My Story
I’ve been a sewist for at least 58 years, starting in a local 4-H club in Southwest Missouri. Even as a girl, and then teen, I remember going into the local dry goods store where I lived and loving how the store smelled of fabric. I loved how the fabrics looked together and the way I felt when I put together fabrics that pleased my senses. And I always had to run my hand over the fabric on the bolt, as if that helped me see it better. I still have that same excitement when I start putting fabrics together for a project.
As a young mom, I made garments for myself and for my three kiddos. It wasn’t until about ten years ago that I succumbed to the allure of quilting and officially waved goodbye to garment sewing. Goodbye to garments, that is, unless one the eight grands or their parents happen to need/want something made! Then I’m all about it!
Nine years ago, I learned to add dimension and even more texture to fabric when I purchased my first longarm quilt machine. With the ability to manipulate depth and texture in quilts by the type of batting, thread and density of quilting, I found another way to fuel my creativity and feed my right brain. Fortunately for me, a job change brought me to the Kansas City area in 2015, where I connected with my Longarmy peeps and Angela Walters at Quilting is My Therapy, where I purchased my current longarm machine, a Handi Quilter Infinity with ProStitcher computerized system, that enables me to do digital quilting designs on your quilts. Angela is, among other things, an encourager, and she fueled me to step out of my comfort zone to become a professional longarm quilter and more recently, a designer of quilt patterns.
Today, I still get the same excitement in selecting fabrics, mixing colors, and creating texture. And I’ve learned to take that excitement to a new level by designing quilts. My first quilt design was done for my oldest son as his retirement from the Marine Corps approached. I had a vision in my head of what I wanted the quilt to say and how I wanted it to look. When it was completed, I was amazed that I had succeeded. To my delight, social media followers suggested I write the pattern for it. A seed was “sewn”. Now, a few published patterns into quilt designs that are both beginner friendly and intermediate in skill level, that first complex quilt still waits to have the pattern written. I will get there, but in the meantime, the journey has taken me to a pattern writing class with Quilter’s Candy, and relationships throughout the continent and even beyond.
If you follow along, you may see evidence of some of my other creative passions. I love cooking and baking and am always happy to share a recipe. My mother passed the gastronomic gene to me and I’m happy to say that my daughter and both of my sons, as well as their spouses, excel in a kitchen. My bonus daughters are also great cooks, as are their spouses. I’m a fan of good wine, good coffee, Diet Coke, Belles of Ireland and Iris. I love to travel, and the colors of the Mediterranean frequently find their way into my quilty color pallet.
Stay tuned for more quilty goodness to come. I have projects planned and goals set. I’m prepared and committed to grow out of my comfort zone. Let’s create!