Marianne Fons, well-known to millions of quilters nationwide as co-editor in chief of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine and co-host of the public television series of the same name, will speak Nov. 14 at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, 1523 N. 33rd St.

Her talk, "Why We Quilt," begins at 3 p.m. Tickets for the event are on sale through the museum office. Lecture-only admission is $22 for museum members, $25 for non-members. Call (402) 472-6549 to reserve a seat. Proceeds from the lecture will benefit the museum.

Fons and Liz Porter met in a beginners' quilting class in 1976. They could not have guessed their friendship would lead to star positions in America's passionate love affair with quilting. They soon were teaching others to quilt in their small town of Winterset, Iowa. The rest is history: popular books led to a Public Television series reaching 80 percent of the nation, and one of the highest circulating quilting magazines in the world.

Fons shares her experiences as a quilter and quilting teacher as well as her research into why millions of people, now and in the past, love to quilt. Her lecture is illustrated with a wide range of quilt images from the past and present, including some of her own prize-winning quilts. Fons will sign books after the lecture.

The museum is open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1-4:30 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays and major holidays. Docent-led tours begin at 11 a.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays. Reserved guided tours for groups of 10 or more are available during public hours. Please schedule at least four weeks in advance. Call 472-6579 or e-mail iqsc-tours@unlnotes.unl.edu. Admission is $5 for adults (over 18); $3 for non-UNL students with ID and children; $10 for families; free for children under 5, museum members, and UNL faculty, staff and students with ID. For more information, call 472-6459 or visit www.quiltstudy.org. The International Quilt Study Center is an academic program of the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Education and Human Sciences.