Telling a story with fabric

The quilt that Louise Lattimore is most proud of is not one she made herself, but one her great-grandmother hand-pieced and quilted together in her sod-roofed cabin in the Montana Territory.

“They had 11 children and she quilted the initials, handprints and outlines of their toys (scissors, balls, etc.) into the quilt,” said Lattimore, a retired teacher and president of the Petaluma Quilt Guild. “It is very special, as only three of the children lived to become adults. Life was hard and this quilt reminds me of how fortunate we all are at this time.”

Lattimore was born and raised in the high desert of eastern-central Utah, where her father was a mining engineer for the U.S Steel Co. mines. Her mother studied microbiology in college, but worked as director and case worker of the Carbon County Welfare Department.

“It was a really fun place to grow up,” she said. “I am the middle of three sisters — all of us teachers by profession.”

After graduating from high school, Lattimore earned a degree from Fresno State University and finished graduate school at Sonoma State University. She began her long career in education by teaching at schools in Bakersfield and Fresno before setting her sights on the Petaluma area.

“My husband and I were familiar with this area due to an uncle who was a physician in Sonoma,” said Lattimore. “We liked it and applied for teaching positions here. We came in 1960, settled in Petaluma and have loved it ever since. It is a wonderful place to raise children and we enjoy the rural area of west Petaluma. The beauty of the area, the willingness to preserve it, the climate, the citizens, the cohesiveness, friendliness and the caring attitude of Petaluma are wonderful.”

Lattimore worked at McDowell Elementary School in Petaluma before landing a teaching job at Liberty School, where she taught for 25 years.

“I loved teaching and I still teach Sunday school at my church,” she said. “I retired in 1994 after a wonderful career working with amazingly gifted and talented friends and colleagues. It was a privilege. There were times when I said to myself, ‘and they pay me for having this much fun, too?’”

Though she learned to sew at an early age, Lattimore didn’t take up quilting until Annie Skilling, the parent of one of her students, got her interested.

“Annie Skilling called for a meeting of ladies interested in quilting, which began our Quilt Guild,” said Lattimore. “I learned from Annie and from Dorrie Whipple, when I took her class. Since then, I have been self-taught.”

The first quilt she made was for her grandchild, and she admits it was pretty basic.

“However, it was colorful and the child loved it,” said Lattimore. “Since then I have made 21 quilts for babies, graduations and a wedding. I am finishing a baby quilt now and have a graduation quilt underway as well. I have four more graduates coming, so I keep busy! It is most rewarding making something beautiful for a loved one.”

Lattimore said the most challenging thing about quilt making is designing and executing a quilt that reflects the likes and personality of the recipient.

“One grandson’s favorite colors were gray and blue and I was questioning how that would turn out in a quilt. However, it turned out to be a very handsome one, to my great surprise. Quilts have a life of their own,” she said.

As president of the Petaluma Quilt Guild, Lattimore said that she feels privileged to see what she considers the most beautiful quilts, along with the women who make them, at every monthly club meeting.

“I am very proud of the creativity and workmanship that our women regularly show us,” she said. “Quilts have a life and story of their own, and it’s wonderful to see and hear them.”

(Contact Yovanna Bieberich at yovanna.bieberich@argus courier.com)