This memorial window display shows samples of Kathleen O’Connell’s many talents.
Cathy Howell
The PebbleCreek quilter lost a very dear and supportive friend in September of 2023. Kathleen O’Connell joined the Estrella Mountain Quilters/PebbleCreek Quilt Club shortly after moving into her home in 2001 and was an active member ever since. She had a varied artistic background, having been a weaver and painter prior to moving here from New Jersey. She searched for a weaving club, but none could be found, so as a fiber artist, quilting seemed to be the next best thing. And lucky for us that she did.
She enjoyed form and color and was dedicated to helping others break out of their traditional quilt routine to explore all aspects of our craft. Around 2004 Kathleen created the ‘Challenge’ program. Each year she would pick a theme, technique, color, or style, and challenged each of us to reach into our heads and fabric stash to interpret our take on that year’s challenge. The most successful year was the year of the crayon challenge. We each pulled three crayons out of a bag and no matter how uncomplimentary they seemed to us, we were to figure out how to make those colors work together. It was truly a challenge.
She also enjoyed spending time making friends and was usually the first person to greet a new member and find out what brought them to this community and our club.
Kathleen was a great resource and generous friend to all she interacted with at Creative Arts Center and will be missed by many.