about the quilters

Dorothy Rowan learned embroidery from her mother as a young girl in rural Nebraska. She was a reluctant student at the time, but 50 years later when she retired, she took up embroidery as a hobby with renewed interest. She embroiders table linens, dresser scarves, dish towels, and pillow slips for fun and as keepsakes for her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Dorothy now lives in Austin, Texas, where she works on quilting projects with her daughters.

Dorothy Seils learned counted cross-stitch while working as a young computer professional. Her office started a tradition of making a baby quilt each time they learned of a pregnancy among one of the group. A co-worker offered to teach Dorothy counted cross-stitch so that she could participate. Dorothy's first piece was a cross-stitched rabbit for a quilt square. She has been challenging herself with more and more difficult patterns ever since.

Margaret Seils learned to use a sewing machine by piecing her first quilt -- a Christmas tree skirt made from log cabin blocks. Then her first baby started walking and a second was born.

Janie Spigener lived her life in rural Louisiana and died in 1973. She owned several Singer treadle machines, and spent a lot of time knitting as well as sewing. Only a few of her quilts have survived. --More about Janie Spigener--

Nancy Stevens learned to sew on her grandmother's treadle sewing machine in the 1950's, but didn't start quilting until 40 years later. All of her piecing is done by machine and she has experimented with hand-guided machine quilting. (She has upgraded to a 1940's model electric sewing machine.) It was a love of fabric and the fun of working with color that inspired Nancy to start quilting, but hand quilting large designs is one of her favorite parts of the process. She quilts at home outside Austin, Texas, where she lives with her husband, the artist Michael Stevens, and three helpers.