Aunt Joe's Rose Basket by Sharon Schumber
Three wonderful quilts were destroyed in a shipping company truck fire on July 30, 2001. All three of these quilts were award winners at the 2001 Minnesota Quilt Show in Duluth, Minnesota. All three were on their way to Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine to be photographed for an upcoming issue. Although exact details of how the fire got started are sketchy, it appears a mechanical problem started a fire under the cargo area of the truck.
“Aunt Joe’s Rose Basket” is made by Sharon Schumber of Jensen, Utah. Sharon made this quilt to showcase her applique techniques. It was made in memory of her Aunt Joe who taught her to sew as a child. She plans to eventually recreate “Aunt Joe’s Rose Basket” with some modifications.
Emerald Reflections by Sharon Schumber
“Emerald Reflections,” (right) also made by Sharon Schumber, was a Judge’s Choice winner and won the Guard’s Choice ribbon. This quilt was shown at the Indiana Heritage Show in March 2001 where it won the Viewer’s Choice award. The prize for that award was an Elna Quilter’s Dream sewing machine. Since the fire, Sharon made a duplicate of this quilt, named “Memories of Emerald Reflections,” which has been a winning entry in many large shows.
Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding between the Schambers and Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine, these quilts were not insured when they were shipped. As a result, the shipping company only paid the minimum amount of $100 despite the fact that the two quilts were valued in excess of $8,000 and represented 4,000 to 5,000 hours of work. Gene and Sharon Schamber wrote, “This is just a warning…YOU MUST MAKE SURE IT (the quilt you ship) IS INSURED FOR THE FULL VALUE…” and they signed their letter “Gene and Sharon crying in Utah.”
“Believe,” owned by Deb Folz of Hudson, Wisconsin was a round robin quilt. Deb and five friends created this quilt. “Believe” won third place in the group category. This quilt was 76″ by 72″. Other than the center block, this quilt was made of original designs. Deb Folz made the center using a Jeanna Kimball pattern. Mary Wiebusch paper pieced the triangles. Denise Vokoun did the fabric painting, including the heron, and appliqued. Terri Kaylor did the double, on-point border. Jeanette Dilts did the curved piecing. Cheri Gott-Hand finished up the quilt and had the heron added. Deb added the tree, leaves, rocks, and cattails along the bottom after the round robin was done. Carolyn Peters did the quilting.
When Deb was first told about the fire, she was told that the quilt was nothing more than ashes and the contents of the truck had been dumped in the garbage. However, Deb requested the shipping company to recover the remains of the quilt, no matter how small. She also asked Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine to get the shipping company to recover her quilt. After several requests, and three days after the fire, they found the pillowcase containing the quilt, still with Deb’s name and phone number on it. The damaged quilt will be returned to Deb.
Deb encourages, “Don’t give up! If there is any shread of hope in a recover…keep hounding, from more than one direction. Call or write everyone you can come up with.” Deb adds, “My heart is bleeding for Sharon Schamber. I was really feeling sorry for myself till I heard about her loss. I lost nothing compared to what she lost.”
