Staying warm when it is cold outside is not a problem in the Troy household.

There are a plethora of quilts to wrap up in, thanks to Monica Troy’s hobby.

“I probably have about 50 at my house,” Troy said with a laugh.

Many hang on quilt racks or on the wall. Some have even won her ribbons in quilting shows.

“It’s such an honor to have your peers look at your quilt and see something special,” Troy said.

Recently, she took second place in a 10-category juried and judged quilt contest held last month in Madison, Wis., for her entry titled “Summer Jubilee.” This year, 288 quilts were accepted in the contest, which was part of the fifth-annual Quilt Expo presented by Wisconsin Public Television and Nancy Zieman Productions.

Troy won a $300 prize in the contest.

She has been sewing for 40 years, starting in her early 20s.

“I took a sewing class at one of the local high schools,” she said. “I would sew slacks or for the kids. I made Halloween costumes and a prom dress here and there for my daughter.”

But once she discovered the art of quilting years ago, she has not looked back.

These days she belongs to several quilting guilds, and has donated several quilts to be raffled off for charity. Her children are also the recipients of several of her quilts.

Notable
When she’s not quilting, Troy is tooling around the country on her Harley Davidson motorcycle. She has been riding for about 12 years. “My husband bought a bike, and we’d ride together,” she said. “Then he said, ‘I think you’d really enjoy doing this on your own bike.’ So I took the course to learn how to ride a motorcycle and bought one after that.”

& quotable
Troy works for a local truck line scheduling deliveries, but she plans to retire in January. “Therefore I’ll have more time to sew,” she said.

Philosophy
For Troy, quilting is an art form. “You start with a blank slate and go from there,” she said of her designs. “It’s almost like a painting, but you’re working with fabric.”

Favorites
FOOD Pizza
MOVIES Musicals
MUSIC Country western
INTERESTS Baby-sitting grandchildren, gardening, motorcycling