As a high school student Patricia ‘Pat’ Pacheco had neither desire nor intention to do what teachers expected her to do. Oh, she wasn’t being rebellious. She just had no interest in taking home economics, then classes—almost exclusively for girls—that focused on cooking and sewing.
“Not interested,” Pacheco said without a pause. Sitting in front of a sewing machine was just not her thing. “I was more business oriented. I was a bookworm, a big reader.” Cutting patterns and making things she’d never wear was, she thought, for others. Certainly not her.
But today, from her studio, a room awash in bolts of fabric, this master quilter laughs at her youthful decision. “I kick myself that I didn’t start sooner,” she chuckles. “I wish I had started earlier, but I had too many other things to do.”
Still despite her late start into the world of quilting, a world, by the way, that has rewarded her with praise for her skills, she’s proved to be more than proficient at this centuries old art.
When she adjourns to her Costilla, New Mexico, studio, the only sounds are from the soft whirring of her sewing machine. “All I think about is the pattern; how is it looking,” Pacheco shares. Except for a now-and then glance through a window that exposes a view of high desert and sky-scraping mountains, she is in solitude with her art.
Her next-door neighbor and sister-in-law Cordie Quintana, is also a quilter and the person responsible for tutoring Pacheco in the art. Of course, Quintana has been matching and patching patterns for quilts considerably longer than her life-long friend.
Quintana, now on a haitus from quilting while she recovers from a recent fall, recalled how as a young girl she would watch her mother quilt. But it’s a different world now.
No longer do quilters like Pacheco and Quintana throw together discarded materials like no longer worn clothes or past their prime tee shirts and jeans for quilts. They also don’t do the arduous needle and thread work. It’s modern machines and sophisticated patterns. It’s the 21st century!
Quintana said she started quilting using her late mother-in-law’s sewing machine. But when it broke and she took it in for repairs and decided to browse, she realized she had been working with an antique.
The salespeople showed her the new models. It was a revelation. “When I looked at what they had,” and compared it to what she had, it was game over. “These machines did all these neat things.” She bought it and never looked back.
Despite having quite a jump on Pacheco in the art, the two have become somewhat of a team. They discuss, critique and suggest new ideas on quilting to one another. They also show, sell and contract their work. When people see their quilts, it often ends with a sale. Prices for their work can begin at a modest level, usually for a baby quilt. Bigger quilts demand bigger prices. But the same meticulous effort and attention to detail go into everything they make.
“If I’m going to make money on a quilt,” said Quintana, “I want them (customers) to come back years later and say, ‘We still have that quilt.’” Both also strive to create something that reflects the genuine effort and imagination that went into its creation. Each is also their own most critical judge. And while they say perfection is the goal, over the years they’ve learned that perfection cannot always be achieved.
While art, even the great art, may look perfect, Quintana says, the artist knows where the flaws exist. Every artist, the two women say, wants a ‘do over.’ But inevitably, there are no do overs. You simply live with imperfection, even after your best effort. “I’m a perfectionist,” said Quintana. “I try and make everything match up.” Sometimes it doesn’t work. “But you’re the only one who notices.”
Pacheco says there is no ‘holy grail’ quilt for her, that one quilt she just has to make. Her ultimate masterpiece may one day come along, but that is not what she’s waiting for. But she will admit that there is one quilt she is most proud of. “It was a quilt I worked on without a pattern,” she said. “The end result was beautiful. I surprised myself.”
The two quilters have plenty that will keep them busy, including making quilts for giveaways at charities and, of course, filling customers’ orders.
Pacheco can be contacted at pqpacheco101@gmail.com. Quintana can be reached at cordie58@aol.com.
