Susanne M. Jones - Fly Me to the Moon
(Originally published in SCHMETZ Inspired to SEW #45, September, 2017. Written by Rita Farro.)
SCHMETZ Inspired to SEW is always seeking insight into that moment of inspiration . . . when a woman (or a man) is compelled to create using needle and thread. Everybody takes a different path — and sewing means different things to different people. No two stories are the same. This month, we introduce you to Susanne M. Jones. After teaching elementary school in Maryland and Virginia for 25 years, she launched into a new career as a curator of museum quality quilt exhibits — and nobody could be more surprised than Susanne herself. We’ll let her tell her story . . . . While I was looking forward to retirement and being free of the demands of full-time work, I knew I would miss my colleagues. My friend, Lisa Ellis, suggested that I consider quilting and join a guild where I would find like-minded, kind people. Since I always had some sort of needle and thread in my hands, it seemed a natural fit. So I started taking classes about a year before retirement. I totally intended to make very traditional baby quilts and lap quilts.
with 20/20 Hindsight
In 2012 I joined the Sacred Threads Committee and helped plan the 2013 show. Sacred Threads conveys the spirituality, healing, and inspirational message that transcends all people. All of the committee members were art quilters except me. I never considered myself an artist, although looking back I can see that color, texture, and composition have always been important to me and have given me pleasure, even during my teaching career. I loved doing bulletin boards and making educational games for the kids. I joined Quilters Unlimited in Northern Virginia and became very involved in the Reston Chapter. I served as Program Chair, Vice President, and President. I became involved in the Quilt Alliance (again at Lisa’s suggestion) and made a piece for their TWENTY contest in 2013. It was my first art quilt, Seeing Our Stories Clearly with 20/20 Hindsight. I really had fun making it, and I was floored when it won a Judge’s Choice from Marianne Fons! As we neared the start of the 2013 Sacred Threads Exhibition, the committee members were asked to make a small piece to hang in the gathering area outside of the exhibit. I made That’s Life, my second art quilt in a game format and it focused on the life transitions that I had gone through in the past 18 months: Retirement, the death of my mom and father-in-law, becoming empty nesters, moving to a condo, and two joint replacement surgeries. It was created using a jigsaw appliqué technique that I learned from Cheryl Almgren Taylor. During Sacred Threads, I met Donna DeSoto, author, and curator of Inspired by the Beatles. She had a Beatles song that needed an artist, so I took on the challenge. My quilt was Rain, and it was published in Donna’s book and was part of the special exhibit at the 2014 Houston International Quilt Festival. I was hooked. CLICK HERE to read the full article at issuu.com.