the beginning

I often find the story of how someone becomes a quilter to be interesting and varied. I don’t know when I began to refer to myself as a quilter but I started to sew during the summer of 2002. My mother’s ancient singer got to the point where it was more expensive to fix it than replace it. As sad as she was, my mom saw this as an opportunity to jump into the 21st century and get a computerized machine. She asked if I’d come to the class with her to help learn the machine. I looked at her funny because despite being a craft obsessed kid I had never sewn a stitch. Let me back up a bit and tell you about it… I made everything as a child. Clay, foam, gimp, beads, and yarn are a few of the many things I had a large supply of. I’d rather make an art project then do just about anything. Despite this drive I had no interest in sewing. My mom sewed all the time and it was her thing… not mine. She tried hard nevertheless. I’d sign her up to make Halloween costumes and she’d try to get me to do it. No luck. Sometimes I’d cut the pieces and pin them but that was where it ended. So back to her getting a new machine… I agree to go and help but only on the basis that I was good with computers and somehow that made me qualified to help her. She purchased a Husqvarna Viking model Freesia 415. We went to the class and I was hooked. It was so simple and that was all I needed. A few weeks later I went back to college and the Freesia came with me. She was supposed to be on loan for 2 weeks to make some things for my room but it is almost seven years later and I’ve never returned her. While my mom was sad that her new baby was gone I know a part of her was bursting with joy that I was sewing. I spent the next year and half making pillows, curtains, sorority letters and such. During this time I got hooked on watching Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson. It was the first time I saw quilts in a modern way. Prior to that, when someone said quilt, I pictured an old fashion looking star pattern in my head. After watching countless shows I went to a bookstore and bought up a bunch of quilting magazines and I was off. It was 2003 and I had no idea what I was doing. I still have my first quilt and it serves to remind me of how far I have come and how ambitious I was from the get go. My first quilt was paper pieced with lots of points. Not a good plan in hindsight but I love the quilt anyway. Since then I have worked on over 100 quilts, runners, bags, and other quilted goodies. It has been my dream to design patterns and fabric and spread quilting. I hope you enjoy joining me on this journey.