If a colleague whose opinion you value says, “You really ought to meet so-and-so,” agree to it immediately. A few months ago, a Winterset friend (Jerry)* said, “Marianne, you really ought to meet Julie Gammack.” I think the world of Jerry, so I said yes. Julie Gammack is an Iowa native, a former Des Moines … Read more
I’m not a runner, so I’ll never run a marathon, but I definitely have the competition gene. I can relate to people who push themselves to do hard things, like run a 26+ mile race. This morning, as I read about the recent 100th running of the Boston Marathon, I was reminded of Kathrine Switzer, … Read more
During the couple of decades I traveled all over the US (and beyond), teaching and lecturing about quilts for quilters’ guilds and at conferences, I met hundreds of quilters every year. The conviviality among the students in my workshops was one of the many pleasures of my job. Quilters told me often that half of … Read more
She became my sister-in-law when I was 21, my ex-sister-in-law when I divorced her brother at age 39. She remained my friend, championed my pursuits, cheered my successes, told me (when I was my family of four’s sole financial support) that if she ever had kids she wanted to be a mother just like me. … Read more
A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to make it into a special, yearlong writing class offered through StoryStudioChicago, a writing center located in the Windy City. The class, called “Novel-in-A-Year,” was to be led by one of my writing heroes, Rebecca Makkai, author of the hit 2018 novel THE GREAT BELIEVERS. Prospective … Read more
UPDATE! A recording of the delightful launch party for Patchwork & Prose is available free here. It’s loads of fun, and Yanks like me will enjoy it if for nothing more than listening to Jenni Smith’s and Kay Walsh’s lovely Yorkshire accents! I’ve been a fan of Quiltfolk magazine practically since its launch. Owner Mike … Read more
In the early 1970s, I was a young bride earnestly making a new home out of an old farmhouse seven miles from the nearest town (Winterset, Iowa, county seat of Madison County). Not yet a mother or a quilter, my leisure time (when I had any) was spent embroidering flowers along the hems of my … Read more
Once upon a time, while meandering through the Egyptian Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, I noticed an elevated sarcophagus—without a lid. “Goodness,” I thought, “a person could easily reach up, drop any sort of thing in there, and no one would ever know.” My imagination went to work, and … Read more
Last year, I mentioned in a post that my (unpublished) short story (“My Ashes at The Met”)* had been adapted into a feature film by Jack C. Newell. In the now completed movie, titled MONUMENTS, a bereaved young man (Ted) stops at nothing to honor what he thinks are his recently-deceased wife’s (Laura’s) wishes. This … Read more
If you read my posts regularly you know I love books and writing as much as I love making quilts. You probably also know I live in two places—Winterset, Iowa, most of the time, and Washington Island, Wisconsin, from time to time. The annual Washington Island Literary Festival (WILF) is a celebration of books and … Read more