Another Great One Is Gone

     Roberta Horton died on Feb. 4, 2021. (Some accounts say Feb. 8.)

I could find little information about her passing, except for announcements and this bit from the Minnesota Quilters' FB page:

Roberta Horton passed away on February 4th, 2021, from Lymphoma. She was at home with her family by her side. It has been requested that cards only be sent to The Quilt Show (The Quilt Show, 2468 Armstrong Street, Livermore, CA 94551) where they will be gathered and passed on to her family.

Roberta attended her first quilting event in 1970 that turned her into a quiltmaker. In the following 50 years, Roberta impacted the Quilting community as a Teacher, Author and Fabric Designer. Some of her quilts were featured in Quilters Newsletter Magazine. In 2000 Roberta was awarded the Silver Star Award by the International Quilt Association. The award was given in recognition of my Roberta's body of work and the long-term effect it has had on quilting. Roberta entered her quilts in many Quilt Shows around the world ( including the Minnesota Quilters Quilt Show).

A fascinating woman. She won many awards, and one of C&T's first authors. Roberta was one of the earliest quilt teachers on "the circuit," back when I started teaching in 1984. Her book on quilting with plaids and striped fabrics was one of the first in my library; in fact, she was one of the first to teach students how to use these 'essential but a little scary' weaves and prints. Her work on patterns and styles was one of the first to introduce me to the color-drenched beauty of Amish quilts.

    She was a strong teacher who wanted to be sure her students learned her techniques -- and learned them well. When I was an editor at Quilter's Newsletter, one of our recurring assignments was to take a class from a famous quiltmaker, then use their trademark techniques to come up with something we could feature in the magazine. One of my artist buddies at QNM took a class with Horton, and learned the basics. She was quietly experimenting in the back, when Horton called her out -- and scolded her for not following directions! 

For a good long look at Roberta Horton, her work, awards and influence, see this page on her website. What a talented, amazing quilter. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to Roberta's sister and quilting partner, Mary Mashuta (Mary's website is here). A GoFundMe fundraiser is in place.

Rest in peace.

                                                        (Teleflora)