Link to the '30s: Making the Quilts We Didn't Inherit

Kay Connors was born in Texas, raised in New Mexico, and she has had homes in Colorado, California, Washington, Alaska, and Idaho, where she has lived since 1979. She has been quilting since 1973, first to use up fabric, and then to feed her passion. She is a contemporary quilter, but finds she can't pass up anything having to do with old quilts. She buys feed sacks, old quilt tops, quilts, and every piece of reproduction '30s fabric she finds. Collecting old patterns and drafting her own from found quilts has allowed her to make quilts that she feels need to be in her home. Kay recently retired from office management and realized that she finally had time to do that quilt book she and sister Karen Earlywine had often talked about writing.

Home: Coeur D'Alene, Idaho



Karen Earlywine was the youngest of four children in a post-war family in Texas. She was two years old when the family moved to New Mexico. Karen, her husband, and their grown children still live in the southwestern part of the state. She has been teaching both in the public schools and part time at the university level for more than 35 years.
Quilting became an important part of Karen's life in 1977. Now the most important thing in her life is her family. Four young grandchildren have new quilts as they go from cradles to cribs to beds. College graduations and other events in the lives of close friends and family are celebrated with the gift of a quilt.
Years of working on old homes and collecting antiques intensified the interest Karen has in reproduction fabrics and quilts of the past. She and sister Kay Connors both share this passion and try to get away to their shared house in Texas to scout the area for fabric and antique treasures as often as possible.

Home: Silver City, New Mexico