RCTQ in the news!

(This was published on Friday, I believe. -- N)

This www.dailyherald.com news story was forwarded to you by
Nann

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FORWARDED STORY BELOW
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Quilting keeps librarians in stitches
Daily Herald Reports
by Sarah Long, Executive Director, North Suburban Library System
Several librarians of my acquaintance are quilters. The demographics
for quilters are similar to the demographics for librarians - female
and well-educated. From my experience, I would add a penchant for
being social as a third characteristic often found among quilters
and librarians.

Nann Blaine Hilyard, director of the Zion-Benton Public Library,
personifies this profile. Hilyard was first introduced to stitchery
and textiles in 4-H. She got a kit for a cross-stitch quilt as a birthday
gift the year she began graduate library school. Imagine something
as big as a bedsheet requiring embroidery all over it! It took a year
to finish both the quilt and the degree.

"That was 30 years ago," she said, "and I still use the quilt and
the degree every day."

When she moved to the small city of Brenham, Texas, to direct the
library there, Hilyard learned that one of the library patrons was
an award-winning quilter. The woman offered to teach quilting to a
select group that included Hilyard, the library board treasurer and
another librarian.

"That's when I learned that quilting was a social activity," she
said. "Unfortunately our friend was not a great teacher. I gave up
after two lessons."

That quilt, still unfinished, is what quilters call a UFO, or unfinished
object.

Nearly 20 years later, it was a library book that got Hilyard back
to quilting. The book was about using a sewing machine to piece quilt
tops and to do the quilting itself.

She also discovered the rotary cutter, a device that makes quick
work of cutting out the pieces. Another invention contributed to her
new passion: the Internet. The Internet service provider at the Fargo
(North Dakota) Public Library, where she then worked, included on
its menu a newsgroup for quilters around the world to share information,
advice and many opinions. She's the self-appointed official librarian
of the rec.crafts.textiles.quilting newsgroup.

She says quilters should check out quilting books from the library
"because every book you borrow means you have more money to spend
on fabric!"

Hilyard and fellow librarian and quilter Connie Ozinga met on the newsgroup.
They now co-convene the Quilter's Taskforce of the American Library
Association. This unofficial group gets together at library conferences
to check out the fabric stores in the conference cities. Their shopping
expeditions are followed by dinner. Taskforce members also make a
quilt each year for the ALA Scholarship Auction. In four years their
efforts have raised more than $1,500. Plans are under way for the
2004 quilt that will feature a bookshelf block.

Kay Schlumpf, project manager and Web developer here at the North
Suburban Library System, is also a quilter. Her interest also got
a boost in college when her mother and grandmother, both quilters
themselves, packed her off for the freshman year with a quilting project.

"I think they thought I would have some spare time and that it would
keep me in the dorm," she said. Schlumpf also has found books and
the Internet helpful with her hobby. Schlumpf recommends "Fat Quarter
Quilts" by M'liss Rae Hawley and "Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!!!: The Complete
Guide to Quiltmaking" by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes as good books
for beginners. She stressed that there are books on every phase and
permutation of quilt making including quilt history and quilt techniques.
On the Internet Schlumpf recommends www.freequiltpatterns.info for
free patterns and www.antiquequiltdating.com for those who collect
old quilts or want to know more about a particular era in quilt making.
Schlumpf says her favorite quilting magazine is "Quiltmaker." There
is a companion Web site at www.quiltmaker.com. There are even novels
about quilting. Check out the series by Jennifer Chiaverini. The first
volume in the series is called "The Quilter's Apprentice." There is
also a series of mysteries by Earlene Fowler that revolve around a
quilt block. Schlumpf and Hilyard belong to a local quilting group,
Northern Lake County Quilters Guild. For information on meetings visit
www.nlcqg.org. "The Guild is very helpful," Schlumpf said, "Especially
for beginners."

When asked, "Why quilting?" Schlumpf said, "It's a link to the past--
the women of my past and the past as a whole. There's also the challenge
just what can you make that fabric do for you? I recently made a
quilt of a pug dog. I used a white music note printed on black fabric
for the dog's eye. It looks just like the sparkle."

Sarah Long is director of the North Suburban Library System. Send
e-mail to .

Congratulations! What a wonderful story.

Betty in WI

"Nbhilyard" wrote in message
...
(This was published on Friday, I believe. -- N)

This www.dailyherald.com news story was forwarded to you by
Nann

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FORWARDED STORY BELOW
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Quilting keeps librarians in stitches
Daily Herald Reports
by Sarah Long, Executive Director, North Suburban Library System
Several librarians of my acquaintance are quilters. The demographics
for quilters are similar to the demographics for librarians - female
and well-educated. From my experience, I would add a penchant for
being social as a third characteristic often found among quilters
and librarians.

Nann Blaine Hilyard, director of the Zion-Benton Public Library,
personifies this profile. Hilyard was first introduced to stitchery
and textiles in 4-H. She got a kit for a cross-stitch quilt as a birthday
gift the year she began graduate library school. Imagine something
as big as a bedsheet requiring embroidery all over it! It took a year
to finish both the quilt and the degree.

"That was 30 years ago," she said, "and I still use the quilt and
the degree every day."

When she moved to the small city of Brenham, Texas, to direct the
library there, Hilyard learned that one of the library patrons was
an award-winning quilter. The woman offered to teach quilting to a
select group that included Hilyard, the library board treasurer and
another librarian.

"That's when I learned that quilting was a social activity," she
said. "Unfortunately our friend was not a great teacher. I gave up
after two lessons."

That quilt, still unfinished, is what quilters call a UFO, or unfinished
object.

Nearly 20 years later, it was a library book that got Hilyard back
to quilting. The book was about using a sewing machine to piece quilt
tops and to do the quilting itself.

She also discovered the rotary cutter, a device that makes quick
work of cutting out the pieces. Another invention contributed to her
new passion: the Internet. The Internet service provider at the Fargo
(North Dakota) Public Library, where she then worked, included on
its menu a newsgroup for quilters around the world to share information,
advice and many opinions. She's the self-appointed official librarian
of the rec.crafts.textiles.quilting newsgroup.

She says quilters should check out quilting books from the library
"because every book you borrow means you have more money to spend
on fabric!"

Hilyard and fellow librarian and quilter Connie Ozinga met on the
newsgroup.
They now co-convene the Quilter's Taskforce of the American Library
Association. This unofficial group gets together at library conferences
to check out the fabric stores in the conference cities. Their shopping
expeditions are followed by dinner. Taskforce members also make a
quilt each year for the ALA Scholarship Auction. In four years their
efforts have raised more than $1,500. Plans are under way for the
2004 quilt that will feature a bookshelf block.

Kay Schlumpf, project manager and Web developer here at the North
Suburban Library System, is also a quilter. Her interest also got
a boost in college when her mother and grandmother, both quilters
themselves, packed her off for the freshman year with a quilting project.

"I think they thought I would have some spare time and that it would
keep me in the dorm," she said. Schlumpf also has found books and
the Internet helpful with her hobby. Schlumpf recommends "Fat Quarter
Quilts" by M'liss Rae Hawley and "Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!!!: The Complete
Guide to Quiltmaking" by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes as good books
for beginners. She stressed that there are books on every phase and
permutation of quilt making including quilt history and quilt techniques.
On the Internet Schlumpf recommends www.freequiltpatterns.info for
free patterns and www.antiquequiltdating.com for those who collect
old quilts or want to know more about a particular era in quilt making.
Schlumpf says her favorite quilting magazine is "Quiltmaker." There
is a companion Web site at www.quiltmaker.com. There are even novels
about quilting. Check out the series by Jennifer Chiaverini. The first
volume in the series is called "The Quilter's Apprentice." There is
also a series of mysteries by Earlene Fowler that revolve around a
quilt block. Schlumpf and Hilyard belong to a local quilting group,
Northern Lake County Quilters Guild. For information on meetings visit
www.nlcqg.org. "The Guild is very helpful," Schlumpf said, "Especially
for beginners."

When asked, "Why quilting?" Schlumpf said, "It's a link to the past--
the women of my past and the past as a whole. There's also the challenge
just what can you make that fabric do for you? I recently made a
quilt of a pug dog. I used a white music note printed on black fabric
for the dog's eye. It looks just like the sparkle."

Sarah Long is director of the North Suburban Library System. Send
e-mail to .

Nann,

That is really a fantastic article! Congrats

Debbi in SO CA


"Nbhilyard" wrote in message
...
(This was published on Friday, I believe. -- N)

This www.dailyherald.com news story was forwarded to you by
Nann

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FORWARDED STORY BELOW
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Quilting keeps librarians in stitches
Daily Herald Reports
by Sarah Long, Executive Director, North Suburban Library System
Several librarians of my acquaintance are quilters. The demographics
for quilters are similar to the demographics for librarians - female
and well-educated. From my experience, I would add a penchant for
being social as a third characteristic often found among quilters
and librarians.

Nann Blaine Hilyard, director of the Zion-Benton Public Library,
personifies this profile. Hilyard was first introduced to stitchery
and textiles in 4-H. She got a kit for a cross-stitch quilt as a birthday
gift the year she began graduate library school. Imagine something
as big as a bedsheet requiring embroidery all over it! It took a year
to finish both the quilt and the degree.

"That was 30 years ago," she said, "and I still use the quilt and
the degree every day."

When she moved to the small city of Brenham, Texas, to direct the
library there, Hilyard learned that one of the library patrons was
an award-winning quilter. The woman offered to teach quilting to a
select group that included Hilyard, the library board treasurer and
another librarian.

"That's when I learned that quilting was a social activity," she
said. "Unfortunately our friend was not a great teacher. I gave up
after two lessons."

That quilt, still unfinished, is what quilters call a UFO, or unfinished
object.

Nearly 20 years later, it was a library book that got Hilyard back
to quilting. The book was about using a sewing machine to piece quilt
tops and to do the quilting itself.

She also discovered the rotary cutter, a device that makes quick
work of cutting out the pieces. Another invention contributed to her
new passion: the Internet. The Internet service provider at the Fargo
(North Dakota) Public Library, where she then worked, included on
its menu a newsgroup for quilters around the world to share information,
advice and many opinions. She's the self-appointed official librarian
of the rec.crafts.textiles.quilting newsgroup.

She says quilters should check out quilting books from the library
"because every book you borrow means you have more money to spend
on fabric!"

Hilyard and fellow librarian and quilter Connie Ozinga met on the
newsgroup.
They now co-convene the Quilter's Taskforce of the American Library
Association. This unofficial group gets together at library conferences
to check out the fabric stores in the conference cities. Their shopping
expeditions are followed by dinner. Taskforce members also make a
quilt each year for the ALA Scholarship Auction. In four years their
efforts have raised more than $1,500. Plans are under way for the
2004 quilt that will feature a bookshelf block.

Kay Schlumpf, project manager and Web developer here at the North
Suburban Library System, is also a quilter. Her interest also got
a boost in college when her mother and grandmother, both quilters
themselves, packed her off for the freshman year with a quilting project.

"I think they thought I would have some spare time and that it would
keep me in the dorm," she said. Schlumpf also has found books and
the Internet helpful with her hobby. Schlumpf recommends "Fat Quarter
Quilts" by M'liss Rae Hawley and "Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!!!: The Complete
Guide to Quiltmaking" by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes as good books
for beginners. She stressed that there are books on every phase and
permutation of quilt making including quilt history and quilt techniques.
On the Internet Schlumpf recommends www.freequiltpatterns.info for
free patterns and www.antiquequiltdating.com for those who collect
old quilts or want to know more about a particular era in quilt making.
Schlumpf says her favorite quilting magazine is "Quiltmaker." There
is a companion Web site at www.quiltmaker.com. There are even novels
about quilting. Check out the series by Jennifer Chiaverini. The first
volume in the series is called "The Quilter's Apprentice." There is
also a series of mysteries by Earlene Fowler that revolve around a
quilt block. Schlumpf and Hilyard belong to a local quilting group,
Northern Lake County Quilters Guild. For information on meetings visit
www.nlcqg.org. "The Guild is very helpful," Schlumpf said, "Especially
for beginners."

When asked, "Why quilting?" Schlumpf said, "It's a link to the past--
the women of my past and the past as a whole. There's also the challenge
just what can you make that fabric do for you? I recently made a
quilt of a pug dog. I used a white music note printed on black fabric
for the dog's eye. It looks just like the sparkle."

Sarah Long is director of the North Suburban Library System. Send
e-mail to .

Terrific article! Congratulations to Nann and all the other quilting
librarians!

Sandy
in Chapel Hill, NC

"Nbhilyard" wrote:
(This was published on Friday, I believe. -- N)

This www.dailyherald.com news story was forwarded to you by
Nann

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FORWARDED STORY BELOW
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Quilting keeps librarians in stitches
Daily Herald Reports
by Sarah Long, Executive Director, North Suburban Library System
Several librarians of my acquaintance are quilters. The demographics
for quilters are similar to the demographics for librarians - female
and well-educated. From my experience, I would add a penchant for
being social as a third characteristic often found among quilters
and librarians.

Nann Blaine Hilyard, director of the Zion-Benton Public Library,
personifies this profile. Hilyard was first introduced to stitchery
and textiles in 4-H. She got a kit for a cross-stitch quilt as a birthday
gift the year she began graduate library school. Imagine something
as big as a bedsheet requiring embroidery all over it! It took a year
to finish both the quilt and the degree.

"That was 30 years ago," she said, "and I still use the quilt and
the degree every day."

When she moved to the small city of Brenham, Texas, to direct the
library there, Hilyard learned that one of the library patrons was
an award-winning quilter. The woman offered to teach quilting to a
select group that included Hilyard, the library board treasurer and
another librarian.

"That's when I learned that quilting was a social activity," she
said. "Unfortunately our friend was not a great teacher. I gave up
after two lessons."

That quilt, still unfinished, is what quilters call a UFO, or unfinished
object.

Nearly 20 years later, it was a library book that got Hilyard back
to quilting. The book was about using a sewing machine to piece quilt
tops and to do the quilting itself.

She also discovered the rotary cutter, a device that makes quick
work of cutting out the pieces. Another invention contributed to her
new passion: the Internet. The Internet service provider at the Fargo
(North Dakota) Public Library, where she then worked, included on
its menu a newsgroup for quilters around the world to share information,
advice and many opinions. She's the self-appointed official librarian
of the rec.crafts.textiles.quilting newsgroup.

She says quilters should check out quilting books from the library
"because every book you borrow means you have more money to spend
on fabric!"

Hilyard and fellow librarian and quilter Connie Ozinga met on the
newsgroup.
They now co-convene the Quilter's Taskforce of the American Library
Association. This unofficial group gets together at library conferences
to check out the fabric stores in the conference cities. Their shopping
expeditions are followed by dinner. Taskforce members also make a
quilt each year for the ALA Scholarship Auction. In four years their
efforts have raised more than $1,500. Plans are under way for the
2004 quilt that will feature a bookshelf block.

Kay Schlumpf, project manager and Web developer here at the North
Suburban Library System, is also a quilter. Her interest also got
a boost in college when her mother and grandmother, both quilters
themselves, packed her off for the freshman year with a quilting project.

"I think they thought I would have some spare time and that it would
keep me in the dorm," she said. Schlumpf also has found books and
the Internet helpful with her hobby. Schlumpf recommends "Fat Quarter
Quilts" by M'liss Rae Hawley and "Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!!!: The Complete
Guide to Quiltmaking" by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes as good books
for beginners. She stressed that there are books on every phase and
permutation of quilt making including quilt history and quilt techniques.
On the Internet Schlumpf recommends www.freequiltpatterns.info for
free patterns and www.antiquequiltdating.com for those who collect
old quilts or want to know more about a particular era in quilt making.
Schlumpf says her favorite quilting magazine is "Quiltmaker." There
is a companion Web site at www.quiltmaker.com. There are even novels
about quilting. Check out the series by Jennifer Chiaverini. The first
volume in the series is called "The Quilter's Apprentice." There is
also a series of mysteries by Earlene Fowler that revolve around a
quilt block. Schlumpf and Hilyard belong to a local quilting group,
Northern Lake County Quilters Guild. For information on meetings visit
www.nlcqg.org. "The Guild is very helpful," Schlumpf said, "Especially
for beginners."

When asked, "Why quilting?" Schlumpf said, "It's a link to the past--
the women of my past and the past as a whole. There's also the challenge
just what can you make that fabric do for you? I recently made a
quilt of a pug dog. I used a white music note printed on black fabric
for the dog's eye. It looks just like the sparkle."

Sarah Long is director of the North Suburban Library System. Send
e-mail to .

Wow! Nann, this is so cool, congratulations and thanks for sharing with us.
Martha who loves the Vigo County Public Library

"Nbhilyard" wrote in message
...
(This was published on Friday, I believe. -- N)

This www.dailyherald.com news story was forwarded to you by
Nann

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FORWARDED STORY BELOW
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Quilting keeps librarians in stitches
Daily Herald Reports
by Sarah Long, Executive Director, North Suburban Library System
Several librarians of my acquaintance are quilters. The demographics
for quilters are similar to the demographics for librarians - female
and well-educated. From my experience, I would add a penchant for
being social as a third characteristic often found among quilters
and librarians.

Nann Blaine Hilyard, director of the Zion-Benton Public Library,
personifies this profile. Hilyard was first introduced to stitchery
and textiles in 4-H. She got a kit for a cross-stitch quilt as a birthday
gift the year she began graduate library school. Imagine something
as big as a bedsheet requiring embroidery all over it! It took a year
to finish both the quilt and the degree.

"That was 30 years ago," she said, "and I still use the quilt and
the degree every day."

When she moved to the small city of Brenham, Texas, to direct the
library there, Hilyard learned that one of the library patrons was
an award-winning quilter. The woman offered to teach quilting to a
select group that included Hilyard, the library board treasurer and
another librarian.

"That's when I learned that quilting was a social activity," she
said. "Unfortunately our friend was not a great teacher. I gave up
after two lessons."

That quilt, still unfinished, is what quilters call a UFO, or unfinished
object.

Nearly 20 years later, it was a library book that got Hilyard back
to quilting. The book was about using a sewing machine to piece quilt
tops and to do the quilting itself.

She also discovered the rotary cutter, a device that makes quick
work of cutting out the pieces. Another invention contributed to her
new passion: the Internet. The Internet service provider at the Fargo
(North Dakota) Public Library, where she then worked, included on
its menu a newsgroup for quilters around the world to share information,
advice and many opinions. She's the self-appointed official librarian
of the rec.crafts.textiles.quilting newsgroup.

She says quilters should check out quilting books from the library
"because every book you borrow means you have more money to spend
on fabric!"

Hilyard and fellow librarian and quilter Connie Ozinga met on the
newsgroup.
They now co-convene the Quilter's Taskforce of the American Library
Association. This unofficial group gets together at library conferences
to check out the fabric stores in the conference cities. Their shopping
expeditions are followed by dinner. Taskforce members also make a
quilt each year for the ALA Scholarship Auction. In four years their
efforts have raised more than $1,500. Plans are under way for the
2004 quilt that will feature a bookshelf block.

Kay Schlumpf, project manager and Web developer here at the North
Suburban Library System, is also a quilter. Her interest also got
a boost in college when her mother and grandmother, both quilters
themselves, packed her off for the freshman year with a quilting project.

"I think they thought I would have some spare time and that it would
keep me in the dorm," she said. Schlumpf also has found books and
the Internet helpful with her hobby. Schlumpf recommends "Fat Quarter
Quilts" by M'liss Rae Hawley and "Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!!!: The Complete
Guide to Quiltmaking" by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes as good books
for beginners. She stressed that there are books on every phase and
permutation of quilt making including quilt history and quilt techniques.
On the Internet Schlumpf recommends www.freequiltpatterns.info for
free patterns and www.antiquequiltdating.com for those who collect
old quilts or want to know more about a particular era in quilt making.
Schlumpf says her favorite quilting magazine is "Quiltmaker." There
is a companion Web site at www.quiltmaker.com. There are even novels
about quilting. Check out the series by Jennifer Chiaverini. The first
volume in the series is called "The Quilter's Apprentice." There is
also a series of mysteries by Earlene Fowler that revolve around a
quilt block. Schlumpf and Hilyard belong to a local quilting group,
Northern Lake County Quilters Guild. For information on meetings visit
www.nlcqg.org. "The Guild is very helpful," Schlumpf said, "Especially
for beginners."

When asked, "Why quilting?" Schlumpf said, "It's a link to the past--
the women of my past and the past as a whole. There's also the challenge
just what can you make that fabric do for you? I recently made a
quilt of a pug dog. I used a white music note printed on black fabric
for the dog's eye. It looks just like the sparkle."

Sarah Long is director of the North Suburban Library System. Send
e-mail to .

I forwarded this to a friend of mine in the library world. He emailed back
that he and Sarah have been friends for years. Small world!
--
Teresa in Colorado

The Presser Foot
Sewing Machine Sales, Service, Supplies, and More
www.thepresserfoot.com
--
" "Nbhilyard" wrote in message
...
(This was published on Friday, I believe. -- N)

This www.dailyherald.com news story was forwarded to you by
Nann

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FORWARDED STORY BELOW
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Quilting keeps librarians in stitches
Daily Herald Reports
by Sarah Long, Executive Director, North Suburban Library System
Several librarians of my acquaintance are quilters. The demographics
for quilters are similar to the demographics for librarians - female
and well-educated. From my experience, I would add a penchant for
being social as a third characteristic often found among quilters
and librarians.

Nann Blaine Hilyard, director of the Zion-Benton Public Library,
personifies this profile. Hilyard was first introduced to stitchery
and textiles in 4-H. She got a kit for a cross-stitch quilt as a
birthday
gift the year she began graduate library school. Imagine something
as big as a bedsheet requiring embroidery all over it! It took a year
to finish both the quilt and the degree.

"That was 30 years ago," she said, "and I still use the quilt and
the degree every day."

When she moved to the small city of Brenham, Texas, to direct the
library there, Hilyard learned that one of the library patrons was
an award-winning quilter. The woman offered to teach quilting to a
select group that included Hilyard, the library board treasurer and
another librarian.

"That's when I learned that quilting was a social activity," she
said. "Unfortunately our friend was not a great teacher. I gave up
after two lessons."

That quilt, still unfinished, is what quilters call a UFO, or unfinished
object.

Nearly 20 years later, it was a library book that got Hilyard back
to quilting. The book was about using a sewing machine to piece quilt
tops and to do the quilting itself.

She also discovered the rotary cutter, a device that makes quick
work of cutting out the pieces. Another invention contributed to her
new passion: the Internet. The Internet service provider at the Fargo
(North Dakota) Public Library, where she then worked, included on
its menu a newsgroup for quilters around the world to share information,
advice and many opinions. She's the self-appointed official librarian
of the rec.crafts.textiles.quilting newsgroup.

She says quilters should check out quilting books from the library
"because every book you borrow means you have more money to spend
on fabric!"

Hilyard and fellow librarian and quilter Connie Ozinga met on the
newsgroup.
They now co-convene the Quilter's Taskforce of the American Library
Association. This unofficial group gets together at library conferences
to check out the fabric stores in the conference cities. Their shopping
expeditions are followed by dinner. Taskforce members also make a
quilt each year for the ALA Scholarship Auction. In four years their
efforts have raised more than $1,500. Plans are under way for the
2004 quilt that will feature a bookshelf block.

Kay Schlumpf, project manager and Web developer here at the North
Suburban Library System, is also a quilter. Her interest also got
a boost in college when her mother and grandmother, both quilters
themselves, packed her off for the freshman year with a quilting
project.

"I think they thought I would have some spare time and that it would
keep me in the dorm," she said. Schlumpf also has found books and
the Internet helpful with her hobby. Schlumpf recommends "Fat Quarter
Quilts" by M'liss Rae Hawley and "Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!!!: The
Complete
Guide to Quiltmaking" by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes as good books
for beginners. She stressed that there are books on every phase and
permutation of quilt making including quilt history and quilt
techniques.
On the Internet Schlumpf recommends www.freequiltpatterns.info for
free patterns and www.antiquequiltdating.com for those who collect
old quilts or want to know more about a particular era in quilt making.
Schlumpf says her favorite quilting magazine is "Quiltmaker." There
is a companion Web site at www.quiltmaker.com. There are even novels
about quilting. Check out the series by Jennifer Chiaverini. The first
volume in the series is called "The Quilter's Apprentice." There is
also a series of mysteries by Earlene Fowler that revolve around a
quilt block. Schlumpf and Hilyard belong to a local quilting group,
Northern Lake County Quilters Guild. For information on meetings visit
www.nlcqg.org. "The Guild is very helpful," Schlumpf said, "Especially
for beginners."

When asked, "Why quilting?" Schlumpf said, "It's a link to the past--
the women of my past and the past as a whole. There's also the challenge
just what can you make that fabric do for you? I recently made a
quilt of a pug dog. I used a white music note printed on black fabric
for the dog's eye. It looks just like the sparkle."

Sarah Long is director of the North Suburban Library System. Send
e-mail to .

ospam (Nbhilyard) wrote in message ...
snipped:
librarians.

Nann Blaine Hilyard, director of the Zion-Benton Public Library,
personifies this profile. Hilyard was first introduced to stitchery
and textiles in 4-H. She got a kit for a cross-stitch quilt as a birthday
gift the year she began graduate library school. Imagine something
as big as a bedsheet requiring embroidery all over it! It took a year
to finish both the quilt and the degree.

Congratulations, Nann, on being featured in this article! Thanks for
sharing! Too too cool. The woman that taught me to quilt was also a
librarian. Never knew the parallels between being a quilter and a
librarian existed. It makes sense, though. Cool!

A Joy in Hawaii

That's a great article. The first quilt show I went to (which was a
couple of hundred miles away from my home) I bumped into my local
librarian. I hadn't known she was a quilter. She won a ribbon, too!
--
Mel Rimmer

Way to go, Nann!!!

Cheers,

Lynne in Toronto
.........................

Nbhilyard wrote:

(This was published on Friday, I believe. -- N)

This www.dailyherald.com news story was forwarded to you by
Nann

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FORWARDED STORY BELOW
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Quilting keeps librarians in stitches
Daily Herald Reports
by Sarah Long, Executive Director, North Suburban Library System
Several librarians of my acquaintance are quilters. The demographics
for quilters are similar to the demographics for librarians - female
and well-educated. From my experience, I would add a penchant for
being social as a third characteristic often found among quilters
and librarians.

Nann Blaine Hilyard, director of the Zion-Benton Public Library,
personifies this profile. Hilyard was first introduced to stitchery
and textiles in 4-H. She got a kit for a cross-stitch quilt as a birthday
gift the year she began graduate library school. Imagine something
as big as a bedsheet requiring embroidery all over it! It took a year
to finish both the quilt and the degree.

"That was 30 years ago," she said, "and I still use the quilt and
the degree every day."

When she moved to the small city of Brenham, Texas, to direct the
library there, Hilyard learned that one of the library patrons was
an award-winning quilter. The woman offered to teach quilting to a
select group that included Hilyard, the library board treasurer and
another librarian.

"That's when I learned that quilting was a social activity," she
said. "Unfortunately our friend was not a great teacher. I gave up
after two lessons."

That quilt, still unfinished, is what quilters call a UFO, or unfinished
object.

Nearly 20 years later, it was a library book that got Hilyard back
to quilting. The book was about using a sewing machine to piece quilt
tops and to do the quilting itself.

She also discovered the rotary cutter, a device that makes quick
work of cutting out the pieces. Another invention contributed to her
new passion: the Internet. The Internet service provider at the Fargo
(North Dakota) Public Library, where she then worked, included on
its menu a newsgroup for quilters around the world to share information,
advice and many opinions. She's the self-appointed official librarian
of the rec.crafts.textiles.quilting newsgroup.

She says quilters should check out quilting books from the library
"because every book you borrow means you have more money to spend
on fabric!"

Hilyard and fellow librarian and quilter Connie Ozinga met on the newsgroup.
They now co-convene the Quilter's Taskforce of the American Library
Association. This unofficial group gets together at library conferences
to check out the fabric stores in the conference cities. Their shopping
expeditions are followed by dinner. Taskforce members also make a
quilt each year for the ALA Scholarship Auction. In four years their
efforts have raised more than $1,500. Plans are under way for the
2004 quilt that will feature a bookshelf block.

Kay Schlumpf, project manager and Web developer here at the North
Suburban Library System, is also a quilter. Her interest also got
a boost in college when her mother and grandmother, both quilters
themselves, packed her off for the freshman year with a quilting project.

"I think they thought I would have some spare time and that it would
keep me in the dorm," she said. Schlumpf also has found books and
the Internet helpful with her hobby. Schlumpf recommends "Fat Quarter
Quilts" by M'liss Rae Hawley and "Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!!!: The Complete
Guide to Quiltmaking" by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes as good books
for beginners. She stressed that there are books on every phase and
permutation of quilt making including quilt history and quilt techniques.
On the Internet Schlumpf recommends www.freequiltpatterns.info for
free patterns and www.antiquequiltdating.com for those who collect
old quilts or want to know more about a particular era in quilt making.
Schlumpf says her favorite quilting magazine is "Quiltmaker." There
is a companion Web site at www.quiltmaker.com. There are even novels
about quilting. Check out the series by Jennifer Chiaverini. The first
volume in the series is called "The Quilter's Apprentice." There is
also a series of mysteries by Earlene Fowler that revolve around a
quilt block. Schlumpf and Hilyard belong to a local quilting group,
Northern Lake County Quilters Guild. For information on meetings visit
www.nlcqg.org. "The Guild is very helpful," Schlumpf said, "Especially
for beginners."

When asked, "Why quilting?" Schlumpf said, "It's a link to the past--
the women of my past and the past as a whole. There's also the challenge
just what can you make that fabric do for you? I recently made a
quilt of a pug dog. I used a white music note printed on black fabric
for the dog's eye. It looks just like the sparkle."

Sarah Long is director of the North Suburban Library System. Send
e-mail to .

Wonderful article. I wonder how many of us there are (quilting librarians, that
is)? I don't work in the field any more but was Chief Medical Librarian at a VA
Medical Center for 10 years, and worked in public library reference departments
for several years too. Yep, most of us are females and most are well educated
;-P

Anne in CA