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I began quilting in 1974 while working at Minnesota Fabrics in the
Washington DC area. The home economist was required to do a quilting demonstration and was looking for help. It
sounded like fun to me, so I volunteered. The pattern I picked for my first ever quilt project was the Lone Star because we’d recently moved from Texas. This was pre-rotary cutters and I never heard of plastic for templates, I wasn’t real sure what a template was period. As soon as I realized I was over my head in skill level, I picked another pattern, a log cabin. That went quite easily, so I picked another one, a churn dash. Before the demonstration was held I had finished four different quilt projects, but not the Lone Star. The Lone Star wasn't finished until about a year later. Then I didn't know what to do with it, so I "framed" it. It was cool when I did it, not so much now, but I'm glad I still have it. It shows me where I started and how much I’ve improved. I made a few quilted pillows, then a baby quilt, and then more baby quilts.. and so on and so on. |
Seeing a student's satisfaction when finishing a quilt gives me great happiness. I find more personal satisfaction teaching someone else to make a quilt than making it for them. However I am occasionally talked into making a quilt for someone.
Quilts that I make for classes are given away as gifts to family and friends, and to local charities. I will sell a quilt to raise money for the American Cancer Society through Relay For Life. I don't make museum quilts, but quilts to be used. It gives me great pleasure to see my quilts worn out.
Here are two free projects to go with the first page in my quilting history, Trip Around the World and Trip Around the World scrappy version.
A project I did back in 1997 was Scrappy 9-patces And Snowballs
A first in 1998 for me were tessellations. For this month's project I'm sharing an updated version of a tessellated baby quilt.
In 1999 I made my first bed size commission quilt. I'd done baby quilts, lap quilts and wall hangings before, but never a bed size. the customer was very pleased. I don't enjoy making quilts for others, I'd rather teach them to make their own quilt. 2000 is also on this page
I started making miniatures in 2001 and have made many since then for many different reasons. One of my favorite to make is Miniature Baskets, so I'm sharing that pattern with you now.
Speedy Strips© was started when my son asked me for an "ugly" quilt when he went off to college in 2002, "You know Mom, one no one will want to steal." I saw it was a way to use up scraps, and it certainly did. I'm sharing it with the www now so we can use up some of those scraps we've created, and make some lovely but hardly "ugly" quilts!
Folk Art Hearts is one of my favorites from 2003, so I'm sharing that project with the world now. I still want to make that baby quilt
2004 - 2005
2006
2007
2008-09 I decided to use my patterns in a new and different FUNdraising way for Relay For Life, and Mysteries For Relay was started. As a thank you for donations I offered a new quilt mystery every six weeks or so. For eight years we made new quilts and new friends while raising a lot of money for the American Cancer Society (And the Canadian Cancer Society too.) Our first mystery project was Tessellated friendship stars.
2010
2011
2012
and more 2012
2013
2014
2015 Due to health issues I have done very little quilting since June 2015, and what I've finished I have not recorded.
In 2020 I did start a strings quilt, I'll show that off when it's done. I also made a lot of facemasks for family members.
Updated May 30, 2020
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