Another Great One Gone...

Maurine Noble passed away July 31st. 

I did not know this lady well...but machine quilters everywhere have benefited from her books and experience. Go here for her memorial site, and to leave a comment. Her family would love that.

Maurine, not long before her death -- from her photo gallery on the memorial website

Here's her obituary:

• 81 years old
• Date of birth: Feb 6, 1932
• Date of passing: Jul 31, 2013

Every quilt you make, I don’t care if you make hundreds of them, you will always learn something. If you sit down to really study it, you will learn something new. ~ Maurine Noble ~

A Memorial Service will be held at Plymouth Congregational Church on Sunday, August 25 at 2:30 pm.

Maurine Leander Noble, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, avid quilter, published author, and one of the pioneers of machine quilting, died peacefully July 31, 2013 in Edmonds, Washington with her family by her side. She was 81.
Maurine was born February 6, 1932 in Seattle, Washington to Ella Leander. Her father Maurice passed away unexpectedly three weeks before she was born. She lived with her mother and two older brothers, Ivan and Bob in Ballard. She graduated from Ballard High School and went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon.
It was there she met her husband Ed, whose Army career took them far and wide to places like Germany, Chicago, New York City, Okinawa, California and Washington. 
Maurine was an internationally recognized leader in machine quilting. Her first book Machine Quilting Made Easy was published in 1994 and is still in print. She went on to publish two other quilting books, Machine Quilting with Decorative Threads and Machine Appliqué. All three publications have been widely used and are still sought after. She taught machine quilting classes throughout the United States, Canada, and South Africa; it was one of her greatest passions and deepest joys. She made countless friends in the close-knit quilting community and many of them became part of her extended family. 
Maurine’s generosity of spirit led her to organize The Plymouth PieceMakers, a quilt group whose purpose was to make and donate quilts to newborns, those suffering from long term illness, and later also for high school graduates at Plymouth Congregational Church in Seattle. The group's program of donating quilts expanded into the community through Plymouth Healing Communities, an organization supporting those suffering from mental illness and homelessness. 
While Maurine was well-known for her machine quilting talents and exceptional teaching ability, her greatest legacy will be as a mother and grandmother. She is survived by her husband and three children, Lee Noble, Elin Antonsen (married to Lasse) and Russ Noble (married to Diana) and her three grandchildren, Taylor, Adam and Sierra, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Her unconditional love, compassion, thoughtfulness, and uncommon grace, made her a strong role model. The world is and always will be a better place because Maurine was here.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in the memory of Maurine Noble to Plymouth Healing Communities at www.plyhc.org or at 1217 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101. 

 Go here for a look at this wonderful book.