Sandi Price
It seems like the Material Girls are always on the go around Texas. But this month we did a tour in our own backyard and visited three of our members’ sewing rooms. Now, if you have ever seen a quilter’s sewing room you would realize that these rooms are rarely clean enough to be seen by anyone other than family. But these three quilters spent the time and effort to get everything neat and organized. I can’t speak for the other two, but my room didn’t stay that way very long. The next day it was strewn with fabric pieces, hoops, batting, backing and everything else needed to put together a quilt (or two). Kathy Marrou organized the tour and sent the ladies out in small groups. It’s always fun to see how others utilize their spaces and who knows what kind of ideas they can pick up for their own spaces.
Sharon Clifford:
She utilizes her second bedroom in the villa she and her husband built in 2006. She can still call it a bedroom because her sewing equipment is all contained in Koala cabinets and she can throw a couple of air mattresses on the floor when any of their three children and their families visit. The bedroom is a step up from the laundry room that used to be utilized for her sewing. When they moved here, Sharon brought a longarm quilter with her and thought it was great to have a place for her hobby. Actually, it was a hobby that kind of turned into a job when she started quilting for others on her longarm. I had to track Sharon down in Minnesota for this article. She spends her summers up north piecing and sewing quilts together and then back to Texas in the winter where she quilts. I’ll be thinking of Sharon when its 100 degrees in the middle of August at the Ranch.
Sandi Price:
My daughter confiscated the upstairs to create her own apartment. Therefore, I lost the space I was using for my creating. To be honest, I really didn’t relish the climb upstairs every time I wanted to do something. So, I just had my patio enclosed, building a room for all of my crafting. Every time I walk into that room I try to figure out where I can add just one more table for one more machine but I think I have reached my limit now. I doubt if I can cram one more piece of anything into that space. Not satisfied with doing just one thing, I have always branched out into a number of arts and crafts including drawing, painting, stained glass, sewing, quilting and my favorite, machine embroidery, which I started doing in 1998. I now have three sewing/embroidery machines and enough fabric to open a store but I think Peggy has me beat on a fabric stash.
Peggy Zilinsky:
While I enclosed my patio for my hobbies, Peggy’s husband enclosed their patio to use for his hobbies while she was relegated to a bedroom. But she isn’t complaining, for her handy husband built all of the shelving, cabinets and even the cabinet where her sewing machine resides. Peggy moved to Robson in 2005 but didn’t join Material Girls until 2013 where Marguerite Rose corrupted her at her first quilting class. Peggy finished the class project of a table runner and then, encouraged by Marguerite, she tackled a king size quilt as her very first quilt. Little did she know what she was getting into. Since then, she has decided she like smaller quilting and embroidery projects. She has been the Material Girls treasurer for the last five years and does such a great job we may never let her stop.