Betty Axtell is a quilter. If you didn’t know it to start, you’d figure it out the minute you saw her sewing room.

Bolts of colorful fabric line up in cases, piles of cut fabric wait in precise lines next to the sewing machine and a stack of clear plastic measuring templates is at the ready.

“I only started piecing the squares together with a sewing machine in 2003,” said the petite Axtell, 80. “Before that, I did everything by hand. I started quilting in 1976 when my two daughters-in-law were pregnant. One of those children is now the father of my first great-grandson.”

She’s got a “Kissing Kitties” quilt folded and ready to mail to the newborn. That child joins Axtell’s four great-granddaughters, all of whom received quilts when they were born. Betty gives her quilts to her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and charities.

Two years ago she began entering her quilts in the Napa Town and Country Fair, and has already won numerous blue ribbons. In 2005, she won Best of Show for her “Many Trips Around the World” quilt, which was all hand pieced. This is made the more remarkable by the fact that there are 4,757 blue and yellow pieces in the quilt. She has three entered this year in the fair, which opens Aug. 8.

“I started quilting when I wanted to buy a double wedding ring quilt and found out that you pay $700 to $900 for one. I decided to make one.”

The complex pattern is one she has yet to master, although she’s made about 50 other quilts in patterns with names such as “Double Irish Chain,” “Kaleidoscope” and “Flower Garden.”

“My mother was a quilter and all three of my sisters are quilters,” said Axtell. “I started sewing my own clothes when I was 13. I used a Singer treadle sewing machine.”

She said she doesn’t have a favorite pattern. “I like moving on and proving I can do it.”

Her favorite quilt has red blocks in a “Sunshine and Shadow” pattern. Why is that her favorite?

“Because I had a home economics teacher who said I had too much color in my face and I could never wear red. I like to rebel.”

Depending on the size and complexity, she can make a quilt top in as little as a week. She has many quilts around her house in all stages of completion.

“When I was hand piecing, I could maybe make three a year. I didn’t use the sewing machine until four years ago because I could never get them to turn out precisely. Then I learned about rotary cutting, a round blade on a wheel. If you do it right, you can use the sewing machine.”

She hand binds the quilts, hand sews labels to the backs of the quilts with information about when it was pieced together and hand sews a sleeve at the top of the quilt for displaying.

Axtell was born in North Dakota and moved to California in 1951.

“My husband and I used to drive through Napa on our way to Clearlake and we thought it was a beautiful, quiet town. We moved here in 1954 when they opened housing in Pueblo Park. We put a $500 down payment on the house.”

The couple moved to Hagen Road in 1968 and lived in a house built in 1890. They had three acres of land.

“My husband wanted to plant vines,” said Axtell. “I told him you can’t eat vines, so we planted apple trees and sold apples.”

She says quilting is relaxing and she often will quilt during the night when she can’t sleep. Her quilts are all made of cotton, which she pre-washes so the colors won’t run if it’s washed once the quilt is assembled.

Helen Sexton, owner of Helen’s Machine Quilting in Napa, is a professional longarm machine quilter. She takes Axtell’s quilt tops and quilts them, sandwiching batting between the top and bottom pieces, using a special sewing machine. Her quilting designs run from elaborate to simple, depending on the piece.

“Each of Betty’s quilts is a stunning piece of art,” said Sexton. “There’s nothing like seeing it up on the wall. She does huge pieces. Betty’s points, seams and bindings are perfect. She doesn’t have to block the finished quilt because it’s always the perfect shape. What’s also amazing is she has boxes of unfinished projects. When I say I have an unfinished project, I mean I haven’t cut the fabric yet, but Betty will have 20 or 30 blocks already sewn together.”

Axtell recommends that anyone interested in starting this craft take a class. Expenses depend on the fabric chosen, and tools include a sewing machine, rotary cutter and a special mat.

Her quilts are ornate, colorful and complex. She could make a lot of money if she sold them.

“No. I’d never consider selling,” said Axtell. “That would just take the fun away.”