His work, which includes the use of tiny, intricate patterns in the creation of larger patterns, inspired Sazama to explore how other artists use pattern in their work. Chris Blondin and Pam Mitrius study artist David Murray’s piece, “Mandala #5,” at the opening reception for the Hinsdale Center for the Arts exhibit, “Passion for Pattern. The tiny patterns are drawn in perfect repetition, making it hard to imagine that every line was drawn by hand, using tools more typically used by scrapbook enthusiasts and teenage girls than professional artists. Murray took images captured on film at the 2008 political conventions and used them to create the three large mandalas that are part of the “Passion for Pattern” exhibit.

Unetta Stephens is pleased with the way the Garden Bouquet quilt has come together — after more than 70 years. In the early 1930s, the newspaper (and at least two others, in Minneapolis and Kansas City) published a pattern a week so that over time sewing subscribers could make a Garden Bouquet quilt. Unetta remembers wondering — as she placed a single spool of thread in a box and wrapped it in paper so it could be delivered to a home in Portland — if free delivery might be the end of Lipman’s one day. Dee Luedloff was happy to complete the quilt for her friend, Unetta Stephens. He traced and cut each piece of fabric — the body, wings, legs, necks, heads and beaks of two birds per square and the petals, stems and leaves of more than a dozen flowers and plants, all by hand from the scraps saved in Unetta’s box.

Crafts and sewing can go hand in hand, so once a child learns quilting, polo Ralph Lauren , she can easily add other sewing skills if desired. Quilting Books for Beginners Quilting books for kids offer step-by-step instructions about quilting. Once your child learns the basics of quilting, she can add to her skills and learn to make pillows, placemats, wall hangings, or lap quilts. If you’d like to start quilting with your daughter or even teach a class of young people how to quilt, Polo Ralph Lauren , search online today to find instructional books and websites about quilting.

Waterloo Region is celebrating its quilting heritage this month with the 15th annual Quilt and Fibre Art Festival. It features guest artists, rare quilt exhibits, historic collections, trunk shows, fashion shows, quilt appraisals, tea rooms and quilting bees. Jacobs Schoolhouse Theatre hosts A Sampling of UFOs (UnFinished Objects) and Tea, which features quilt patches discovered in old attics or gleaned from sewing rooms. Jacobs Quilt Gallery, which is open year-round, features the Amy Hallman Snyder Quilt Collection, an exhibition of selected winners from the Ontario Juried Show. A printable calendar of the Quilt and Fibre Art Festival, which includes show times and admission fees, is available online at www.