Who’s Who in Pieced Together Quilters - Rae Hooks

Rae Hooks began quilting in 1992 – she first made a Baltimore appliqué quilt block and decided she wanted to quilt. She had always sewn because mom didn’t mend fast enough. She began with Kathy Honeycutt at San Lorenzo Adult School on Tuesday evening. Rae remembers taking a “beginning” class but it wasn’t called “Baby Beginners.” There were beginners and intermediate quilters.  After she retired, she moved to Kathy’s Wednesday afternoon class.

Rae estimates she has made over 50 quilts but doesn’t really know how many – it may be 75. Just within the last three weeks she has penned five quilts. She has given most away but has quilts in most every room in the house. There are no blank walls without a quilt.

She and Joan Allie have been friends for a long time and Rae helped finish the appliqué quilt Kathy had planned for her son’s wedding quilt. That is when Rae found out about Pieced Together Quilters. One more quilter was saved by having this wonderful group to join. 

Married 56 years – so many men and only one sample – Rae you’re a hoot. Jim and Rea have two sons, Lee and Mark. Her oldest grandson graduated from High School June, 1^st and the second grandson was born the next day. They are 18 years apart.  Her oldest grandson is in his third year at Annapolis and the baby is in England.  Darn, they live so far away. Mark teaches at the University of Wales, biochemistry, and Kashia, Mark’s wife, is finishing her doctorate in microbiology. Mark’s little man’s name is Christopher.  Lee, the oldest, lives in Seattle with his wife, Fran. Their son, Dennis, is the midshipman.

Other than quilting, Rae loves to square-dance but her husband began to be hard of hearing, so they had to stop dancing. She belongs to Amador Valley quilters and American Sewing Guild, Walnut Creek Chapter. Rae loves to garden. She also spends an hour a day, five days a week, at the gym. She loves the floor exercises where she socializes with her friends.

Rae was an Army brat and lived all over the US during the Second World War. Her husband got a job in the Bay Area after they married in Tacoma, Washington.  Rae was schooled in New York and Nebraska and Jim got his doctorate in Nebraska(agronomy – study of plant genetics). A little know fact about Rae is she is most proud of her grandchildren and the most satisfying thing she has done is finish Kathy’s quilt.  Thanks so much for sharing your fun story with me Rae.

Who’s Who in Pieced Together - Sue Green

Sue Green grew up in Arcadia California, near Pasadena. She went to UC Santa Barbara for her undergraduate studies, history and art history and English and then UCLA for a teaching credential. She met her husband, Dudley, in junior high school. They began dating in High School as Sophomores and went to the Explorer’s Ball together and married in 1968. They moved to the Bay Area – Burlingame – and now live in Fremont. Married 43 years, they have two boys.  They had their first granddaughter, Ellery in June. So Sue now has a girl! All the Green’s have boys.

Sue’s younger son is getting married on June 16^th at Champaign Illinois. He is finishing his doctorate in Regional Planning and Urban Development at the University of Illinois.

She began quilting in 1972 – finishing a Sunbonnet Sue quilt in lavender and cream for her sister!  She took some classes off and on, but didn’t really get into it until she began with Kathy Honeycutt around 1995.  Sue never took the Baby Beginner and regrets she didn’t get back to take the class with Kathy.  She was finally able to really quilt after she retired. Sue estimates she has made spent a good ten years sewing, doing needlepoint, cross-stitch, crewel work, hand embroidery and any other thing that she can do with her hands.  Other than needlecrafts, Sue loves to read, garden, cook and canoe.

Because she substituted for Kathy’s class, it was a natural transition to move to Pieced Together Quilters. Most of Tuesday evening class at San Lorenzo Adult School came to Pieced Together Quilters a semester after Kathy passed.

A little know fact about Sue is when she was at UCLA, the son of the landlord invited all of the ladies in the house to a political fundraiser at Paul Newman’s home. Mr. Newman was not at home, but she did see pictures of all the family. A funny encounter, she almost knocked Walter Mathau down as they rounded a corner. Mr. Mathau was very gracious and apologized to her.

Sue taught 6^th grade for 28 years, mostly in San Mateo and Fremont. You should hear the stories. Our sweet Sue loved teaching and she still speaks calmly, as a good teacher always does.