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Married for 36 years, Kathy and Jürgen Nittner first met in Chesterton, IN. He was from Black Forest, in southwest Germany originally, and came here in 1962. Jürgen was out for the evening with friends at a restaurant where Kathy worked. He spilled a pitcher of milk which she cleaned up. They clicked immediately and soon married, settling in Westville, IN.

Kathy’s enthrallment with quilting started in 1978. Jürgen retired from his supervisor position with Inland Steel in 1988 and she suggested they purchase a shortarm machine made by Design-A-Quilt. It arrived in several crates with no instructions. This is when Jürgen really got involved. Many complications came up as they assembled their new machine; however, he was able to overcome the hurdles and got it running smoothly. After that, he became interested and remarkably proficient at quilting. Kathy worked part-time at a fabric shop so he took over more of their quilting jobs.

After one year they grew beyond the shortarm and tried all sorts of machines. Through their research, they decided on an AQPS Millennium for their second machine.

There is magic in this partnership because each contributes their compatible abilities to the business. Kathy does all the sewing and piecing and teaches classes at her studio. Jürgen built an eight-foot square table to accommodate up to eight people and machines. They set up a separate sewing room and quilting studio on the second floor of their home for Kathy.

What is it that they love most about working together? The Nittners said they enjoy sharing the love of quilting. They especially think it is fun to attend quilt shows together. While Jürgen looks at stitching techniques and the new gadgets, she looks at fabric. Each has their part -- they will discuss thread choices together, but Jürgen usually decides on quilting patterns and Kathy usually selects the colors and sews the quilt tops.

A key component to this successful working relationship is the couple’s admiration for each other’s aptitude. They feel it’s important to always respect each other’s knowledge.

“We want to enjoy our work,” Jürgen emphasized. “This applies to our 36 years of marriage as well. Often, she will come up with a theme and I will select or draw up a quilting pattern and make it work. It always amazes me how Kathy can keep all these little pieces separate and compose them into a quilt top. I could never do that.”

Kathy shared, “The reason he is such a successful machine quilter is his precision. He will rip stuff up that looks perfectly fine to me. Ours is a perfect system of partnership.”

Reprinted from Quilting Now, May 2007