Lexington senior shares quilts with family in community event

Dec. 30—NOBLE — A Lexington family invited the community to honor a great-grandmother and avid quilt maker.

Aleen Lamb, showcased 35 of her quilts at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4401 Maguire Road, on Friday afternoon.

Marianne Lamb, Aleen's daughter, said she has made many quilts over the years.

"She made 25 quilts in a year and a half," Marianne said.

Aleen made her first quilt when she was 10-years-old while living in her hometown of Spanish Fork, Utah.

The Lamb family moved to Lexington in 1977 when Aleen's late husband acquired a horse ranch, and since then, members of the family have stuck around, making Oklahoma their home.

In attendance were all Aleen's children: Clayton Lamb, Marianne Lamb, Denise Lamb, Ranae Winterton, and Janice Spies.

Denise, Aleen's daughter and Marianne's sister, said her mother learned to quilt from her mother, as well as from her community at church.

In Utah, the Relief Society [the women's organization for the LDS Church] would get together and quilt," Denise said. "All of her sisters make quilts, and so did everybody else. They were all into quilting.

Denise said when she was a child, her mother would never buy her blankets or clothing from the store.

"We always went to the fabric store. We never really went shopping," Denise said. "I didn't have a [store bought] dress until I was way older, I mean until late 20s or early 30s. Either I, or my mom made me dresses."

She said when both she and her mother were young, the families would make clothes and household items like blankets to save money.

"It was all homemade. When you had five kids trying to make ends meet, it was just what they did," she said.

The extended Lamb family gathered from throughout the country to celebrate Aleen's quilts. During the event, Aleen distributed her quilts to members of her family.

"There's 19 grandkids and 12 great-grandkids," Denise said. "She wants to get them out of her house because she had 35 quilts in pillowcases stuffed in all of our closets, so we decided she wanted to give them away all at once."

Marianne said Aleen puts each quilt in a pillowcase and stacks them in a closet when she finishes.

"One day Aleen looked at the tops of her closets and decided she couldn't keep storing the quilts for when that special someday came for each child," Marianne said. "There were just too many quilts."

While her closet is now clear of quilts, Denise said her mother isn't done making them.

"She'll just keep making quilt tops until she feels like it, and she has about five more right now that she knows she wants to make," she said.

Aleen now makes the quilt tops and gets help from a friend, Nina Henderson, who ties the quilts together.

"She just likes doing it. It's just like creative art. It's like a puzzle," Denise said.

Marianne said quilting has helped her mom maintain her cognitive abilities.

"Some people keep their minds alive by doing crossword puzzles or Sudoku. She designs quilts, and it makes her really sharp. She's so creative," Marianne said.

Courtney DeKalb-Myers, Cleveland County Oklahoma State University Extension director, learned about the event and told The Transcript that quilting is a great activity for seniors.

"I think it's a great hobby. Also, it leaves a legacy for families to pass down through generations," she said.

Denise said making a homemade quilt is personal. She said her mom asks those for whom she is making the quilt to decide a color scheme, and then she makes the quilt based on the materials she has and what she thinks the receiver would want.

"They are made with love, and I know how much work goes into it," Denise said. "A quilt is also an heirloom. If you take care of it, it will last for your entire life."

Brian King covers education and politics for The Transcript. Reach him at bking@normantranscript.com.