Rarity inspires ‘Once in a Blue Moon’ theme for Ridgefield quilt show

Here’s the sort of tale that only happens once in a blue moon. It’s a story of electrical connection and amazing artistry with fabric and fingertips.

Twenty-plus years ago, the former Rosanne Rockwell was working as an electrician crew leader when she met a fellow electrician, John Hatfield. Hatfield immediately felt a spark with Rockwell, he said, and figured he’d better move fast. He is 17 years older than she, and assumed Rockwell would get snapped up by someone else if he didn’t.

Fortunately, she felt electricity, too. The couple married 34 days after they met.

Newlywed Rosanne Hatfield had no special interest in quilting then, but her new husband’s mother died while working on a quilt for the couple. When Rosanne was forced to retire due to serious illness, she took over the project. She started studying quilting with Dianne Kane of Camas and dragging her husband, who grew up in a quilting family, to quilt shows.

It turned out that John Hatfield had an electrician’s critical eye for imperfections, and thought he could do better. His new wife challenged him to try. “So the very first quilt he enters in a show, he wins a ribbon,” she said with loving irritation.

The former power couple now embrace quilting as their shared pastime. They frequently work side by side on sewing machines in the little workshop in their home near Vancouver Mall. One of John Hatfield’s proudest possessions is his massive crafter’s cabinet that contains dozens of little drawers, shelves and boxes.

Men who quilt are fairly rare, the couple confirmed. About as rare as female electricians today, let alone 20-plus years ago. “We’re definitely not stereotypical, in any way,” Rosanne said with a laugh.

Does the work of quilting resemble the work of wiring? Absolutely, the couple said. “Everything has to be extremely precise,” John Hatfield said. “It’s just the same thing.”

Works of art

You can see projects by the Hatfields, and many other talented quilters from far and wide, during this weekend’s 43rd annual show hosted by the Clark County Quilters. Thanks to a cosmic coincidence, the show’s theme is “Once in a Blue Moon,” which refers to the appearance of a second full moon within a calendar month. We’ve had two blue moons this year already, one on Jan. 31 and another on March 31; there won’t be another pair of blue moon occurrences within a single year until 2037.

That rare event inspired the Clark County Quilters to invite show contributions that focus on rareness itself. The Clark County Event Center should be spinning with blue orbs and celestial phenomena — and other rarities that come under the heading “once in a blue moon.” Check out the tilting planetoid fashioned by Kane, Rosanne’s instructor and one of the chairs of this weekend’s show. Kane’s main pursuit is art quilts, she said — which means her creations are “meant to be hung up instead of used.” She’s been known to quilt illustrations or interpretations of favorite novels, such as “Gone With the Wind” and “Alice in Wonderland,” she said.

“A lot of quilters are real artists,” said Wilma Scott, the other chair of the show, whose art quilting focuses on birds and nests. “Avian Studies” will be a whole subsection of the show, she said. In one witty creation by local quilter Joanne Adams Roth, a bunch of baby birdies are peering skyward through black eclipse glasses at an extremely rare cosmic occurrence, as we all were last August.

(Some of Scott’s earliest memories are playing underneath a quilt frame with her dolls while her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother did their work. “I learned a lot about old lady feet and shoes,” she said, laughing.)

Awesome artistry doesn’t mean your quilt can’t cover a bed. On the Hatfields’ bed is a huge, dazzling Asian-style achievement by John, which he said he worked on for seven months. (For many quilters, that’s the blink of an eye.)

“It’s not that hard,” he said humbly. “You have to pay attention to what you’re doing.” And yet, he added, he’s been known to take projects apart and start over as many as eight or nine times.

World Heritage quilts

In addition to quilts on display and for sale by members of the Clark County Quilters, there will be many special exhibits and events at the show.

Support local charities by buying a $1 raffle ticket and a chance to win a community-oriented quilt called “It Takes a Village.” Also supporting charities are Jelly Roll Races, in which teams of two hurry to sew fabric strips into beautiful, practical quilt tops that will be quilted and donated.

The featured quilter at this show will be Lynn Czaban, an award-winning portrait quilter and ongoing member of the Clark County Quilters who moved to Eugene, Ore., a few years ago. You’ll be amazed at her intricate artistry.

The immense, 108-foot-long Fort Vancouver Tapestry, a historical survey of the local area in 79 fabric panels, will be on display. A “Quilts Through the Ages” exhibit will survey the history of quilting. Artist Elsinore Peace Bailey will show off a 3-D exhibit called “A Fairy Palace.” And, a traveling United Nations exhibit will feature 90 quilts that represent World Heritage Sites, from the Statue of Liberty to the Galapagos Islands.

That’s just a sample of everything happening at this busy event; check the website for full details.