Quilting expert Deb Irving was the featured speaker at the Nu Alpha Gamma Chapter’s November meeting at the Hotel Pattee in Perry.
Irving is currently teaches family and consumer sciences at West Central Valley High School in Stuart as is an officer in Nu Alpha Gamma.
Irving began working in 1993 at the Living History Farms in Urbandale, where she was initially employed to construct period clothing for the more than 300 people who worked there, sometimes six or more outfits per person per year.
After three years, she became supervisor for vintage textiles at the history farm, taking care of the many quilts in the collection, and she organized the annual quilt show for 21 years running.
As part of her job, Irving was involved in selecting quilts from the collection for inclusion in the 2009 Quilt Show calendar and in Meredith Publishing’s “Grandma’s Best Full Size Quilt Blocks.” An avid collector, one of her quilts was featured on the cover of “Quilting Pieces of the Past.”
“Some of the quilts in my collection are antiques, and some are current creations,” Irving told the Nu Alpha Gamma members. “All have a story behind them.”
Long-term Nu Alpha Gamma members were also recognized at the meeting, and plans were finalized for a “No Bake Bake Sale” to take the place of the group’s annual silent auction. Money from the sale will help fund the annual Nu Alpha Gamma scholarship, offered to a Dallas County high school graduate who is a college junior or senior in the field of education.
Nu Alpha Gamma is a chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International and consists of current and retired teachers in Dallas County.
