What are some of your other passions and interests beyond swimming?

I used to live in Hershey and now live about 12 miles away. My wife says that they have a new 3D exhibit at Chocolate World that is truly amazing and well worth the time if you decide to go there. Also, the town of Hershey has a municipal indoor/outdoor pool if you want to swim while there. -LBJ

Originally posted by Swimmer Bill ...writing, cooking, travel, antiques, gardening, shopping, my two cats, housecleaning (believe it or not), music, and art. One of my most unusual passions is art-related. I collect 19th and 20th century American textiles (quilts). Most of the time, the works adorn my walls at home. However, several examples from my collection have been exhibited around the United States, and I give lectures on the topic every once in a while. I have attached a photo of a rare example from the mid 19th century. The pattern is called New York Beauty, and the pattern was made primarily in Kentucky and Tennessee. The New York Beauty is very difficult to create and is highly prized by collectors. I currently have seven New York Beauties in my collection, but I love this particular one because it's very bold and patriotic. Enjoy!! Swimmer Bill Swimmer Bill, Have you ever been to any of the Meninite(sp) relief sales? They are held in ht espringtiem. Once in Penn., a woman was selling quilts mde by her great grandmother. They were awesome.

Originally posted by craiglll@yahoo.com I grew up with Norwegian great grandparents who were immigrants. They use to make crazy quilts. My mom hated them. She threw many of them away. Now I wonder what they would be worth. My mother also had a quilt made by one of her friends that was the history of this woman's family's move into Oklahoma. When my mom died, no one knew where the quilt was. I think one of her friends stole it. A lot depends on the condition and the quality of the hand work. Many crazy quilts were made from silks, satins, and velvets -- and many of those examples suffer from significant fabric deterioration, which decreases the value. I have a couple crazy quilts. The most interesting one is made of wool (men's clothing), which is uncommon, and it is heavily embellished with crewel yarn. When you see it in person, it almost glitters. Pic attached.

My other interests: Triathlon (which takes up a ton of time, but I love it) Cycling spending time with family music live theater Travel

Originally posted by Swimmer Bill Hi Karen, When I lived in Manhattan, I was dating a woman from Germany who was studying at F.I.T. with a Fulbright Grant. She liked all types of different cultural foods and events, and had a particular interest in textiles. At the time, there was a well known quilt dealer named Shelly Zegart visiting New York from Kentucky, and she brought about 100 of her best quilts to a private showing in a brownstone apartment. My friend wanted to return to Germany with an authentic antique American quilt, and she dragged me along. When we were there, I was really drawn to the objects. One quilt in particular, a stunning New York Beauty from 1860, caught my eye because the pattern reminded me of a large Navajo storm pattern rug given to me by my Grandfather many years earlier. After much correspondance with Shelly, I purchased it. Now, more than 15 years later, I have a couple dozen very fine examples. I display them in my home because I have large wall spaces and tall vaulted ceilings. Not only are they very unique works of art, but they really help with the acoustics in large spaces. By the way, I think the people who actually make these pieces are the ones who are patient....I've never made one myself. Hi Craig, I have never been to the Mennonite relief sales. If they are in Pennsylvania, it's a bit of a trip from my home in the northwest. I do have several Pennsylvania Dutch examples in my collection, most notably an 1820's crib quilt featuring 54 gothic paper-cut applique snowflake blocks made of glazed cotton from the lining of men's clothing. It is thought to have been made by children. (pic attached). Where there are Mennonites (thanks for the good spelling. I wish this site had a spellcheck!) there are relief sales. there is one in Bloomington, IL but not as good as Penn. also, I think there is one in northern California. Call your local Mennonite church to check. They are really great. there is nothing as intense as an Amish quilt hand sown. I grew up with Norwegian great grandparents who were immigrants. They use to make crazy quilts. My mom hated them. She threw many of them away. Now I wonder what they would be worth. My mother also had a quilt made by one of her friends that was the history of this woman's family's move into Oklahoma. When my mom died, no one knew where the quilt was. I think one of her friends stole it.

I'd like to segue from the side discussion about quilts to let everyone know we've got a great feature about Masters swimmer Andrea Funk of Michigan Masters in the premier issue of SWIMMER magazine. Funk is an excellent distance swimmer with a very interesting story, and she makes T-shirt quilts out of people's old swimming T-shirts. She made one for me a few years back, and it's a great way to preserve those memories. If you've gone to a local meet in Michigan or a National meet recently, you may have seen the Michigan Masters banner Funk made. Too cool!! The magazine should be arriving in people's mailboxes within the next week, so I hope everyone will look forward to it. ~Swimmer Bill

Bill, I could look at that wool quilt all day. It reminds me of swimming on a cloudy day. While doing backstroke kick sets I try to make "things" out of the clouds: monsters, trees, animals, etc. I could easily find many "things" looking at that quilt. Thanks for sharing it. I can't wait for the new magazine. And thanks for being a part of it. All of your hard work will pay off :) In a little kid voice, "So, grandpa, whatever happened to the lady from Germany?"

Originally posted by James Also Yankees games on the radio in the summer, and Cleveland Brown Games in the fall, yea Scansy, Stealers goin' down this year!!! Go dawgpound :D Only in your dreams.

Fall/Winter- Do a little running, direct a bell choir. spend as much time with my two little girls, run my oldest daughter to swim team practice, dance lessons, swimming lessons, baton lessons. Am I missing something? This spring I am going to coach the Little Lions soccor team at my school. I am excited because I love to coach little kids. They are always so willing to learn and have a lot of energy. Summer is the greatest when I am off from school. During the summer I like to run, do triathlons, take walks or bike rides on the trail with my kids, go to Kennywood, Sandcastle, Idlewild with the kids. Take the kids to the park, camping. (although this summer will be a little bummer because I have to take courses to work on my Instructional II certificate for teaching and my masters degree.) I guess a little less time to do the fun things.

Originally posted by SWinkleblech Only in your dreams. I can only assume that your a Stealers fan:mad: Well, I see that I'm going to have to make a beleaver in you to. Scansy's family beleave so much that they moved to Cleveland. :D