“Quilting helps me think more creatively in all aspects of my life."
- Patti Wolf, UMUC Faculty Member
Former Director, Exams and Testing Services
Associate Professor, Information Systems Management
School of Undergraduate Studies
MyUMUC Story:
Patti Wolf's Quilts are a "Comfort" in More Ways Than One
A UMUC instructor since 1999, Patti Wolf teaches Information Systems Management, a program that emphasizes logic and structure. But when she’s not at her “day job,” Wolf’s creative side is unleashed. She is also a talented, award-winning seamstress who spends much of her time teaching quilting classes and making quilts to help charitable causes.
Wolf has been sewing as long as she can remember. Her mother was a professional seamstress, so Wolf learned to sew at an early age, making her own clothes and then eventually creating home décor items such as curtains and slipcovers. About five years ago, she added quilting to her array of sewing skills.
Having won awards at the Great Frederick Fair and the Rose Hill Quilt Show, Wolf’s talent is apparent. But her efforts on behalf of numerous charities are even more remarkable. As a participant in this year’s Leadership Frederick County program, Wolf met Carol Mastalerz, director of Oncology Services at Frederick Memorial Hospital’s Regional Cancer Therapy Center. When Wolf made a quilt with blocks for each member’s signature as the class’s end-of-the-year gift for the executive director of the program, Mastalerz was highly impressed. She suggested that Wolf create a similar quilt for cancer survivors to sign at the Regional Cancer Therapy Center.
Wolf is also working on a quilt for the “Yes, M’am! Challenge,” which runs through March 2008. Participating quilters are challenged to make a quilt using a specific fabric. The finished quilt is then auctioned off to raise money for low-or no-cost mammograms. Wolf intends to donate the money raised from her quilt to the Regional Cancer Therapy Center.
In addition to these projects, she has made a number of quilts for Hurricane Katrina victims and many others that she donated to her quilt guild to raise funds for the organization’s first annual quilt bingo, which took place in May. The guild is also making quilts for “Project Linus” as their service project for 2007; Wolf has made several of those quilts, as well.
Her love of quilting is apparent. “It allows me to use a different part of my brain and different skills than I use in my daily work. Quilting helps me think more creatively in all aspects of my life. I find it so relaxing,” Wolf said. “I've met a number of wonderful people because of quilting. I've found quilters to be a generous group... rallying to respond to calls to help by making quilts, helping a fellow quilter who is struggling with a new technique, offering that perfect piece of fabric from their "stash," and always teaching others.”
Wolf’s own teaching skills also come in handy for her hobby: she teaches children and adults to quilt at Joann's in Columbia, Maryland. While all of that quilting and teaching would leave most people exhausted, Wolf remains excited and impassioned and about her experience at UMUC.
When asked what she enjoys most about the university, she quickly responded, “The students! They are located all over the world and I love that they bring such a wealth of unique personal, professional, and cultural experiences to our classrooms.”
And what does she enjoy most about quilting? Said Wolf, “I find it a nice balance to the work I do in my 'day job' and I’ve met a lot of good friends through quilting.”
Visit Patti Wolf’s quilting Web site at www.sleepingcatcreations.com.
