PATTy

At some point over the last string of decades, “quilter” was added to the running list of titles unceremoniously held by Patty Dodson: mother, nurse, weaver, wallpaperist, Girl Scout leader, seamstress, and many more. 

A curiosity to move beyond sewing matching pink outfits for her older girls and a fascination with pattern, color, and the preservation of time and memories led Patty to make her first quilt in 1986. A gift for her mother in law, Mickey Dodson, with all of the trademark personal touches and careful considerations of color and theme, but without any of the fine stitch work that would come with practice and persistence. 

It was that same year that the family, still just two girls and no animals in tow, would move back to their native Omaha from Iowa City. Her oldest daughter, Sarah, started school at St. Cecilia’s Cathedral in the fall after their early summer move from Iowa City. Though the city was familiar, the community was filled with new faces and traditions. 

As the school year rolled on, Patty was asked to join various committees and support the fundraising efforts for the school and parish. For her part, Patty pieced a pillow cover with a familiar pattern that immediately caught the eye of another parent, Barb Kelly. Barb quickly ushered Patty into the Cathedral Quilting Circle, and there, she found her people, “The Quilties.”

The forty years of enduring friendship is integral to Patty’s shift from a curious maker to a master quilter with more than 100 quilts and quilted objects in her body of work. Familiar patterns such as baskets, log cabin, wedding rings, among them, Patty also used her keen mind’s eye to applique summer scenes, hidden words, and longgone pets into treasured quilts that are almost always created with a recipient in mind.

Another big move was the impetus for this project. Portland awaits. This digital archive is presented as an ode to friendship and family. The quilts that mark the passage of time through celebrations of new babies, weddings, and graduations are accompanied by those that commemorate the lives of those we have lost, protest the degradation of democracy, and unabashedly say, “I am still here.” None without the love of friends and family.