Ms. Killian: No one knows that she quilts, because she quilts just for her family and it is a big family. She quilts and pieces only by hand.

Ms. Scranton: My name is Irene Scranton and I am from Western New York State, the Buffalo area and I have been quilting since 1984 and have probably made 45 or 50 quilts.

Dorothy: Did anyone in your family teach you how to quilt?

Irene: Grand Island High School had a class on quilting and I thought I would find it interesting. I went to the class and I picked out a pattern. I tried to make mitered corners on it. I thought I did really well on it until I looked at it. That was in 1984 and I decided to make a quilt for each of my grandchildren. I have 11 and I started with one family and made one for each family. Then I picked the next family and went on and on. I made each child a twin size memory quilts. I made twelve of them.

Dorothy: What is a memory quilt?

Irene: A memory quilt is like when you pick a special subject, like a baseball bat, soccer ball etc. I made my granddaughter a memory quilt for her first communion - I put a cup and challis, a high button shoe because her great grandma used to wear high button shoes. I made twelve different memory pieces and twelve quilted memory pieces for my grandchildren. Twenty-four twin size quilts of many different colors.

Dorothy: Have you made any for your children?

Irene: After I made 11 of them my children wanted them so I made queen size ones for all their beds. They all love them and the grandchildren love them too. In fact, I just had to repair one because the binding on his had gotten chewed up. I put a new binding on. I love doing this and I find it very relaxing.

Dorothy: Do you use the sewing machine?

Irene: I use the sewing machine but I like hand piecing better because I don't like to sit idle. I like to work on something while I am watching television or just during the day or night. I can work on this 8 to 10 hours a day and not get tired of it.

Dorothy: What about the quilting?

Irene: The quilting is the same thing. I do it all by hand and can quilt 6 to 8 hours a day.

Dorothy: Tell me about when you do the quilting in the car.

Irene: I quilt in the car while driving with George- he will drive and I will quilt. I have taken a quilt on a cruise ship and did it on the cruise ship and in airports. I have also done it on airplanes.

Dorothy: What happens when people see you get your quilt out to work on?

Irene: They just look at me and sometimes people will come over to see what I am doing. They are very interested. I take my quilt everywhere. I have even taken my quilting on bus trips. I always have to be working on something.

Dorothy: What happens in the summer when you are doing your quilting?

Irene: It is very hot. I have bought these little oval shaped sticky pads and put them on my fingers so that I can feel the needle coming through but I have thousands of pin pricks when I forget to put the pads on.

Dorothy: What kind of fabrics do you use?

Irene: I like all fabrics. I use 100% cotton when I am making quilts for the grandchildren and my family. I have made a couple of red, white and blue quilts and I used scraps from red, white and blue that I had around. I do like cotton because it is easier to quilt than polyester.

Dorothy: Do your daughters quilt?

Irene: No my daughters don't quilt but I think my oldest daughter, Chris may do it later on but she is too busy right now. I think that may be one or two of my granddaughters may pick it up.

Dorothy: I remember you doing other things for hobbies besides quilting. What did you do before quilting?

Irene: I made rag dolls. I made Raggedy Ann and Andy, I made Snow White and I have several boxes full of stuffed animals and dolls. I always keep something that I've made.

Dorothy: I was at your house one time and you were making something for christenings.

Irene: Oh yes, I made two christening gowns. I made the dress and slips and I believe it took 6 yards for each one to make them. I also have crocheted. I got too old for the dolls so I decided to do something that they could use when I am not here so I decided to make christening bonnets so that they could use it if I am not here and they could say that "grandma" made it. They are all crocheted and they are crib size. I have a dozen made.

Dorothy: I remember you drawing and painting.

Irene: I got down to Florida and got into painting and painted 15 or so paintings. I tried watercolors and I would like to get back into watercolors but I had a hard time with watercolors because it is the reverse of oil painting. I have also made a high school graduation dress for my granddaughter.

Dorothy: What about a wedding gown?

Irene: No, and I hope they don't ask me either. I have made several wedding veils for my family. One veil that I made cost a $150 in the store and I made it for $6.00. I looked at the veil in a bridal shop put it all together. They are very simple to make.

Dorothy: So do you like the quilting the best of all?

Irene: Yes. It's like someone who likes to read a good book and doesn't want to put it down. I don't like to put the quilting down. I wake up in the middle of the night and think of something that I have to do and how to fix it.

Dorothy: How do you decide what you quilts you are going to make? Do you look through books?

Irene: Oh yes. I have lots and lots of books but you are always going into a store and finding new books. You always buy the book but whether you use it or not doesn't matter.

Dorothy: Did your mother make things?

Irene: No, not at all. I have made denim quilts. You make those with the old jeans. And cut them with the rotary cutter. I make them with the 3" and 6" inch finished blocks. I stagger the seams and the colors. I make them about 48" square put a backing on them which you hand tie and I usually use a bandana print on the back. It usually takes about 7 pairs of jeans. On each end of the quilt, I put the pockets of the jeans and I put a bandana hanky in the pockets and they are nice for the beach, the park or picnics. They are really cute and heavy.

Dorothy: What about the seams?

Irene: The seams are hidden. You stagger the seams so the seams are not lined up across the quilt. They are haphazard.

Dorothy: Whom did you make them for?

Irene: I made them for all the grandchildren. I have made 11 of them and my children each wanted one. I guess I have made about 20 of them. I just made a crazy quilt. Have you every made one of those?

Dorothy: No.

Irene: You make them out of old ties. Of course, I work at a thrift shop so I can get a lot of them. They are fun. You open the ties up and you take out the inside filler, then you wash them. Sometimes you have to iron them. You then cut them up into all kinds of pieces. Then I take a 16 or 18 inch piece of fabric for the foundation. You lay them out all different ways. But the trouble with that is, that is easy and fast but then you have to embroider in between them and that takes forever. I made one for my son-in-law that is a musical instrument.

Dorothy: How many quilts do you have at home?

Irene: I have one but I am going to give it away.

Dorothy: So everyone is enjoying them?

Irene: Yes and that makes me feel good and they sincerely like them. It isn't like they pretend to like them, they really do. The grandchildren do too.

Dorothy: I think we should end this piece, peacefully.