Martha Crowell tries to find the right fabric and the right patterns that will make meaningful messages in each quilts she sews. Every pattern and material used can hold a different meaning connecting to family, friends, and music.
Crowell, the Lower School Girls music teacher, is known for sharing her enjoyment of music throughout the school day but is also known for sharing her quilts. Crowell shared that she enjoys putting smiles on people’s faces, especially when they are down. She favors being able to cheer somebody up and put a smile on their face.
Crowell has been enjoying making quilts for about thirty years. She started in the early 90’s. Her love began when she slept in the attic at her grandparent’s house where she and her twin sister would sleep under cozy quilts. The more she used her quilt, the more she thought about taking the time to make it one day. She shared, “I taught teachers in the summer for 25 years, so that was cool to do because I was able to teach teachers about music. And one of them gave me this set of a rotary cutter, and a ruler, and a mat that helps you cut the fabric without having to cut each thing with scissors.”
After getting the material from the teacher she started her learning process with quilting by being taught by her fellow peers and taking some classes as well. She said, “I just got started and then I got my sister doing it, and my best friend and some other people, and then I taught a bunch of people at my church how to do it so they could make quilts for babies that were in underserved communities. And so we ended up doing a lot of that.”
While Crowell shares her passion for quilting through her community it also helps her connect with her love with music. “It was a music friend who got me started with it, but also in music, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” says Ms. Cowell. “You have a bunch of scraps, and you put them together, and they kind of describe a person. It’s so much fun to do.” She feels that quilting brings the same sense as when somebody has a huge milestone or birthday or a baby or they retired.
She mentioned that she had a chance to make one for retired PE Department Chair Betty Ann Fish. “It had little strips of fabric that showed heartbeats for when she did the heart course. It had international Olympic children that she did a whole unit on the Olympics. It had fabric that said, thank you. Thank you, thank you,” she said. “Just a bunch of other things about children and about athletics. It had lacrosse fabric and other things that she taught that were just all mixed into it, and she discovered them and just loved it.”
Science Teacher Marianne Maloy also received a quilt Crowell. “When my son was born, she made a quilted pillow for him, inquiring about the colors of his bedroom and incorporating those into the design. It seems like there is also a lot of thought behind the fabrics chosen for her projects.”
Girls Lower School fourth grade homeroom teacher Peggy Grady shared that Crowell “is one of the most generous and open-hearted people/colleagues/friends I know. “As far as her beautiful quilting work goes, over the years she has created many, many, extraordinary quilts for colleagues and friends alike. When one turned a certain birthday, she would create a quilt that spoke to your particular interests or hobbies,” she said. “There are quite a few of us still here and retired that have been the recipients of her creative talents. It has a special place draped over the rocker in my classroom where everyone can see and admire it.”
Lower School Girls reading specialist Christine Yaffe shared that Crowell is a special teacher and person. “Her deep loves are her students and their musical education, her quilting for friends’ special life events, her family, and her church,” Ms. Yaffe. “She can remember small details from her student’s lives–her students feel special in her care. Her quilts appear to comfort friends who are unwell and those who are retiring.” Every quilt that people have received from her or helped all felt the same way about it, and they have felt that deep love and honor that Crowell loves to give out. “It’s a masterpiece,” Ms. Yaffe concluded.
