As with her sister Alice Vesterfelt, Dianna was born in Oakland and now lives in San Leandro.
Dianna and her ex- spouse, with whom she was married for 22 years and divorced 22 years, remained friends. After being diagnosed with cancer, Martin moved in with Dianna and she cared for him for three years. After he passed away in June 2008, she knew it was time to quilt. She has two daughters, one married with two sons, eight and eleven in Huntington Beach, and the other daughter not married lives in Walnut Creek.
So she began quilting January 2009, shortly before Kathy became ill. Dianna was only with Kathy for three weeks. Fortunately, she and Alice became friends with the Thursday afternoon ladies who quickly joined Joy in her home for quilting bees.
Lorraine Ryan took the girls under her wing and helped them finish their sampler quilts in Pat's Monday night class. Thanks to Lorraine, Dianna was able to finish her quilt, because it was so wonky. Lorraine suggested adding borders to bring the quilt into size.
With her new kitchen remodel, going on since September, Dianna hasn’t been able to sew. (The familhy room is her sewing room so the machine is packed away for the duration).
She crochets, meets monthly with the Red Hat Ladies lunching and sometimes taking trips to Old Sacramento and other points of interest. She describes her group as not that outrageous, but I have seen those ladies out and about and they are happier than our quilting group – with loud outbursts of laughter. Maybe it’s the wine with lunch.
She worked most of her life – with the school district when her children were young – but describes her life as normal. However, she always knew she wanted to make a quilt but was surprised at how intricate and how much time it takes to make a quilt. She had the best accomplishment in finishing her sampler quilt. She is also surprised how much money it takes to quilt. Dianna loves making bags. Everyone she loves gets a bag.
Now Dianna is finishing the Happy Family Mystery Quilt. She plans on making a baseball quilt for the 11 year-old grandson. Suzie, Dianna’s daughter who lives in the Bay Area, loves to make bags with her mom and they plan to sell them this Christmas.
It was so great getting to know more about Dianna. I wish my sister and I could quilt together.
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