Arivaca Quilters Alone and in Community
January 1, 2010
On the meeting room wall of the Arivaca Branch Library hangs the Arivaca Quilt, done by many women in town in the late 1990s. A cooperative effort by the Arivaca Homemakers Club with Ellen Dursema of Parks and Rec and Tucson Pima Arts Council, it was a project that took several years. Each of the blocks was done by one person and of course originality reigned and each one is a different size! Putting them together seemed to be an overwhelming task and it sat in storage for a few years. Master quilter Comfort Cover found a way to piece together the varying sizes, using a green background. Katie Lusby and Marty Moss quilted a design into the purple material bordering the green. For a time the quilt stayed at the Library while people quilted around each block. The names of the quilt block makers and the quilters is on a special quilt block. Once it was finished, the quilt made the rounds of public spaces–hanging for a time in the Pima County Board of Supervisors offices. Now it has come home to stay in air conditioned comfort in the meeting room of the Library, alongside quilt blocks representing children’s stories, done by Wendy Dresang, Lory MacFarland, Esther Horton, Lorraine Armour and Katie Lusby.
This was not the first community quilt in Arivaca. In the 40s there was a 4-H Club whose quilt is still preserved. Later, some 20 years ago, back in the beginning of the Arivaca Arts Council, Lorraine Armour taught quilting classes. They met at what is now the Ceramics Shop and then moved to more space at the Old School. Lorraine led a group in the making of a quilt which hung in the Arivaca Community Center when it was first dedicated. The making of community was in itself part of the process. Another quilt was made to give to Kathy Sheldon in thanks for all her work with the Arivaca Arts Council. Another quilt was raffled off to benefit Lee Williams.
Katie Lusby loves to quilt by hand. She and her friend Marty, with help from Tillie Urias, did the thousands of stitches in the purple border on the Arivaca quilt. She got started at least 45 years ago and has done many quilts since then. Her most original design was a Disney quilt done for her daughter’s friend’s anniversary. A Katie-designed Winnie the Pooh quilt block hangs on the wall of Arivaca Library. Now she is working on an old quilt done by Ernie Grimm’s mother. It was put together but was never quilted onto a backing, which Katie is doing so Eva can donate it to the Arivaca Christian Center. She loves to quilt with her friends, like Tillie Urias, who became interested in quilting because of Katie. Some 20 years ago when the ceramic shop was the Arivaca Arts Council’s center, 15 women each made 15 blocks and traded them, so each of them could make their own community quilt. Tillie still has hers, which she put together with the help of Katie.
Janis Beckelman started quilting at least 30 years ago and took a class from Lorraine Armour. She participated in the quilt that went to Kathy but after that it was all by herself. She makes them for her own satisfaction and often with someone in mind. She has made many baby quilts. She loves playing with colors and describes her work as traditional patchwork with contemporary colors. She often pieces them by machine and then does the hand quilting. Janis’s quilts are well known in the community and many people can identify her style with no hesitation!
You know a serious quilter when they have an area dedicated to their craft. Comfort Cover’s handsome quilts are on virtually all of the beds in her home, which has been on the Home Tour several times. Each quilt is designed to complement the furniture and room design. The upstairs living room is an ocean of quilt materials, projects and displays. Many people have seen her quilts in previous Home Tours.
This year’s Home Tour, held on January 30, will feature a display of quilts done by Patty Goodsell. A resident of Arivaca for about five years, Patty began quilting at a very young age, to honor the memory of her grandmother. She is a traditionalist and makes the entire quilt by hand. Originally she made patchwork quilts until she retired and looked for something more challenging to do. She too, is very interested in color, especially different greens and how things are shaded. She uses color cards to match with the colors in nature, such as flowers. After thirty years or so of quilting, she challenged herself to begin making what have become award-winning quilts. often taking years to make. She keeps a journal for each one. Her most recent project is a Baltimore Album Quilt which she has worked on for four years. Each block in this kind of quilt is different and they were originally made in the 1840s-50s as gifts for public figures such as ship captains or pastors. Now there is a revival of this style to keep quilters on their toes.
Patty’s “Magical Medallions” quilt won the Best of Show and the Hall of Fame Award in the Tucson Quilters Guild Quilt Fiesta Show in 2008. You can see this, before the Home Tour, at the following website: www.arizonaquiltershalloffame.org.
Patty’s quilts will be shown in the newly renovated Old Schoolhouse.
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Very good mary did injoy