Melody Maskus is one of the local Colorado artists that we are featuring this year. Please be sure to join us for her Meet & Greet/Trunk Show on March 19 from 2-5 p.m. and her Vintage Linens class in April. In the meantime, we'd like to introduce you to her through her own words:
I've been quilting for the past 28 years. Eleanor Burns was the very first quilter, other than my great-grandmother, that I ever knew much about. Over the years, I've learned skills from many different authors, magazines and television programs. Alex Anderson and MaryAnn Fons come to mind as two of my more influential icons. But when I found my first Judy Niemeyer pattern, I knew I had found my true inspiration in quilting. Since then, I've been striving to hone my skills and become a Quiltworx Certified Instructor. This will come to fruition in January 2022!!
I began my journey in the needle arts when I was 6 years old when my great-grandmother got me started with crochet. Since then I've added knitting, needlepoint, crewel, embroidery with both thread and silk ribbon and a vast assortment of other textile skills to my repertoire. All of which I distinctly enjoy, with quilting being my favorite.
Montrose is what I consider my home town. My family moved to Montrose on my 11th birthday, and I graduated from MHS in 1978. Life’s adventures took me around the world until I married and we raised our children on my husband’s family farm in eastern Colorado. My husband and I moved back here in 2012 and it's been wonderful reacquainting myself with all the great things of the area. Our adult children live along the front range, but come to visit whenever they can.
During our time on the farm, we were very involved in 4-H, and I taught the 4-H Quilting group in Lincoln County for 9 years. During that same time, I also taught a weekly quilting class for three years to adult women. My favorite thing was when the women would bring me patterns or books they didn't understand and ask me to learn a pattern to teach them. It was truly the best skill builder I can imagine.
Quite simply...I absolutely love quilting, and I am a teacher at heart. When I put the two together, it brings me the greatest joy to share my skills and knowledge with another person to equip them for success as they strive to reach their goals. Quilting gets to be the medium we use.
I also feel very strongly about preserving the quilts that have lived in our lives. So many homes have quilts made by loved ones that have been cherished and loved over the years. The skills that I've been honing since I was 6 years old, more than 50 years, have brought me to my current skill level and enable me do to repair and restoration for many of the treasures brought to me by individuals hoping to prolong and preserve both the item and the memories associated with them. I take great pride in learning as much as I can about quilt preservation. How to date fabrics and understanding textile production during different periods is a crucial step to having the very best results.