In this newsletter:
* Ode To My Wife The Quilter
* A New Light for Your Sewing Machine
* Upcoming Classes at QIC
* Wild West Winterfest

Hello Friend --

How is winter wherever you are? The weather in Bozeman continues being unseasonably warm and dry. It concerns me when the days feel much more like April and May weather than February.

In the past issues you have probably noticed the Fast Fundamentals class being offered. The class started last Sunday afternoon and what a fun afternoon it was. The talented first-time quilters chose some wonderful fabrics for their class sampler. They are quick learners and are anxious to get going on their first project. It seems like a real miracle to have a life where I can teach those eager to learn a lifetime skill. I’m very fortunate!

While going through the shirt boxes which contain my class samples, notes, and copies of handouts, I found a copy of the Ode to My Wife The Quilter. It was first introduced to me by my long ago quilt mentor, Jane Edie. When she stopped teaching the beginning quilting class at the Patchworks in the 1970’s Jane handed the opportunity and her class materials to me. She used the Ode to My Wife The Quilter in her classes.

Here it is, THE ODE TO MY WIFE THE QUILTER:

She learned to quilt on Monday.
Her stitches all were very fine.
She forgot to thaw out dinner
So we went out to dine.

She quilted miniatures on Tuesday.
She says they are a must.
They really were quite lovely
But she forgot to dust.

On Wednesday it was a sampler.
She says stipling’s fun.
What highlights! What shadows!
But the laundry wasn’t done.

Her patches were on Thursday –
Green, yellow, blue, and red.
I guess she was really engrossed;
She never made the bed.

It was wall hangings on Friday,
In colors she adores.
It never bothered her at all,
The crumbs upon the floors.

I found a maid on Saturday.
My week is now complete.
My wife can quilt the hours away;
The house will still be neat.

Well, it’s already Sunday.
I think I’m about to wilt.
I’ve cursed, I’ve raved, I’ve ranted,
The MAID has learned to QUILT!

I couldn’t help but wonder if the husbands of these wanna’be quilters knew what they were in for!

And speaking of husbands of quilters. Recently I was surprised when the receptionist at our dentist’s office came to visit us at Quilting in the Country. Her brother and sister-in-law were visiting from Idaho and she was certain that I would want to see their invention. They had just introduced a new product to the quilting world. It was fun to get acquainted with them and I asked if they could send me a product to test and the story of how the new light, Ecolux Light, was created.

Here is the story from Kim Stewart:

****