By Khalida Sarwari
Longtime Saratogan Robin Koenig may come from a tech background, but that didn’t stop her from falling in love with a hobby 13 years ago that requires a needle and not a keyboard.
The moment occurred in a quilting class at a fabric store in Cupertino.
“I love fabric and textiles,” she said. “I like the tactile relationship of fabric. I also like figuring out the math in the designs, figuring out how to construct them. That’s challenging.”
Koenig’s love of fabric began with sewing clothes, but because the clothing she made never fit, she decided to take up quilting instead.
After that fateful quilting class, Koenig was hooked and began devoting at least 20 hours a week to her hobby. Although that store in Cupertino no longer exists, she has been quilting ever since, having completed an estimated 50 quilts so far.
“I love making things,” she said. “It’s an important way for me to express myself, my creativity.”
She said the length of time it takes her to complete one quilt depends on the complexity of the design, but “the most fun ones are the ones I design rather than making them from patterns.”
Koenig’s house is decorated with quilts in nearly every room. Her two favorites are on the bedroom walls of her 16-year-old twin daughters. One has a tree frog theme, for the daughter who collects all things related to the amphibians. The other quilt has a pig design, for the daughter who has an affinity for pigs.
Although Koenig keeps several quilts at her home, either hung on the walls or draped over couches, she has also given a number away–either to friends and family members or to various community organizations, such as the JW House at the Santa Clara Kaiser and for fundraisers at Notre Dame High School in San Jose.
In 2008, she joined the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association, which makes more than 1,000 quilts a year for donation to local hospitals, shelters, veteran support and rehabilitation centers. Koenig is one of 22 Saratogans who are members of the group, and she also volunteers as a fundraiser coordinator. She worked in product planning for Intel and Tandem prior to her retirement.
Koenig is preparing a pair of quilts that she’ll be exhibiting at the association’s Shower of Stars Quilt Show, set for April 20 and 21 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. One quilt will have a metro link pattern, while the other will be urban chic design.
The show takes place every two years, and this year will mark Koenig’s third time participating. Her daughter, Mackie, will also display a quilt that she completed last year as part of a children’s quilts display. The show will feature 31 vendors, more than 600 handcrafted items for sale and more than 300 quilts on display from quilters hailing mostly from local cities, but many who are from other parts of the Bay Area as well.
The show is sure to offer many colorful and “eye-candy” quilt designs, said Koenig.
“They’re not your grandma’s quilts,” she said. “There are some fun art quilts, too.”
For more information about the show, visit scvqaquiltshow.org.
