ARLENE ROBERTSON, quilter, knitter, teacher and world traveler, is the Featured Quilter for 2007.
Arlene learned embroidery skills in 6th grade, and did some sewing in high school (made dresses by hand). Thankfully her high school graduation present was a sewing machine.
After four moves in high school (Illinois, New York, Florida and California) she stayed in one place long enough to graduate from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in Home Economics.
After marrying Don, an engineer, in 1951 there was more travel. They lived in Concord, CA, then India (3 years), then Piedmont, and then Australia (2 years). They moved to India in 1956 with three small children and another due in 2 weeks!! Whew! Five children in six years made up the active Robertson brood. Whew again! She says it was easy in India where she had servants to help with the children, laundry and yes, sewing!
Arlene still has the first quilt she ever made – for daughter Jean - way back in 1974. She learned from the best! Arlene was fortunate that Roberta Horton, an excellent quilter, was teaching in adult school in the Bay Area in those years. What a super way to learn! She is also a superior knitter and has taught in local yarn shops.
Arlene and her husband Don moved to Nevada City in 1994 to "retire". As lots of world travel, quilting and knitting followed - "retirement" was not the operative word. They saw China, Spain, Russia, Japan, Korea and the Panama Canal to name a few. Not yet tired of travel, she even returned to Japan in 2006 for almost a month! In 1995 they bought their home in Nevada City, where she now lives with Sue, her oldest daughter. She greatly values her friends in the guild and in her two mini-groups: The Sew and Sews and the Silver Threads.
Arlene has made invaluable contributions to our guild over the past twelve years. There are two of which she is most proud: the many classes she has taught in Home Workshops, and her brainstorm, Drop In and Quilt, a monthly sewing get together which has evolved into the making of the many quilts that our Community Service committee donates to local folks in need.
We are proud to have honored Arlene's beautiful work on May 5th and 6th at our 2007 Quilt Show.
