Meet One of Our Members!
Riverwalk Quilt Guild member Oriene Springstroh was invited by Roz Swanstrom to attend the first meeting in 1994 and has been an active participant in the 20 years since! Though her mother was a good seamstress, Oriene says that she and her sisters were not interested in sewing. But then, in 1993, she and those sisters took a trip to Shipshewana, IN and became awed by the quilts they saw there. This curiosity led to a class taught by Roz Swanstrom, after which there was no stopping her creative juices!
Oriene says that "every quilt is a story", which makes perfect sense when you know that she is an avid genealogist and founder of the Fox Valley Genealogical Society. In planning any new quilt, she likes to think about the purpose of the finished project and then design the quilt to fit that purpose. She uses patterns and ideas she sees in the world around her - sketching, planning and adapting until the design is just right. Oriene finds inspiration everywhere! She has particular fondness for the work of Jinny Beyer, Carol Armstrong andPat Campbell (oh….and she likes everything member, Dorothy Larson, does!!)
Early morning is Oriene’s favorite time to sew, although she often continues until dark. She works on her dining room table because of the excellent light coming in the large windows. She says that her fabrics are stored all over the house and she enjoys "hunting" for just the right piece. Her favorite quilting technique is hand applique. She also enjoys hand quilting but finds precise piecing to be a challenge. She really does not mind making the same design over and over.
Oriene’s unique wall hanging entitled "Sisters" pictures the four girls from her family wearing sweet little dresses made by their mother. Each sister has a character trait that is worked into the quilt design. It is a beautiful, sentimental tribute to the bond between sisters – it won the Viewer’s Choice Award at The Gathering in 2007 . In Oriene’s dining room hangs a large traditional quilt made of 4" blocks exchanged by members of her quilting group, the "Sew What Bee". There is also a contemporary creation which she calls her "Compost quilt" because it contains every earth-tone batik fabric she could find. It, too, is a feast for the eyes!
I asked Oriene what quilting technique she would like to learn and her response was "There is not enough time!!" She keeps busy making projects out of her scraps and then donating them to charity. In that endeavor, she stands as an example to us all!
Thanks, Oriene!
September 15, 2014
I asked Oriene what quilting technique she would like to learn and her response was "There is not enough time!!" She keeps busy making projects out of her scraps and then donating them to charity. In that endeavor, she stands as an example to us all!
Thanks, Oriene!
September 15, 2014