Who am I?
Like many people, I have been sewing since I was a young girl. I made my first mini skirt when I was 8 out of a chartreuse, aqua, and orange MOD fabric from the 60's. I haven't looked back. I LOVE fabric. All kinds. I started collecting 40's & 50's stuff around the same age and that has given me an appreciation and understanding of construction, judicious use of line, and the power of beautiful fabric. I wasn't a fashionista or driven to costuming, though I have worked with both.
As the 70's came around, I discovered quilts. I still have the first one I ever finished. Some awful pieces of a kit I purchased at TG&Y's bargain bin that I made into my own version of a Dresden Plate. There was no one to teach me, so I taught myself. I had no idea that the quilting stitch was a running stitch so I still use the back stitch when I hand quilt. The backing fabric of that quilt bleeds to this day. It has become our camping blanket. Since then I have made more quilts than I can remember and still have to do them my own way.
Working with my hands drives everything I do. I've taught gourd work, pysanky (ukranian eggs, my way), rug braiding, temari, basket weaving, paper making, and paper cutting among many other crafts. My students run from middle school kids to women my age and more. I must say that I love the beginner - the kid who comes to class with attitude and discovers beauty within their own hands, or the woman who has been told she can't quilt and is now experimenting with thread painting! Opening doors to help others pass through on their own journeys feeds my own creative juices and I am continually amazed at what THEY TEACH ME!
I've won ribbons nationally and internationally and developed a technique with wool that I both teach and have written about. The book is in the layout process and I hope to publish in the late summer just in time for the cool weather. I would describe my quilts as traditional with a modern twist.
As the 70's came around, I discovered quilts. I still have the first one I ever finished. Some awful pieces of a kit I purchased at TG&Y's bargain bin that I made into my own version of a Dresden Plate. There was no one to teach me, so I taught myself. I had no idea that the quilting stitch was a running stitch so I still use the back stitch when I hand quilt. The backing fabric of that quilt bleeds to this day. It has become our camping blanket. Since then I have made more quilts than I can remember and still have to do them my own way.
Working with my hands drives everything I do. I've taught gourd work, pysanky (ukranian eggs, my way), rug braiding, temari, basket weaving, paper making, and paper cutting among many other crafts. My students run from middle school kids to women my age and more. I must say that I love the beginner - the kid who comes to class with attitude and discovers beauty within their own hands, or the woman who has been told she can't quilt and is now experimenting with thread painting! Opening doors to help others pass through on their own journeys feeds my own creative juices and I am continually amazed at what THEY TEACH ME!
I've won ribbons nationally and internationally and developed a technique with wool that I both teach and have written about. The book is in the layout process and I hope to publish in the late summer just in time for the cool weather. I would describe my quilts as traditional with a modern twist.
