A Quilter's Life

It’s never too late to learn to quilt!  Juanita Roby is in her 80’s and learned to quilt not even 10 years ago.  I was so happy to have the opportunity to visit with Juanita and share our enjoyment of quilting. This is the quilt that Juanita said she named Nightmare. Her favorite type of quilt - Dutch Girl / Boy A few of Juanita's Christmas quilts

I first interviewed Kathryn LeBlanc in 2021.  It just doesn’t seem like three and a half years have passed since then.  This is our fourth visit and I’m thrilled to get to share with you what Kathryn has been up to.  She continues to write lighthearted, humorous cozy mysteries under the pen name Kathryn Mykel and has published so many fun books that include her passion for the craft of quilting. ...

I am so glad that Jenifer Gaston listened to the Quilting on the Side podcast episode where Andi and Tori interviewed me.  Jeni and I didn’t know each other even though we only live about 15 minutes apart.  After our interview for this episode on A Quilter’s Life, we continued to chat and found out that she had known my husband’s grandmother and even had been in my house years ago.  How do you lik...

Emily Dodd’s roots run deep in the desert of West Texas and she believes there is nothing like a desert sunset to inspire creativity.  She lives there with her husband and babies, and it is where her heart feels at home. When Emily is not sewing, she’s probably chasing babies, drinking coffee, or working at the hospital where she practices the art of medicine. Quilting though is where she always r...

We had to drive on back country roads in West Virginia to meet Reberta Hall.  Ginny Guthrie Caplinger had told me about Reberta a while back and I’m so glad it worked out for me to meet her.  Should I have been concerned when Ginny and her husband, Jim, climbed into the truck to take me and said to each other - Do you remember to get there?  And then at a fork in the road they again were - Which w...

Jean Pickering Collins is one of my heroes.  Every time I have the opportunity to chat with her she’s been on a new adventure.  It astounds me that she accomplishes so much and she makes such beautiful quilts.  I don’t know how she has gotten it all done.  And then here locally whenever her name comes up people have such glowing remarks to share about her. If you didn’t listen to my first intervie...

If you not only love quilting, but also books and travel, you’re going to want to find out about this new community that Lynn Christiansen has put together.  It’s always mind blowing to see how all the pieces come together in our lives to be used in such a wonderful way. Lynn is a passionate quilt pattern designer whose creativity is fueled by the rich tapestry of her travels. With a wanderlust sp...

Ellie Perez, better known as "Ellie the Quilter," started social media channels to teach creative minded people how to quilt and ended up building a supportive crafting community. The mission of Mojave Farms Quilting Company is to provide an inclusive community for all makers, and to make quilting and crafting more accessible to everyone, no matter how well they sew or what their budget is. Ellie...

How exciting for me for a quilter to sign up on my calendar without me contacting them first.  Thank you Mary Shepherd for sending Patricia Moller my way!  What a blessing to hear Trisha’s story.  She calls herself a fourth generation quilter, but the third generation was skipped.  I agree with her that time flies when you are involved in what you love.  Trisha hopes that you may find some inspira...

Eva Saunders, also known as the “Gingerly” Quilter, has come a long way literally.  She was born and raised in Germany and found her way to Los Angeles, California, in the United States for school.  Later she moved to the eastern side of the United States where she is excited to have launched Gingerly Quilt Co.  If you’re looking at quilts on Instagram, you’ve probably already seen her cool Explod...

Dora Cary loves quilting for the creativity and freedom of expression it gives her, and she loves the quilting community for the amazing generosity and sense of camaraderie.  Her quilts have been displayed in many of the larger quilt shows. I am so thankful that Dora shared about becoming a citizen of the United States and how the freedoms that we tend to take for granted mean so much to her. Here...

When Megan Fowler is not behind a sewing machine or chasing a toddler, you can find her enjoying the Colorado outdoors.  Yet if that wasn’t enough she is running not only one quilty business, but two!  Megan’s dream for Modern Moon Quilt Studio is to marry her special love for vintage design and her fondness for modern quilting to be able share her version of modern nostalgia with the quilting wor...

It was fun to realize that this episode would be released during the week of Melissa Struttmann’s open house celebrating Osage Hills Retreat’s 2-year anniversary.  Melissa has put so much thought, work, and love into creating a wonderful place for crafters to gather.   She has learned through her life with the excellent work she has accomplished to bring all her expertise together.  You can easily...

Imagine living in Houston and not knowing about the International Quilt Festival, then a friend takes you to see all the wonderful quilts. What an incredible introduction to quilts for Ellen Happe Phillips.  Ellen fell in love with this craft and never looked back. With each step she improved her skills and now uses her long arm quilting to help others make beautiful quilts. Here's Ellen's quilt A...

When Jody Leonardo suggested that I interview Rochelle Rice, I was thrilled.  I’d been wanting to connect with Rochelle and her co-host, Leslie Bercher, for awhile, but hadn’t done it yet.  Rochelle and Leslie are the co-hosts of the Inappropriate Quilters Podcast and I guess I had them up on a bit of a pedestal.  So when Rochelle told me that she’s been listening to A Quilter’s Life I was in shoc...

Purple Daisy Quilt Designs is the culmination of Jody Leonardo’s experiences of participating in sewing groups, working in quilt shops and selling handmade quilts.  Now she has expanded to offering quilt patterns to allow individuals to make their own quilts.  This is a dream come true for Jody and she’s so excited to share a little piece of her creative world with us. This is Jody's quilt called...

Mary Shepherd and I met at QuiltCon2024 in Raleigh, NC.  She is an avid quilter and the president of the Delaware Modern Quilt Guild.  Since Mary’s retirement from being a mathematician and computer scientist she has become an author with her first quilting cozy mystery, Free Motion Murder. Here's some of Mary's quilts. Mid Century Energy Nemish Flimsy Volcano Find out more about Mary's book, Free...

It was so fun to get to know Robyn Capps.  Her daughter had posted a picture of one of Robyn’s quilts on her Facebook page and my sister happened to see it.  I’m so glad this led to an interview.  So, thanks Sadie and Ruth for helping this connection to happen. Here's pictures from Robyn's Chicken Quilt We also talked about Jerriann Massey and the Christian Quilt Guild. Listen to Jerriann's episod...

Lisa Shepard Stewart encourages others to express themselves creatively through culturally relevant techniques and materials.  Although she loves African fabrics with every fiber of her being, she also loves to learn and share about other cultures from around the world. The intro on this episode is going to be a bit longer than normal because during the interview Lisa experienced an earthquake.  I...

Teri Henderson Tope is an internationally recognized teacher and lecturer who loves all types of applique. She is creative and full of life which shows up as she’s up early and gets more done before noon than most others accomplish all day.  I meant to ask Teri about her motto “Well behaved women seldom make history, so let’s make a little history”. But I think a bit of that shows through in this...

I had such a wonderful time at QuiltCon 2024 in Raleigh, NC, this past February.  While there I had the opportunity to meet several people that I have interviewed on A Quilter’s Life and also many others became new friends.  Carrie Dell, the executive director of American Quilt Study Group,was in their booth when I walked in and introduced myself.  I was so excited that she logged onto my website...

At my eye doctor appointment I was able to ask about getting glasses so that I could see the TV and also see the close work when working on a binding.  It is so wonderful that my eye doctor, Holly Sprout, is a quilter and knew exactly what I was wanting.  She even named the new combination Quilting in her software.  The day that I returned to interview Holly, those new glasses were ready and they...

Jan Lockhart hasn’t been quilting all that long, but she has fallen in love with our craft!  I am awestruck by the stunning Feathers quilt she made using a pattern from Alison Glass.  Jan sent a picture of this quilt to be used as the feature picture for this episode.  You may also find it on her episode page on A Quilter’s Life website. Here's the Alison Glass Feathers pattern that Jan made.

Jackie Perry started quilting as a hand quilter and loved teaching hand piecing and hand quilting.  As she continued to learn more techniques, she added to her classes.  She recently retired from teaching, but she loves the fellowship with other quilters.  Jackie also enjoys designing original work and participating in challenges. Many of her quilts have been in major quilt shows.  You may have se...

I’ve always been amazed by whole cloth quilting, but Karlee Porter has taken it to a whole new level!  She has developed graffiti quilting which is a very unique technique that encompasses a copious amount of quilting designs.  Ten years ago Karlee wrote a book to share this technique with others and quilters fell in love with it.  Graffiti Quilting has grown so much that Karlee updated her bookan...