Standout quilts: Designer's motifs feature 3-D elements

PROVO — Ruth Jensen was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. "While waiting through those grueling hours before talking to a surgeon, I prayed a lot, but I also closed the door to my office and immersed myself in a new quilt design," she says.

She firmly believes that there's something about the process of creating beauty and art that brings strength and healing. "It is vital to our survival."

After going through that ordeal and eventually emerging cancer free, she says, "every day became a gift. Even colors became more brilliant. And sharing beautiful things with others became a mission."

Everyone has trials and heartaches, she says. "And I really believe that making beautiful things can help you through tough times. I began working on a 'Bunny and Bear' quilt that I thought would bring comfort to children. I realized that I was not done yet. That I would not let cancer rob me of one moment more."

And that, she says, is one reason she began designing and selling her patterns in books and at quilt stores.

"When you are quilting, you are making something that will last. You are learning, using your mind. I just love it that maybe I can help other women see that."

Jensen's quilt design are also different in another way. She specializes in quilts that feature three-dimensional motifs. The quilts use a basic foundation, or paper-piecing, method of applique. But she folds and tucks and stuffs the designs so that they stand out.

She hasn't run into anyone else who does quite the same thing, "as far as I know I'm the only one doing it like this."

Jensen has published two books and who knows how many single patterns, which she produces out of her Provo home, and has taken her work to quilt shows and markets around the country. "Houston is very big for us," she says of one of the major quilt market shows.

She also does a lot of classes and workshops around the country and will be a featured presenter at the annual Utah Guild Quilt Festival this fall.

It's not exactly what she ever saw herself doing.

"I was always into sewing. I was so tall that I had a hard time buying ready-mades, and found them easier to make myself. But I was also into upholstery and stained glass and a lot of other things."

She received a degree in business merchandising with an emphasis in clothing and textiles at BYU. "I've always loved quilting," she says, but after she got married, "I had a large family (seven children) and didn't think I would ever get into it in a big way."

But as the children grew up and left home, "I began to wonder what I could do. I thought I should take up the computer. My husband is an engineer, and I thought I'd be able to converse with him about computer stuff."