to accomplish all I have done without a machine.

I also couldn’t do without my husband, Tom. He provides encouragement and is willing to help when I need ideas for designs and colors. Although, sometimes, I really have to take his color choices with a grain of salt since he’s colorblind. He’s also encouraged me to invest in equipment that I probably would have been too frugal to buy for myself, like my longarm and embroidery machines.

 

3.  If you’re willing, please share a funny quilting experience that taught you a memorable lesson.

I actually have two stories!

While I was going to UC Davis, I worked as a cashier at the Nut Tree in Vacaville. Every year, they would throw a big beach party at a property the company had near Tomales Bay. I asked one of the janitors if I could ride over with him. Nut Tree was always known for putting a bit of artistic flair into everything. Their picnic box lunches were no exception! Each and every one of them was tied with a two yard long strip of brightly colored calico fabric. Being the child of Depression-era parents, I couldn’t possibly let that go to waste!! So, I went around and asked others for their fabric ribbons and fished them out of the trash. All the while, the guy I rode over with is trying to act like he doesn’t know me. A year later we got married and for our first anniversary I presented him with a quilt made from those ribbons!! So, while other people’s opinions can help you decide which direction to go with a project, don’t ever let them convince you that your ideas totally lack merit and possibility.

The second story involves a box of fabric that a friend gave me. She had made a king-size quilt and this box contained left over strips; 9 patches and squares strung together on point. As I worked with the pieces, I'd add other fabrics as borders or I'd add ones that provided a pop of color, depending on what the pattern needed. After about the 5th or 6th quilt though, I decded this bottomless box needed to move on to someone else! Just because it was free, didnt mean I had to use it all.

 

4.  If it’s possible to choose just one, what is your favorite quilt that you’ve made?

I've made so many quilts over the years and I've really liked the colors or design of several of them. So, it’s hard to choose my absolute favorite. One that has ended up being a favorite is a quilt that I, quite honestly, didn’t think I would like at all.

Some years ago, when I was teaching Home Economics, I was always looking for simple projects to learn basic sewing skills. What better project to teach making straight seams than a quilt block? Hancock's had quite a few matching block kits on clearance for 25 cents each. So, I bought them all! The student-made blocks ended up in quilts donated to Project Linus, an organization that provides handmade blankets to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need. I decided to finish up piecing the leftover blocks myself. This left me with very bright oranges and purples that were just not “me." But, I was lucky enough to get the matching yardage for the borders on clearance and assembled a quilt. With its daisy quilting design, it is such a happy quilt that it always makes me smile—especially since the blocks only cost $8.25!

 

5.  What do you do with your quilts?

Most of my quilts end up as presents or as community service projects, although I do keep quite a few for myself to use around the house or in the RV. All the beds have quilts. We prefer them over blankets (to the point where we only own 2 minky blankets). I also make quite a few small quilts to use as table toppers and wall hangings for both myself and our daughter, who goes all-out decorating for every season.

I have received a couple of small quilted table runners as gifts. They hold special meaning for me because they came from my pre-Camp Fire quilting group friends. Eight of the members lost their homes, while only 4 of us had houses that survived. The quilts remind me of all the good times and conversations we had as a group.

I also have a comfort quilt that was made for my mom a couple of years before she passed away. It came from a lady who babysat me when I was a toddler and she was a young teen. Both our parents and older brothers were friends. We haven't seen each other in decades. But, we've reconnected through social media; becoming good friends and exchanging fabric and patterns.

 
7.  What type of quilting do you most enjoy?

I really like quilts that can be chain pieced. I find the repetition and rhythm of it calming. I know I definitely don’t like making sampler style quilts. I prefer making multiples of the same block as opposed to “one off” blocks. I also like doing appliqué pieces and adding hand or machine embroidered elements.

Even though my degree is in Psychology, I've held a wide variety of jobs over the years. I worked for Waldenbooks, the Yolo County library as a substitute clerk, the Nut Tree as a cashier, and also at a dry cleaner outside Travis Air Force Base (where I did engraving, embroidery, and hot stamping for military contracts). I also taught English and History. But, probably the most ironic job I've ever had was as a Home Ec teacher. I'd actually refused to take Home Ec in high school, even though, at the time, it was a requirement to graduate!

Though I retired from teaching in 2011, I still find myself in the classroom. But, now I'm doing something I truly enjoy: teaching others to quilt and sew.

While my husband and I love to sightsee, we apparently can’t settle on just one mode of transportation! We enjoy cruises, camping in our rv, as well as motorcycle trips. I have ridden my own motorcycle to Sturgis twice, done the Sea to Sky Highway in BC, the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Barbara, and ridden on multiple trips in the Western states. We also enjoy taking our 4 grandkids on adventures, which I'm sure our daughter appreciates, too! Whether I'm seeking out quilt shops or working on some small handwork project, travel, for me, always has to involve fabric in some way.

My goals for the future? I truly would like to finish quilting all the quilt tops I have stacked up on the shelf! When we moved 5 years ago, I counted 26 ready to go quilt tops with backings. I think I'm now down to 17! But, I keep sabotaging myself by tossing other projects into the mix!