First of all I'd like to welcome any new quilters to my blog who found me via Quilters Online Meet and Greet. A huge thank you to Benita for arranging this.
Be sure to visit all the featured quilters ... there are prizes to be won !
Wife, mom, stepmom, sister, grandma (aka beppe), kitchen nerd, quilting addict... that about sums me up right now.
In my 20's I dreamed of making quilts, but work, family and life in general kept me pretty busy until the end of 2011 when my quilting journey began.
I was still working full time, recently turned 50, widowed and remarried to a wonderful man. An empty nester with a husband who loves to do all the yard work...this girl nedded a new hobby!
In December of 2011 my sister-in-law, Betty, passed away. Betty had a passion for quilting and while I was in BC for the funeral I think I read most of her more basic how-to quilting books and thought I really wanted to give it a go.
This picture is from 2015, just before we closed up the cafe where I'd worked for over 30 years. Yes, of course there were quilts on the walls :)
My husband's late wife, Gloria, was also an avid quilter, the appliqued quilt in the background was made by Gloria.
My husband still had all the supplies and a good stash to get me started, so off surfing I went. Books, magazines and the internet were my teachers.
Amanda Jean's Crazy Mom Quilts was such an inspiration for me as I began to learn this addictively relaxing art. I love her use of scraps and her blog is always one that I still refer back to. This is one of my favourite quilts, it's from Amanda Jean's book, Sunday Morning Quilts.
Bonnie Hunter's blog is another one I'm always checking out. I haven't made any of her patterns yet but I've learned many little tips from her...who would have thought you could flip seams?!!
Seven years later, still quilting, still learning. Now semi-retired, with more grandbabies joining the family, life is great.
My 2 sewing spaces are an unfinished basement room with 2 walls covered in flannel sheets for design boards and an unused living room where I usually finish off the quilts since the basement room is generally a creative mess!
My Janome Memory Craft 9000 is my only sewing machine. I've finished all my own quilts, either hand quilting or on the Janome. I started off just quilting straight lines, then tried freemotion, and hand quilting. Free motion is usually my choice if in a hurry, but hand quilting is definitely my favourite look.
This year my goal is to join a local quilt guild. I'm really looking forward to it, but a bit anxious as well as I'm pretty much self taught.
Thanks for stopping by!
I think you'll enjoy your local quilting guild. I joined one a few years ago after quilting for about 25 years, and I'm glad I did.
ReplyDeleteOh how I love your story!! I am sorry for the losses - but the journey is really amazing! Nice to meet you! ( I came thru the meet and greet!) and I look forward to following your adventures!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing a bit about yourself and your work. Quilt guilds have many things to offer. Hopefully there is one that fits you close by. I belong to two local quilt guilds (regular and modern) and a couple of smaller art quilt groups. Always something new to think about.
ReplyDeleteQuilt guilds give you access to so much knowledge and helpfulness. Plus you meet others with the same passion and enjoyment of quilting. Hope you find a good guild. Your "self taught" quilts look fabulous!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing story for how you got started!! It really makes me tear up as I think about it. I adore our guild and have blogged quite a bit about it over the last couple of months (I did a feature for our guild's newsletter that I've been uploading to my blog). Loved your post! :)
ReplyDeleteFrom what I see, you're doing great! And a wonderful story of how quilting was around you and now you quilt!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to meet fellow M&G bloggers. I've been in my guild for almost two decades (president for four of those years). I've learned a lot from the speakers and workshops.
ReplyDeleteI am self taught also, (since the sixties), but I am still learning. When I first started, there were hardly any quilt shops or books and no internet. I just made it up as I went along. Pinterest has been a major source of inspiration these last few years, not to mention many great quilting videos on Youtube. I wish there was a quilt guild close by that I could join. You will have lots of fun and there will be plenty to learn too.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful way to share with us about yourself, Karen!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being part of the Quilters Meet & Greet! <3
I love your pieces all precise!
ReplyDeleteLove your quilts. How fun to marry into a great stash. :) Love your creativity.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you, make sure your guild has frequent instructional programs. That help make up for the donation of your time to their events. I don't want to discourage you, I love guild! garvey56@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteKeep searching for the right guild as I find they are a lot of fun. I have joined (and unjoined) several as they change over time, members come and go, and your tastes change also. Your quilts are lovely!
ReplyDeleteThe internet has certainly opened the world of quilting to so many of us! Enjoy your guild, always fun to learn new ways to do things.
ReplyDeleteI'm so grateful for the internet that helped me learn so much more about sewing and quilting. This was a such nice visit to your blog...thanks for sharing about you and sharing your beautiful quilts!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a pleasure to meet you!
ReplyDeleteJoin that guild!! Your quilts and your story are amazing. It's SEW nice to meet you through Benita's event!
ReplyDeleteWe have some things in common! I am also self taught and Amanda Jean was one of my first blogs I had found. I love her!! Your quilt at the end of your post is beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteCrazy Mom Quilts was one of the first blogs I followed -- though I think she was on a break when I first started quilting. I'd love to know how the quilting guild goes.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you, visiting from the Meet and Greet.
ReplyDeleteLoved hearing your story and what led you to this wonderful world of quilting. Amanda Jean has also been an inspiration to me, and is one of the lovely blogs that I follow.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you Karen, I too am a Janome girl:)
ReplyDeleteLove your story!
ReplyDeleteYou are a beautiful sewer/quilter even if self-taught. Books and the internet...fabulous. I hope to learn hand quilting soon; I love hand work, too, so I expect I'll love hand quilting.
ReplyDeleteI love your bold use of color and had to laugh at your basement being a creative mess. I'm going to have to steal that term. It's so much better than the "disaster area" one I use! hahahaha
ReplyDeleteThat's a great story! Thank you for sharing, and so glad I'm meeting you thanks to Benita ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy to meet you--you are a new blogger to me--enjoyed your background story!
ReplyDeletebarbkaup(at)(yahoo)(dot)(com)
Yay for you, great story! Your creative mess space must be your happy place. Your bright quilts show it. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHaha, yes it's my happy place with the radio playing oldies...Until it gets sooooo messy I just can't stand it any more!
DeleteIt's great to meet you and read your story - very interesting!! Thanks for sharing; I look forward to seeing what else you get up to :-)
ReplyDeleteI encourage you to join a local guild. I think you will be encouraged by the ability of others and pleasantly surprised by the great talent you have. I didn't join a guild for a long time because I thought it was just for experts. Boy, was I surprised. I have yet to see some of the members to ever show any of their work. It's fun to meet new quilters. If it's like my guild, just be prepared for a lot of bickering in the board and the committees. It's the downfall of my guild as it's not productive. It's just a bunch of people who bicker for the heck of it and personalities instead of for the good of the guild. I stepped away from the guild this year because of the stuff. I have better things to do for a year and had enough drama in my own life without that stuff being flung around. I'll decide if I'm going back. I just hope you have fun, fun, fun. Some are better than others. I've thought of joining the Modern Quilt Guild to see if it's different just for grins. Some people belong to both. I'm not trying to discourage but encourage you and still be realistic. That doesn't bother some people. I was co-librarian and it was with a "friend." She only wanted to do the fun stuff and not the hard work things. I got tired of doing the grunt work and the published work would have both our names on it. I'm glad that you are happily married again. My second husband died five years ago. He enjoyed seeing me quilt and after he died, I have lost my desire to quilt. I hope I find it again. That's another reason it was difficult to go to guild. You are absolutely amazing and do beautiful quilts. I have not gotten the hang of free motion quilting and that's been on my list for years and has been past over for years. Again, I hopw you go to the guild and make some new friends and see some things that you want to make.
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking i must turn a basement room into a quilting room, grand idea!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your story and seeing your lovely quilts. Thank you for sharing - awesome to meet you.
ReplyDeleteRonelle
I was extremely touched by your story. How wonderful that you have honored your losses with a passion to create such beautiful quilts! So happy that I know you. See you at work😊
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy, see you at work, likely tomorrow :)
DeleteNice to meet you. Love the pictures of your garden and quilts.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story & Pictures! Fun to visit you...and your encouraging info about learning thru books & Blogs!! (so am I)
ReplyDeleteYour story is so sweet and heart-warming. I have some of the same favorites as you. Two walls covered in flannel sheets is huge design wall. I am mildly jealous :-) Lots of quilting supplies, a studio space, a huge design wall and a guild for even more inspiration. Well, Karen, you need to hurry up and make some more lovely quilts. What is keeping you?
ReplyDeleteLove your journey. Thanks for sharing your story and beautiful quilts.
ReplyDeleteYour quilts are beautiful! I enjoyed your Blog.
ReplyDeleteWow, what an incredible journey surrounded by some very inspirational people! Enjoy your further quilting adventures :)
ReplyDeleteHappy to meet you! I'll be bookmarking your blog!
ReplyDeleteYou will so enjoy a guild. There is such amazing inspiration everywhere on the internet, but a guild is a great experience.
ReplyDeleteI'm self taught too and I think your work is great!! I love your story!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great quilting story! I needed a hobby after I got married when I was 22 years old and went to a free quilting class and I was hooked. I only started following quilting blogs about 5 years ago and both Crazy Mom Quilts and Lori Holt are two of my favorites. I am so pleased to meet you!
ReplyDeleteI'm also self taught and there is always something new to learn and/or try! Usually the quilts I make are because I wanted to try a new technique. The inspiration and knowledge found and shared on the internet is an incredible source.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any quilt guilds in my community, but I too would be a bit nervous... I have heard lots of stories of members being "quilt police" and they would likely not approve of some of my techniques or habits. Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteWonderful to read your story and how quilting came into your life. Love the quilt out in the snow, that is a beauty.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed my visit with you - thank you. I hope you do find a local quilt guild - don't be intimidated!
ReplyDeleteLove your quilts but I'm coveting your design wall(s).
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, I am really enjoying meeting so many new people via this Meet & Greet hop. Like the others, I encourage you to check out the guild. I enjoy mine though I am not terribly involved with it. I wouldn't worry about being "self-taught" because your work is gorgeous. Your post is such a warm one and I really enjoyed reading about your journey. Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bernie, It has been fun meeting new quilters this month, and exciting for me to be included in the line-up.
DeleteNothing to be ashamed of for being self-taught. There's always new things to learn and sharing and working with others can be fun. Give it a try.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your journey. It resonates in me. You will find a guild will expand your quilting world - the show and shares they have inspire one.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you and thanks for sharing your story!
ReplyDelete