TOWN NAZARETH

WILL VAN OVERBEEK
see nothing with my physical eyes, but I
see a lot with God’s eyes,” she explains.
Rose works largely by hand because
the majority of her quilts are appliqués.
Appliqués are cut from her own cardboard
designs used as templates or with
the help of an artisan’s craft cutting
machine. On pieces like pinwheels,
where fabric is sewn together in a pattern,
she adeptly uses her sewing
machine. She is on her third sewing
machine and hopes one day to be able to
afford one that talks.
One quilt was based on a dream, she
recalled, of a lake with a fisherman and a
snow-capped mountain. “I like to do
scenery because I have a vivid imagination.
I read a lot [using audio books], and I
like to see the vision that I see in my mind
put into a hard copy as in a quilt,” she says.
Three volunteers help Rose with parts
of the process. “I do have a girl who cuts
for me; Emily is awesome. I have another
girl who takes the pictures and helps me
label the quilts. Each quilt is numbered
and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
And Margaret helps me with that. My
friend Jennifer helps me with transportation
and sometimes matching
threads,” Rose explains.
She uses her memories of color in
designing a quilt, and the colors are often
vivid—bright pink, turquoise, deep green,
red. “I used to see a little bit, so I do visualize
as you would with color and images,”
she says. “One thing I can say that God
gave me is determination and gusto and
lots of energy. I have a bad habit of wearing
people out.”
Most of the fabric is donated, including
old ties, jeans or swatches. She posts
updates on her website for specific colors
of fabric needed, and she always welcomes
black and white cotton thread. She
markets and sells her wares online,
including on Facebook. Among her other
promotional efforts are public appearances
before quilting groups, business
leadership seminars and churches. “I’ve
never been afraid of a crowd,” she says.
Always ready for an opportunity, she
brings with her coffee mugs bearing her
photograph, a DVD of a Las Vegas speaking
engagement or smaller pieces of her
handiwork like potholders or quilted
baby books that can be sold for less than a
full-fledged quilt, which can run from several
hundred dollars up to $1,000.
Her dreams now include a husband—“a
man who can stand beside me, believe in
me”—and a house. “I need a big sewing
room, where I can have a cutting table, a
sewing machine, and a rack that I can pull
out of the wall where I can hang the
quilts—like a showroom. And I would very
much like someday to have a museum and
gift shop where people can see what I’ve
done with my life.”
That’s her future, as she would have it.
She can see it perfectly, just as she can
her quilts.
Soll Sussman is an Austin writer.
Diane Rose is a member of Heart of Texas
Electric Cooperative. To see more of her quilts,
visit theamazingquilter.com.
TALENT IN YOUR HANDS Diane Rose has been
blissfully swaddled in a world of quilting since
receiving spiritual guidance 15 years ago. She has
churned out more than 800 quilts at her home in
Bellmead, relying on fast and fearless work at the
sewing machine and her memory of the vivid colors
she knew before she lost her sight.
TexasCoopPower.com
December 2012 Texas Co-op Power 21