"Everyone's family quilted in those days. There was nothing else to do," Spencer said.

Quilting lessons started in the basement of her church when she was a child . She took some classes and fell in love with putting colors together to make patterns. "I met my best friend at a neighborhood quilting bee at the age of 6," said Spencer.
She chaired quilt shows for different organizations in the 70s. In the early 80s, Spencer moved to Tombstone with her husband for medical purposes. She continued to make quilts for family and friends, but started to enjoy making quilts to be raffled off for charities.

(Scroll to end of story for a slideshow of quilts on display at the Tombstone Art Association's 28th Annual Quilt Show.)

Spencer has lived in Tombstone for more than 25 years and hasn't had a single day pass without hand stitching patches together or sewing on her early 1970s sewing machine. "If I hurried along, it would take a few months to hand stitch a large quilt," Spencer said.

Twenty-one years ago, she joined the Tombstone Art Association and started to make raffle quilts for the quilt exhibits. Spencer makes several small quilts for shows every year and fills in patchwork for bigger quilts on display.

"I stopped making quilts for family at the third great-grandchild," Spencer said.

She now makes quilts for children suffering from trauma through a year-round charity for the Copper Queen Hospital in Bisbee. Firefighters and police officers provide stuffed animals for the children in need and Spencer accompanies their gifts with small stitched quilts.

Spencer has been participating in the charity for three years. She and about half a dozen other women put together nearly 150 quilts this year to be distributed throughout the hospital. "The kids enjoy them and the quilts mean something to them when they're sick," said Spencer.

This year she was appointed vice president of the Tombstone Art Association, after serving two years as president. "Thank God I was demoted," said Spencer.

"It was so much work to run about 50 women in the committee, and about 30 of them being artists."

This year is the 28th Annual Quilt Show, put on by the Tombstone Art Association with about 100 quilts on display. The quilt show started in the old firehouse but moved into the art gallery immediately after the first year.

Many different quilting groups in nearby towns contributed the 100 quilts in the show. "We used to get in quilts from Canada but the communication has been too difficult in the last few years," said Spencer.

All the quilting groups are coordinated to help each other finish their quilts in time for the show. Members of the Tombstone Foundation of Quilters help each other out and sometimes quilt together for larger projects.

"Quilters like to come in and look at different techniques and stitches," said Spencer. "Visitors swarm into the gallery by busloads at a time. The show is advertised in quilting magazines and different groups like to see our patterns."

"The show is just spectacular. I am learning to quilt now and these quilts truly amaze me," said Carol VanNatta, a tourist from Moline, Ill.

Another visitor, Gwen Hix from Warringsburg, Mo., found out about the show in a brochure and wanted to check out the gallery. "I once stitched a full size quilt by hand and will never do it again. It's too much work and I don't have the patience," she said.

Spencer used to send her quilts all over the world but now only quilts for the show in Tombstone. She still sews for her friends, and recently titled a quilt, "Deep Purple" for her friend who was supposed to turn 90 a few months ago. She finished shortly after her death and gave the quilt to her friend's daughter in memory of her.

Spencer is usually found in her living room, in front of her sewing machine or stitching blocks at the Tombstone Art Gallery. She says quilting keeps her young by making her brain think and keeps her entertained by always giving her something to do.

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