I am a mother of 3 boys and grandmother of 3 grandkids and 2 more on the way. As I am slowly approaching retirement, I have discovered a love of quilting. I have been quilting for the last 12 years and am self taught. I did not care to sew when I was younger; my mother pushed me to make my own clothes. I rebelled. Homemade blue jeans were not cool in the late 60s and early 70s. I refused to sew. But with the improving technology, I fell in love ... Read Full Bio »

I am a mother of 3 boys and grandmother of 3 grandkids and 2 more on the way. As I am slowly approaching retirement, I have discovered a love of quilting. I have been quilting for the last 12 years and am self taught. I did not care to sew when I was younger; my mother pushed me to make my own clothes. I rebelled. Homemade blue jeans were not cool in the late 60s and early 70s. I refused to sew. But with the improving technology, I fell in love with the new Embroidery machines and I purchased one in 2000. I began piecing quilts with 5 and 6 inch blocks and then embroidering on them. I could not figure out how to use the free motion on my new machine, I was basically afraid of it. So, I tied all my quilts, mostly baby quilts. As time went on, I found that I liked the challenge of piecing the more complicated patterns together. (Someone asked me if liked puzzles and I said yes as long as the pieces were made of fabric.) But these quilt tops did not look good tied, so they just sat around unfinished. I then found a Pinnacle quilting frame and a Janome Pro Quilter sewing machine on sale. The sale price made it affordable. So I purchased both. I knew I would never be able to afford a true long arm so; this was going to be the closest I would ever get to having one. I have now had it for 6 years, still trying to learn how to control it. I am getting better over time, but they are never perfect. I have been told that I am way too critical of my own work, but it's so frustrating when some of the stitching does not look good after I worked so hard on the top. I recently came across these online classes and found that I really do enjoy them and the fact that I can watch them as my schedule allows. After completing 2 classes, I have started to overcome my fear of free motion on my regular machine and I have learned techniques on some stitching patterns that I did not know before. I have also learned about Spray Basting! Wow, what a product...where have I been. I had tried basting by hand before, (my mother's voice, in my head, would say "you should always baste", never pin), but it did not work. I would get bunches. I tried other things but I just couldn't get it to work for me. This was another reason I never tried to quilt on my regular machine. I could not figure out how to keep everything from moving around. Now I do...yes! Anyway, I am really looking forward to continue to take these classes and continue to learn more tricks.