A quilter's husband

Over the last 20 years JoAnn has become more and more involved in quilting. I think it is great because she is so creative and she loves doing it. I think we have lost count of the number of quilts she has made and given away. However, if 40 years ago someone would have told me my wife was going to be a quilter I would have laughed. And yet over these years I've watched her grow, gain confidence, and serve as an inspiration and teacher for others. She is just awesome.

We are fortunate to currently live near several quilt stores, but when we lived in Terre Haute, IN we drove 20 miles to Paris, IL to her favorite quilt shop. That was when I learned to always bring a book along and to look for a Dairy Queen. Personally, I think there should be a law that all quilt shops have a DQ within 200 feet. When we are on the road we can almost always find a quilt shop. We have found them in Williams, AZ, Ventura, CA, Reno, NV, Boise, ID, St. Louis, MO, San Diego, CA and many other places. It's almost like they are a magnet for us. It's not always JoAnn that finds them. I'm as good at it as she is. Now I bring along a book, my computer, iPhone, and iPod. I can sit in the back seat of the car, listen to my kind of music (mostly classical) and get all kinds of work done. I always anticipate at least 60 minutes of quiet time.

We found this quilt store in Williams, AZ when I left the interstate to stop for gas and thought we would tour their downtown. It only took 40 minutes for gas (okay for looking at quilt material), but then, I wasn't in a hurry. I don't think I'm allowed to be in a hurry when we are within 10 miles of a quilt shop.


As I walked around the house today I realized just how much quilting has become part of our decor. Granted, the girls just left last Sunday and JoAnn has had a busy week, but we have at least 3 quilts in progress. All are from last weekend. For those who don't understand how quilting takes over I thought I would take you on a tour. That's our futon, or was until it became a quilt staging area.


The quilt shop is the hub of all of our operations. Usually the sewing machine is in here, but when she is in certain stages of construction the sewing machine goes elsewhere.


I'm told we don't have much material, but I reorganized a whole closet just for the material. It is all organized by color. I call this area the quilter's candy. Last weekend when the girls were here it seemed that every time I went by the quilt shop there were 2 or more girls in there fondling the quilt candy. Of course, as JoAnn says, that's what it is for.


We have a wrap-around couch and futon in the living room. Right now they are quilt staging areas. You will note the quilt squares all look similar. Each of the girls made a quilt square, including JoAnn (that totals 8 squares) and then most of them made their own 9th square. Here you see the whole couch and futon are converted to staging areas.


Finally, we have the dining room table, or more appropriately the large quilt sewing area. I'm pretty sure we had a meal on that table in that location at least once, but I can't be sure. In JoAnn's defense I also use it as a meeting table when I have colleagues over, so it's really a multi-use table.


Being a quilter's husband is less of a challenge than it is an opportunity. I've learned more about quilts than I ever thought that I would, or even thought I wanted to. Yet I can talk to JoAnn about a log cabin design, or color matching, etc. It's almost scary.