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Quilts by Tina Segler

Steamboat Springs — When Tina Segler makes a quilt for someone, she never asks what that person wants.

"That's not the point. And they will want something I won't want to do," she said. "But its much more fun when you have somebody in mind when making the quilt."

Segler is carrying on a tradition in her family.

"My grandmother quilted and my mother quilted, and every daughter in my mother's family gets a quilt," she said. "My grandmother stopped about 10 years ago - when she turned 80 - and many people in the family haven't gotten them yet."

There are four or five unfinished quilts for family members in Segler's closet.

"They are just sitting there mocking me," she said. "They take hundreds and hundreds of hours to complete. If you did this for a living, you would make five cents an hour."

Quilting for Segler is a labor of love.

"There's no great mystery to it. You just have to really want to do it and you have to be patient," Segler said. "I couldn't think of doing it for something I didn't believe in or someone who isn't special to me."

Segler is working on a quilt she is donating to the Routt County Democratic Party Jefferson/Jackson potluck dinner and fundraiser on Saturday night.

"I volunteered to donate it purely for selfish reasons - so I will get it done," she said. "It's fun because then I have a purpose for creating a quilt. It's not just a project with no quilt in site."

One motivating factor for Segler and other quilters in Steamboat Springs is being able to meet every Saturday morning with the Delectable Mountain Quilters Guild.

"They have workshops and opportunities to learn different techniques," Segler said. "And they push me to try new things and complete those big projects that I started."

Working with the guild members keeps Segler up on more than just the latest quilting techniques.

"If you want to learn about your community, be a quilter and just listen to these ladies. They'll tell you everything," Segler said. "They know all the families and extended families. They know all the history, and they are one of the nicest groups of people in Steamboat."

Segler shares a passion for quilting with the guild members. But she's excited about more than sewing.

"Whether it's quilting, politics, sports or being a mom," she said. "Anybody who quilts understands that passion."