812-Lancast«r Farming, Saturday, July 8, 2000
Quilting Is Her Thing
BARB MILLER
Elk Co.
RIDGWAY (Elk Co.) Nurs
ing and quilting may seem like
an unusual combination. But for
Judy Morris of Ridgway, it’s
been a perfect combination.
It is said that everyone should
have a relaxing hobby that’s
completely different from their
job. That's certainly true for
Judy, a midwife with 18 years
experience, and a former Army
nurse for 21 years.
Although Judy’s mother and
grandmother both quilted, Judy
didn’t really get started in quilt
ing until after she married. Since
then, her love for quilting has
grown dramatically she makes
almost 20 quilts a year and esti
mates that she’s made more than
600 quilts.
Judy especially enjoys design
ing the quilts, such as one she
made with a cat chasing a
mouse. Sometimes she sends her
pieced quilt tops away to be
quilted.
Judy used to just work on one
quilt at a time, but today, she has
several quilts going at once. In
1972, she made a quilt in one day
after taking a “Quilt in a Day”
class. “Quilting is a lot faster
today,” said Judy, especially if
you quilt by machine or make a
“strip quilt,” where you sew to
gether by machine a whole row
of quilt blocks, building row
upon row.
Today quilting has gone high
tech with computer software.
Many old and new patterns can
be printed and the design possi
bilities are unlimited on a com
puter. Recently Judy got a com
puter with a quilt program that
she can’t wait to use. It has more
than 5,000 quilt designs. If she
types in “Sun Bonnet Sue,” she
gets it in both an antique or mod
ern design. Type size block de
sired into the computer and it
will print out a template. She can
also figure out the colors and de
signs and see what they look like
before going to the store to buy
the fabric. Furthermore, when
she types in the size quilt desired,
the computer shows how much
fabric to buy. She also can print
directions to assemble the quilt.
Judy is so excited that Ridg
way now has its very own quilt
shop, Jo Rae’s Quilt Shop, locat
ed next to the Post Office. She
not only sells fabrics but also
gives lessons. Like all quilters,
Judy has her own stash of fab
rics, so she’ll never run out of
quilt projects. Even though she’s
a busy mother and works outside
the home, Judy didn’t wait until
she retired to get started quilting.
According to Judy, “You make
time for what’s important!”
Judy has developed a host of
friends through quilting as she
Paws Farm Dedicates Butterfly
Garden In Memory Of Brenda Ripoli
PHILADELPHIA (Philadel
phia Co.) Family, friends and
coworkers gathered at the Paws
Farm Nature Center in Mount
Laurel, N.J., on June 23 to dedi
cate the new Butterfly Garden in
memory of Brenda Berman Rip
oli.
An interactive display, the
Butterfly Garden was funded in
part by the American Dairy
Association/Dairy Council Mid
dle Atlantic, where Ms. Ripoli
had been employed for 12 years
before her death in April 1999.
Quilting is part of Judy Morris’ therapy in her fight
against cancer. Her projects are on display with Elk
County Cancer and Tobacco Education’s Pink Ribbon
Millennium Quilt Project.
belongs to quilting groups in St.
Marys, Warren, and Dußois.
The New City Quilters of St.
Mary’s do a “block of the
month,” where each member
brings in a block of fabric for a
quilt. When it was Judy’s turn,
she asked everyone to do an
angel and to personalize it. So
she has angels that cook, garden,
sew, etcetera. Judy also enjoys
the group’s doing “row quilts,”
where a theme is selected and
people do a row of blocks related
to the theme such as one on holi
days, which she’s working on
now. There are blocks for Lin
coln, Washington, and even a
ground hog for Ground Hog’s
Day. In the end, each person will
get a wall hanging, made up of
strips of quilt blocks from others
in the group.
Once a year, Judy gets togeth
er with several of her friends for
a “Quilting Weekend.” She says,
“It’s amazing how much you can
get done when you can quilt
without interruptions.”
Judy’s love for quiltifig has be
come contagious. Everyone in
her family can quilt except for
her husband, a pharmacist, and
her pet dog. Even her son Peter
can quilt! (He’s also a self-taught
juggler, who enjoys performing
for children’s parties and school
groups.)
When Judy’s quilt group,
“The New City Quilters,” decid
ed last fall to participate in the
Elk County Cancer and Tobacco
Education’s “Pink Ribbon Mill
ennium Quilt Project,” Judy de
cided to participate. She is a
Ms. Ripoli served as director
of nutrition education and mar
keting for ADA/DC Middle At
lantic. She was responsible for
programs aimed at educators,
school food service personnel and
health professionals. She also
was instrumental in the design
and coordination of several exhi
bits currently housed at Paws
Farm.
“Brenda was a leader in the
field of nutrition education and
was a tremendous asset to our
organization,” said Bret Rigby,
nine-year breast cancer survivor
and was so relieved that was be
hind her. Little did she know
that by the time her project was
due in early May, she’s be going
through an even more serious
bout with breast cancer.
She said the support her fami
ly and friends have given her
during this challenging time in
her life, has been such a blessing.
At the same time, Judy hopes she
can be a help and encouragement
to others going through the
throes of breast cancer.
It’s never easy, but sharing the
load with somebody else certain
ly helps ease the burden. Her
other suggestion is “Remember
to take one day at a time. Each
day gets a little bit better.”
For Judy, part of her recuper
ation will be quilting! After all,
she wants to try out her new
quilting program on her comput
er.
Judy’s project and more than
50 other Pink Ribbon Millenni
um Quilt Projects that will be on
display June 22-July 7 at the Elk
County Council of the Arts, on
North Broad Street in Ridgway,
in conjunction with Ridgway’s
Independence Festival. Later, the
projects will be displayed in July
at the Holy Rosary Festival in
Johnsonburg and at the Black
Cherry Festival in Kane, as well
as in September at the Home
Town Festival in St. Marys, and
at the Quilt Show in Emporium
in November.
Questions? Call the Pink Rib
bon project director, Teddy Arm
strong at (717) 965-2984.
CEO of ADA/DC Middle Atlan
tic. “We are pleased to dedicate
this garden in her memory. It is a
fitting tribute to the spirit and
dedication she brought to our or
ganization and to those with
whom she worked.”
The Butterfly Garden en
hances the many innovative ex
hibits at Paws Farm, a nonprofit
nature center located on a dairy
farm. The garden features a dec
orative fountain and children's
play equipment, and a children’s
bridge created by Eagle Scout
Gary Place, Maple Shade, N.J.
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