Years in the Making
February 1, 2008
The quilt, “Magical Medallions” is exquisite, and even if you are not particularly aware of what it takes to create an appliquéd quilt of this quality – just by the play of colors, design and the thousands upon thousands of tiny stitches worked into the design you know it is a masterwork of quilting.
Patty Goodsell worked, by her estimate, about 4 hours a day for two and a half years to complete the quilt which garnered her four ribbons at the recent Tucson Quilters Guild’s annual Quilt Fiesta. The quilt was awarded Best in Show, First Place in all hand-quilted division, the Viewers’ Choice Award (voted on by all who attend the exhibit) and was selected for the Arizona Quilters Hall of Fame.
However, Patty said she doesn’t quilt for awards and she never sells her quilts, “Quilting keeps me happy and I like to think I’m keeping this old tradition of hand quilting and hand appliqué alive by indulging in it and making something that will live beyond me!”
Patty and Richard Goodsell bought property in Arivaca while they both still worked in Tucson, she as Librarian for the Catalina Foothills School District and Richard as a teacher-librarian in the Tucson Unified School District. They spent weekends in Arivaca until they retired, then moved here full time. Both wanted to retire to wide open spaces and they love Arivaca and feel it’s a luxury to be able to live here.
Patty began quilting in the 70’s when she took a community school class in Flagstaff. She had tried the many needle arts but fell in love with quilting. She said she thinks the precision and patience required is her style – much like being a librarian. She loves selecting the colors and fabrics and said she’s always been good with colors. That’s obvious when viewing her work.
For many years she did patchwork quilts but recently decided to try appliqué. Most of her quilting skills came from reading books on the subject but also from participation in quilting organizations where she meets with other quilters who help each other with technical problems and encouragement. Patty belongs to the Appliqué Society, Baltimore Album Quilt Society, National Quilters Association, Tucson Quilters Guild and the Valley Quilters Guild, which she helped organize.
At any one time Patty has about 20 different projects going. As she tires of one, she picks up another. Two projects she showed me were “Flowers in Vases” and a Baltirmore Album quilt, a style popular from 1840 to 1850. Both will be award winners, I’m sure. The theme of most of her quilts illustrate her love of flowers, color and tradition.
This summer Patty will be giving a class through the Valley Quilters, on the invisible stitching technique for hand appliquéd quilts.
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