Meet Pat and Donna

Who are these two quiltmakers, known as "the watercolor ladies"???? They are two very ordinary quilters who just happen to be on a wonderful adventure. And yes, they do make other types of quilts besides their famous watercolor designs. Here is a little bit about each of us and how we happened to begin teaching together.

Patricia Maixner Magaret

From the time that she was a small child, Patricia Magaret was given the privilege of using her Mother's sewing machine. She made doll clothes until she was much too old to be playing with dolls. Patricia was sure that she would grow up to become a fashion designer, since her dolls were the best dressed in town. Eventually, her mother convinced her to start sewing clothing for herself. She did not find that type of sewing to be as much fun. Mom did not let her baste a little rick rack here and pin a few sequins there. But after much practice and parental encouragement, Patricia learned to avoid those puckers and to match those seams. Sewing became fun once more. (Thanks, Mom, for giving me a good start.)

Through the years, Patricia also enjoyed other arts, crafts and handwork such as macramé, knitting, crocheting, and embroidery. In 1982, she started her first quilt . She never looked back. All the cords, yarns and crochet hooks were boxed up and put in storage. Although primarily self-taught, Patricia has been inspired by the works of Joen Wolfrom and Nancy Halpern. She started with traditional quilts but because of her love for working with color and design, soon branched out to making more contemporary pieces.

Patricia was raised in a small town (Seward) in rural Nebraska. She graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Medical Technology. After working in that profession for four years, she retired to raise a family. During those "busy Mom years," the Magarets lived in Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Washington before moving to the eastern part of the state in Pullman. Her children are now all grown. Craig, her oldest son who lives in Seattle, is also her "computer wizard" and has helped her become part of the hi-tech generation. Nathan, now living in Portland, Oregon, is a big encourager and a super fix-it-man when he comes home for a visit. (Thanks kids) Abby, Patricia's Golden Retriever, is the only kid still at home. She is a constant and faithful friend.

Patricia also enjoys flower and vegetable gardening. Her friends have named her the "Pumpkin Queen." The first year she planted her garden, there were more pumpkins than she could possibly give away. Last year she planted a miniature variety that grew to be the size of basketballs. Patricia loves to do anything that requires being out of doors. She walks daily with her dog and enjoys watching the beauty of each season as it unfolds. She enjoys traveling and being able to bring to life all those places she had previously read about. Her dream is to eventually visit the Czech Republic in search of her ROOTS. She enjoys antique shopping and is always on an avid search for old glassware. Music also adds joy to her life. She sings in her church choir and in the shower, too. Patricia feels that Nature and all her other interests enrich, enhance and support the quilt portion of her life.

Donna Ingram Slusser

Donna grew up on a small farm near the Oregon City and Canby area of Oregon. Helping with the farm chores outside gave her a love of animals and nature. Inside the family home, Donna learned to sew and cook. She began taking piano lessons when she was four, and continued with them through high school. In the latter part of high school, she began learning to play the pipe organ, and became an accomplished organ player. Even today, she enjoys substituting in various churches for their services and often plays for other celebrations and occasions. Graduating from Portland State University in elementary education, Donna helped pay for her education by giving private piano lessons. The "piano quilt" is a tribute to Donna's parents and their encouragement and fostering her love of music.

Donna has taught in both the public and private sector. She considers herself basically a teacher.

Donna began quilting in 1981 with the help of a very dear friend, Annie Bacon. She started using very traditional patterns and soon branched out by taking these same traditional blocks and giving them an unusual twist with the use of color and design. Donna attended two workshops in 1985 that had a profound effect on her techniques and her subsequent work. A class with Marsha McCloskey taught Donna what little she knows (and remembers ) about pattern drafting! Katie Pasquini's Mandala workshop left Donna's mind reeling with endless design possibilities. She has never looked back since! When a reoccurring injury to her arm forced Donna to give up hand quilting, she soon taught herself to use her machine to do the quilting on her projects. During the winter of 1983-84, Donna made each of her three kids a holiday quilt and machine quilted each one. By the time she finished that last stitch, she felt she had mastered the basics.

Known as a free spirit who loves to work spontaneously, Donna is a great visualizer who does not need to use much graph paper (she thinks it makes wonderful paper airplanes!). She prefers using the rotary cutter to templates whenever possible. During the design process, there are a lot of "What would happen if"s before the design is finalized. A process oriented person, Donna would probably not finish many projects without the motivation of a deadline!

Donna and her husband, Lloyd, live high atop one of the rolling hills of Palouse Country in eastern Washington state. A building next to their home houses their business (Amberwaves Artistry) and Lloyd's studio. It also contains a classroom where Patricia and Donna teach when they are not traveling. Lloyd is a quilter who also creates beautiful one-of-a-kind handpainted fabrics. A menagerie of pets, including bunnies, cats and a dog share their farm. Donna loves to read, grow vegetables and work in her flower garden. The loves of Donna's life are her family. Oldest son, Alan Martinson, lives and works in the agriculture industry near Pullman. Her daughter, Kirstin Nicholson, teaches school and lives at Seabeck, Washington, on the Hood Canal. Kirstin was married to Pat Nicholson last summer in a beautiful garden wedding. Donna spent over 200 hours creating the wedding gown. Yes it was machine quilted on Liberty of London Tana Lawn cotton. Youngest son, Larry Slusser is in the Air Force. He and his family are currently living in England where Larry is an exchange officer with the Royal Air Force. Daughter-in-law Nicole keeps busy caring for the family which includes two grandchildren, Hannah Victoria and Sam Paul. Donna always swore she would never be a doting grandmother, but to test her, just ask to see photos of the kids.......and be prepared for an hour of show and tell and brag!

How We Got Together

With so many differences between us, you are probably asking yourself, "How did these two very different characters ever get together?" We were acquaintances who led parallel lives in our community. Patricia joined the local quilt guild about a year before Donna. Our friendship blossomed as we would catch rides with each other to the fabric shop. In 1987, we happened to be in this shop looking for the perfect fabrics! The owners approached us and asked if we would consider team teaching an advanced color class. We were astounded because we have such different color styles in everything......clothing, quilting, decorating, etc. After careful consideration, we agreed to try it. We got together and came up with an outline and various exercises to cover during the six hours. We divided up the subjects so we would each have some material to present. When we got together again to go over the lesson plans, Patricia talked about the first topic and how she would present it. When she finished, there was silence and then Donna said, "But I don't do it like that." Well, we decided to see what Donna had to say about the next theme. When she finished, again there was silence and Patricia said, "But I don't work that way." By now, we were catching the general drift that we each had very different styles of accomplishing the same tasks. Not only that, our creative processes were worlds apart! So we decided to name a topic and each present our points of view and techniques to the students. Perhaps they would identify with one or the other of us, or maybe have some of both of us in them, or they might even work in an entirely different manner. With great trepidation, we gave the class and guess what, the students loved it! We've been team teaching most of our classes ever since, using our skills to encourage and inspire our students.

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