Local woman's quilt selected to raise funds for Pentagon Memorial Fund

Thursday, October 4, 2007
Judy Laquidara's award winning quilt, Celebration of Freedom, was selected to be the focus of an auction for the Pentagon Memorial Fund, to raise money for a memorial for those who died in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

Nevada-area quilter Judy Laquidara has been honored for her work by the Defense Credit Union Council in Washington, D.C.

Laquidara's quilt, "Cele-bration of Freedom, "was chosen to be the focal point of an auction to benefit the Pentagon Memorial Fund.

Roland A. Arteaga, president and CEO of the Defense Credit Union Council, e-mailed Laquidara to thank her for the quilt donation and added his praise for her work.

"While we are in-process of receiving items for auction from our Corporate partners, in my opinion, your quilt will be the focal point for this year's auction … and without a doubt, will greatly assist in our contribution to the Pentagon Memorial Fund," Arteaga wrote. "My sincerest thanks for stepping up to the proverbial plate and helping us enshrine the memories of the brave men and women who perished at the Pentagon on 9-11, and for sharing your phenomenal talent with us. Your workmanship is without equal … your efforts are unmatched."

Laquidara was recently selected as a semifinalist for the American Quilting Society Quilt Exposition, held Aug. 22-25 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn.

She also has a book, Nine-Patch Extravaganza, that is available through the American Quilters' Society Web site as well as Amazon.com.

The book contains 12 patterns for quilts that follow the nine-patch tradition but are updated for modern tastes.

"The patterns are the basic nine-patch type but I've got some patterns that are modernized," Laquidara said. "They are fairly easy blocks but they look more difficult than they are."

Laquidara she uses a long-arm machine to make her quilts but would like to hand stitch one.

"I use a long-arm machine to make my quilts," Laquidara said. "It would be great to be able to hand stitch a quilt but it would take me forever to do it."

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