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The following "Northshore
Citizen" column appeared in the
She’s definitely a fabric addict Sue Gross of Kenmore admits to being a serious fabric addict. In her case, however, that’s definitely socially acceptable. Her spending nearly two hours each day with needle and thread dates back to a childhood in a small town in Pennsylvania, located in the heart of the Amish country. Her grandmother taught her to love the needle and thread and made all her clothes. By age 93, Sue’s long-time tutor was spending a little less time with needlework, having taken up the art of creating Ukrainian egg designs at age 80. Sue took up quilting in earnest about 10 years ago and progressed quickly until she now teaches the technique of blended quilting at the well-known In the Beginning quilting supply shop in Seattle. Sue is a hand quilter, specializing in historical themes, many from the 1800s. She and her husband Greg (an emergency room physician at Evergreen Hospital) are 27-year residents of Kenmore and are active in the community through church and school interests. She acknowledges that Greg is the patient sort, putting up with coming home from a shift dealing with the stress of emergencies and finding his “respite” space sometimes littered with fabric and colorful works-in-progress. When daughter Laura and son Austin had graduated from Inglemoor High School, Sue re-entered the work world seriously with a three-year stint at In the Beginning. Laura is at Seattle Pacific University studying to be a primary grade teacher and Austin is at Pacific Lutheran University pointing toward the field of medicine. He has logged more than a thousand hours of volunteering at Evergreen. This past summer, Sue dropped into a relatively new quilt shop in Woodinville about which she had heard good things. Another Sue (Susan Webster) had opened the shop in the heart of Woodinville wine country near the Hollywood Schoolhouse only two years earlier. Both had a background in nursing and seemed to hit it off well – well enough for Sue Gross to later join the staff of Webster’s business, Gathering Fabric. I met Sue during a visit to view a special display of quilts which follows the theme of the 1805 Lewis & Clark expedition and its Corps of Discovery’s adventures 200 years ago. “I’m here Thursdays and Fridays, just the two days a week, and I love it,” Sue said so enthusiastically. “I can’t believe I can do this and get paid for it, too,” she adds. Sue spent a couple months hand stitching one of the 14 entries in the shop’s Lewis & Clark exhibit, a challenge competition held to celebrate the second anniversary of Gathering Fabric. Although the entries were from this immediate area, a quilter in Texas spotted the contest over the Internet and submitted a quilt. Sue Gross’s quilt, titled “Commemorating the Lewis & Clark Journey of Discovery,” was among the winners. It was selected by judge Nancy Martin of the Martingale Company, publishers of popular craft and hobby books, a firm with headquarters in Woodinville. It was judged best in the category of mixed techniques. One of her other quilts, Garden Dance, is expected to be published soon in a quilting publication. Susan Webster has made some amazing strides at Gathering Fabric. This past month a Better Homes & Gardens magazine – American Patchwork and Quilting – selected her shop as one of the top ten in the country after only two years of operation. Before opening the shop, Susan was affiliated a number of years with the Fred Hutchinson program in Seattle engaged in development work for the cancer research center. Prior to that she was in nursing administration work. Sue Gross is proud of her boss and the recognition the shop received. She said she has counted more than 65 quilting shops operating in Western Washington alone. “It’s a very competitive business,” Sue Gross knows. Sue’s award-winning quilt and the other 13 entries can be viewed at www.gatheringfabric.com under the home-page heading of Second Anniversary Quilting Challenge. If you decide to visit a “top 10” like Gathering Fabric, pick a Thursday or Friday for a visit with Sue Gross about how important quilting has become to her and so many who find this social pastime such a rewarding experience. And…Sue still can’t believe she gets paid for it. Governor Yves to Visit from France The governor of Lower Normandy in France will be visiting Bothell this month. Think that’s a bit unusual? Not in the least. The dignitary in question is Yves Mosse, who spent a year in Bothell 40 years ago attending Bothell High School as an exchange student sponsored by the Northshore Rotary Club. Yves has maintained close contact with classmates and Rotarians ever since returning to his home in Nimes, located in southern France. He has hosted many Northshore travelers to France and has made frequent return visits to the U.S. He and his wife Solange have two children, Pierre and Marie, and are anxious that they, too, have the same opportunity Yves had 40 years ago. Marie spent last summer in the Portland area, the guests of Roy and Sharon Coulter. The Rev. Roy Coulter was president of the Rotary club during Yves’ stay and was priest at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Kenmore at the time. Father Coulter later served as dean of the Episcopal cathedral in Beaverton until his recent retirement. On his unofficial visit, “Governor” Mosse will spend a week in Bothell after catching up with classmates at stops in Salt Lake City, Boise, Portland, Longview and Olympia.
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The Previous Columns Sept
15, 2004 Sept.
1, 2004 August
18, 2004 August
4, 2004 July
21, 2004 July
7, 2004 |
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John
B. Hughes |
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Hughes
serves
as grand marshal |
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Hugo
and (425) 482-4076 |
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