Creative Hands - A Gathering of Community

By Caroline Rosacker

In 1997 Diane and Myron Thiese purchased a second home on River Park Drive in Guttenberg. The couple enjoyed their part-time residence and decided to relocate here permanently from Des Moines in 2021. 

The Thieses are members of St. John's Church in Guttenberg, and Diane is a member of Umbrella Arts. She enjoys rug hooking, dyeing wool, quilting and needlepoint. 

Creative  Hands-A Gathering of Community

Diane has recently initiated a gathering for creative individuals to work on projects. The group meets on the second and fourth Friday of each month from 9:15 a.m. - noon in the lower level dining area at the Guttenberg Municipal Building.  Those attending are encouraged to bring quilting, stitching, knitting, crocheting, card making, scrapbooking, drawing, painting, etc. for fellowship with people who like to create with their hands, or to see what everyone else is working on. Bring your own beverage (preferably in a covered container).

"When I first saw the space, with its excellent lighting, open tables and comfortable chairs I envisioned a gathering of creative individuals to work on projects in community with one another," she commented.

Diane noted that it can be any kind of project, and said, "Perhaps you would like to write out your Christmas greeting cards, work on scrapbooking or need the incentive to finish up a project that has been laid aside. It does not need to be needlework. "

Diane, who is retired from Wells Fargo, began needlework when her children were small. "I worked in finance and risk management and needed a hobby that could help me decompress from my day," she told The Press."But the cross-stitch patterns reminded me of a financial spreadsheet so I picked up a needle and switched to hand quilting."

Diane's grandmother, who raised nine children and is a grandmother to 50 grandchildren, was a talented hand quilter. "She always had a quilt by her chair," she remembered. "She would warn us not to touch the quilt, but we couldn't help ourselves. She had very tiny precise stitches and ours would be about three inches long and crooked. I think it became a game with her because she never scolded us."

A job lay-off and a parent recovering from surgery opened up an opportunity for Diane to discover wool dyeing. "I read information on dyeing wool to familiarize myself with the process," she explained. "I will never forget the first time I watched the color creep up a piece of white wool. I was hooked!"

Diane began with applique wool Christmas stockings and experimented with brighter colors in the spring. "I knew a woman that owned a quilt shop and I would dye wool and sell it to her," she commented. "I got into wool applique and designed some patterns and kits of my own. When I got called back to work I had to put everything on the back burner." 

Following her retirement she picked up where she left off. "All of the sudden I was back in the business again. We had people that would meet at the quilt shop and bring what they were working on and have fellowship," she shared.  "One lady was rug hooking and I became interested in that. Iowa has so many national leaders in textile arts."

Diane enjoys working with fabric and although the finished product is great, she loves the process. "When I have a needle and fabric in my hand it is very calming and keeps me out of trouble," she said with a smile. "When I work on a quilt I pray so that quilt is filled with prayer. "