This month we are spotlighting one of our newer members, Margaret Partyka! She is a lot of fun, especially since her last name has “Party” in it!
Margaret is originally from Utica, NY and has lived in Jacksonville for the last 13 ½ years. She is the middle child of 7, with 3 brothers and 3 sisters. Margaret has been married to her husband Chris for 37 years! Chris is quite handy and talented and had built many of the items found in their home. They have two sons and some grand-kittens. Since about 1990 she has worked in different University Bursar’s offices and currently works at the University of North Florida.
Margaret learned how to sew from her mother at around age 10. She started out making clothing and has even made bridesmaids dresses! Her sister is a quilter, so about 1-½ years ago, Margaret decided to give quilting a try. She joined the Jacksonville Modern Quilt Guild in December 2017 so her first meeting with us was a Christmas “Party”ka! Margaret likes both traditional and modern quilting but doesn’t feel quite like a modern quilter yet. She is working towards learning more modern techniques and learning about the fabrics and design. She is faithfully at every monthly meeting and she is a pleasure!
Something else that makes Margaret special is her charity work. She met a lady that was crocheting baby hats for the maternity ward at St. Vincent’s Hospital and quickly joined in. When Margaret lost contact with this woman she tried to drop off some hats to the maternity ward on her own and they said NO! (For security reasons ;)) so she tried the St. Vincent’s NICU (neo natal intensive care unit) and they gladly accepted the hats. When Margaret started quilting, the NICU put in a request for baby quilts and she accepted the challenge! She has made over 30 baby quilts since February 2017 and has donated them all to the St. Vincent’s NICU here in Jacksonville. Below is a small sampling of the quilts Margaret has donated. They are beautiful and are treasured by the families they go home with. She is hoping our guild can provide some holiday themed items for these St. Vincent’s families in the future. It’s always hard to have a child in the hospital, but it’s particularly hard during the holidays. Our small Jax MQG is certainly up for that challenge!!
We are thrilled to have Margaret Partyka as part of our quilting family and hope to have her with us for many years to come. Thanks for all you do!!