Wednesday, January 02, 2008




Wayne Sneath, wherever you are...
Thank you very much!! Across the aisle from my Uncle Greg's quilt- at the Chicago Quilt Show, there was a very interesting quilt. It's the tiny little stars on the top. Decided I needed a picture to share with you all. In case you didn't know it, there are strict restrictions about taking pictures of the art quilts at quilt shows. The traditional quilts are open to pics. Typically. So I stand back and snap a picture of this one... there came a deep voice in my ear, "That'll be $5." I about jumped out of my skin. I figured that $5 was a pretty reasonable penalty for taking a forbidden picture. The guy starts to laugh when he sees my startled expression. This was his quilt and he was getting a kick out of people's reactions. This quilt was called "Singing In The Rain." One of the center blocks(1") in the stars had a tiny couple with an umbrella. The cornerstones in this quilt were 1/4" squares- just to give you an idea of the scale. Well, Wayne and I struck up a conversation- one thing that Sarah and I have in common- we can talk to anybody, and frequently do. I'd say Wayne is about 60 years old and he described himself as a novice quilter- been quilting 4 years, he said. I'd say he's some kind of prodigy novice! The following two quilts are also his. He's from Northfield, Illinois. He was a delightful person. Very Charming. The Singing quilt reminded me of Lucy, and Dawn.



This is a post I made on 04/24/06. Some of you may remember the quilts. New years day, I got an email from a friend of Wayne's, saying that he had passed away. Does that make anyone else as sad as it does me? Maybe it was the timing of New Years... wondering how a fresh start applies to this? How such talent and zest for life can be turned off. But the gift of just seeing these quilts goes on. So I'll say it again...


Wayne Sneath, wherever you are...
Thank you very much!!

4 comments:

Sew Create It - Jane said...

That's very sad news indeed. That star quilt is breath taking..I kept scrolling up and down looking at it and reading your description. What a talented man.

Susan said...

Oh, boy. I was not at all prepared for your ending. I really enjoyed looking at his quilts, and your comments, then bam! I'm sure he will be missed by those who knew him. It sounds like he had a great sense of humor!

julieQ said...

I am so sad the quilting world lost a great talent, and his family lost him.

JulieQ

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh I hadn't heard the news. I"ve met him a few times and seen him around. And of course seen his quilts a lot being from "near" here.