She Dropped 3 Rs, Picked Up 3 Cs

Joan Littlefield discarded the 3 Rs for the 3 Cs.

The former elementary school teacher, who abandoned the classroom to stay at home and raise two daughters, now finds happiness in computers, crafts and charity.

More specifically, when she went back to the classroom after her children grew up, it was to teach computers and quilting to adults.

The other C is for her work with the National Charity League and the Irvine chapter of the American Assn. of University Women, which she helped form.

“I found I really liked teaching adults better than I liked teaching children,” said Littlefield, 55, who earned her psychology degree and master’s in English literature at Pomona College. “Adults want to be there. They really want to learn. I like that attitude.”

She teaches three computer classes at Irvine Valley College and quilting at the Irvine and Tustin senior centers through the college’s emeritus program.

Littlefield, whose husband William N. Littlefield is an economics professor at Long Beach City College and shares a computer room with her in their Turtle Rock home, believes that quilting and computers are compatible.

“I see quilting and computers as creative subjects since both are involved in designing,” said the Irvine woman, whose quilting interest was handed down from her great-grandmother and grandmother. “Mother did a lot of sewing, but didn’t quilt.”

“What we do is take ideas started in earlier times and translate them into what works with you today,” said Littlefield, whose fingers are continually at work.

“I always have something going,” she said. “When I wait in a doctor’s office, ride in a car or when I’m just sitting, I’m doing something. I have to keep my hands and mind busy.”

Littlefield has won several ribbons at the Orange County Fair for her quilts, which she gives away as seasonal gifts.

“Making quilts is utilitarian as well as being an art form,” she said, noting that quilters usually end up with something colorful to show. “Many can be hung as a wall hanging, much like a painting.”

She is working on a 40- by 60-inch quilt for her role as installing officer in May for the National Charity League. She sent a square of fabric to all incoming officers to sign.

The signature square will be pieced together into a wall hanging and given to the new president.

“Fibers today are different than they were (in the past), and so are the designs that can be made into wall hangings, mats, purses and clothing,” said Littlefield, who cherishes a quilt made in 1853 by her great-grandmother.

It is on a quilt rack in her bedroom .

Quilting and computers gave her a different outlook on life while she cared for her then-school-age children.

“I developed a whole other area of interest at home, and had I continued to teach at the elementary school, I would not have been able to explore that interest,” she said. “For me it was broadening to stay home. I came in contact with a wide variety of topics.”

Added Littlefield: “I believe in women developing their full potential.”