Back Story
I started sewing in the Dark Ages of junior high school and really enjoyed it, even then one of my favorite things was wandering around a fabric store and petting the fabric. I received my first sewing machine a top of the line Kenmore just before I got married and I used it non-stop for the next 20 years sewing everything in sight including almost all of my kids clothes. That's when it still made sense to sew for kids because fabric was only a dollar or two a yard.
Piecing quilts had always intrigued me and rotary cutters and cutting mats were just coming on the scene along with the innovative technique of strip piecing ( makes me sound older than dirt). In and around Mr Rogers and Sesame Street I watched Eleanor Burns on Quilt in a Day on PBS. It was from sweet, exuberant Eleanor I learned all the new exciting techniques and basically learned to quilt.
One year for my birthday I went to the State Fair and watched in awe as this giant quilting machine was used to quilt a large whole cloth tricot quilt. I had been teaching classes and trying to quilt my samples on my domestic machine. My Kenmore had bit the dust and I replaced it with a Bernina 170 QE with embroidery capabilities that I played with for a while but the thought of machine quilting was always in the back of my mind. Then the HandiQuilter came on the scene and I was gushing over the possibilities. I bought the largest Brother with the longest throat and went to town but was soon frustrated over the limitations. This was when the frame was inside the throat of a domestic sewing machine. (This was way before HQ16).
I finally had some extra money from an inheritance and decided that it wasn't going in the black hole of family finance and bought me a Gammill Optimum Plus - this was right after the stitch regulator had been added. I bought batting and thread and was in heaven. I immediately signed up for a two day class by Pam Clark and was convinced I could do this. Many, many hours and many quilts later and I am still doing it and considering it a privilege to be trusted with others quilts.
I went to a long arm quilting group out of Salt Lake City and was excited to learn from and meet other quilters who were doing the same thing I was. I have always preferred custom quilting- I don't feel I have enough control over the situation when I am doing pantos. Over 10 years ago one of the quilters I met at the guild wanted to start a Machine quilting show in Salt Lake and bring in national quilters and a huge quilt show. I was so excited. Within just a few years I begged and volunteered my way onto the staff of the Home Machine Quilting Show (HMQS) and have been working with Ann Collett ever since. What a great opportunity to work with marvelous women and meet with the teachers and vendors from all over the country and learn from them. I might have visited with some of you as I was the one inviting you to the awards ceremony when you had received awards.
I have been privileged to receive many ribbons over the years and have been highlighted in magazines in articles on the show. One of my favorite aspects of quilting is becoming friends with so many outstanding quilters/piecers and being trusted with their quilts. I have continued to take classes and be involved with guilds.
No comments:
Post a Comment