Mill Works BOM Program

Fabric by Nancy Rink
8-Month Program begins January 2015
Approx. 93" x 93"
Quilt Design by Nancy Rink

Nancy Rink

Nancy Rink designs this group and accompanying 8-month BOM quilt, inspired by historic swatches from the American Textile History Museum. Its bright, cheerful color palette echoes the spirit of the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. (1820-1870), and reflects Nancy's ongoing interest in the subject of the Lowell Mill Girls.

Fabric: 17.13 yards: $239.99
Backing, 8.5 yards, $120.00
Pattern: 48.00, 8 months. $6 ea.

Sign Ups: January 3rd, 2015
Mail Orders: $15 each shipment of two.

The BOM quilt is made up of eight quilt blocks designs in a simply sashed on point setting (One block has two variations to create nine blocks in total.) A touch of applique and a stunning border stripe provide the perfect finishing touches. The 8-month program results in a gorgeous quilt measuring approximately 92” x 92”. The MILL WORKS collection and BOM program continue to provide quilters with a unique glimpse into the rich textile history of Lowell, Massachusetts, telling the story of the Lowell Textile Factory system and it’s unique female work force, in an era fueled by innovations in textile manufacturing, printing, transportation and other areas. The lives of these young women is also explored in the book, Away From Home: Quilts Inspired by the Lowell Factory Girls (KC Star, 2012), which Nancy co-authored with her husband, Oliver A. Rink, a professor of early American History at California State University, Bakersfield.

In April 2004, Nancy was the featured artist at the Best of the Valley Quilt Show in Tulare, California. Bobbie Moore, the show's organizer was quoted in the Bakersfield Californian, saying "Rink's work is especially unusual. She's an appliqué artist and her stitches are almost invisible, they're exquisite. She makes beautiful use of color and motion in her work."

Although Nancy is now a dedicated quilter and pattern designer, she still remembers her first experience at quilting. "My first quilt was huge, heavy, and appliquéd. The colors are hideous; the quilting stitches are gigantic. The materials I used are all wrong. Basically, I really had no idea what I was doing." It was such an overwhelming project, that it was several years before she attempted another.

At the grocery store one day, she picked up a quilting magazine "just to look" and before she knew it, she was making quilts again, and this time it was in a serious way. Her husband, Oliver, encouraged her to submit her quilts for publication and to try her hand at entering contests. Her first contest submission won a prize, and later, to her amazement and delight, Nancy's 1997 Hoffman Challenge entry, Byzantine Compass, garnered a first place ribbon in the mixed technique category. At the 2004 Houston International Quilt Festival, Remembrance of Nanny and Desert Star were both given Honorable Mentions. Also in 2004, Dogtooth Violets earned one of the top awards in the Kaufman Quilt Quest. Most recently, Emerald Spring won a first place in Mixed Techniques at Road to California. She has won awards at other national shows including the Pacific International Quilt Festival, the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza, the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, and the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show. And Desert Star, the first place winner in the 2002 From the Mills Contest, was on display at the American Textile History Museum.

Since then, Nancy's designs have been featured in magazines such as Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, Quiltmaker, and Quilt, and in calendars and books and on websites. Most of you will also recognize Nancy as the designer of our AMISH WITH A TWIST programs, and of some of our most successful BOM quilts as well. "Quilting has been an incredible journey," says Nancy, "and I can't wait to see where it takes me next!"

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