Ruth B. McDowell

Ruth, you´ve been my quilting muse for a quarter century. I cherish the "Chameleon" quilt I bought from you at Asilomar, in memory of a small creature I loved for a girlhood summer, the memories we consequently shared of each having gotten a little chameleon at the Barnum and Bailey Circus visiting Boston, my father´s making a tropical `house´ for mine with a levered paned window top for ventilation, your father bringing flies he trapped in the window of his hunting cabin home for yours....

I was fortunate enough to attend one of Ruth's last workshops in Deerfield in 2011. I'll never forget it. She was a true artist, had a math gene that I certainly lack and she was a fabulous natural born teacher. Her love for nature was so evident in her work and I remember asking her how she know so much about plants. she said her Mom would walk through the woods with her and point things out to her and she would learn their names. The workshop was a bit above my head, but she never made me...

I am sad to just learn that Ruth is gone. I did not know her, but met and talked with her once. I was at a quilt guild meeting where she graced us by coming to us. Very approachable and seemed interested in all of our quilts that were brought in for others to see. She was just lovely, I thoroughly enjoyed her time there. She is a tough one to let go of, such a lovely woman and what an artist. I love her work as well.

I AM SADDENED TO SEE THAT RUTH HAS DIED. SHE WAS MY MENTOR AND I WAS BLESSED,WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND A WEEK WITH HER IN ONE OF HER RETREATS. SHE WILL ALWAYS BE IN MY HEART!

I first met Ruth when we were classmates at MIT and was invited to spend Thanksgiving with her family and their lovely golden retriever during our freshman year. But since we were in entirely different majors and I wasn't living in the dorm our last year, I lost track of her. Then one day I was reading Quilters Newsletter and saw a picture of the dancing princesses quilt. Now I had never before liked pictorial quilts but this one!!!!! Oh, yeah!!! Read further...wait a minute! I know this...

My fondest memories of Ruth, I called her Ruthie, were summer vacations spent with her parents and sisters and my parents and my brother. Ruth would make up games and treasure hunts to keep us busy, and design and make costumes for us. I also remember that when we were kids, she was the only one who put shadows on the items and characters in our coloring books making them look 3D. I told her in the last couple of years that I was very proud to be her cousin because she had brought so much...

I am so sorry to hear that the quilt world has lost such an icon and pioneer. She certainly influenced my quilt career, and I have made dozens and dozens of quilts with her technique. I learned so much from Ruth about color, balance and moving into the quilt art world. My condolences to her two daughters.

I am so very sorry for your loss; I knew your mother as an amazing teacher.....she was a shining light for many of us.