A Quilter's Life

When I’m out and about I find myself talking about A Quilter’s Life podcast.  I really don’t want to sound like I’m some type of sales person because as you know I’m not selling anything.  So when Guthrie and I were at a podcasting conference and went to the gym in the hotel, a lady got on the treadmill beside me and I tried not to bring it up, but just couldn’t help myself.  I’m so happy that She...

I’m very excited to bring this episode to you for several reasons.  One is that this is the 100th episode of A Quilter’s Life!  We’ve been able to reach this milestone because of you listening and because of all the wonderful quilters that agreed to be interviewed.  Each episode has been wonderful!  I’m so happy that Lura Wilcoxed is my guest on this episode.  Lura is local to where I live and alt...

Georgia Barker sounds like such a fun Granny!  I just love how she can make cute games with her grandchildren to create such amazing memories.  Family is so important and to be able to connect with some distant relatives and have such close ties with them is such a blessing to hear.  Georgia also exemplifies what a great friend we should all strive to be. I’m so grateful to get to spend this time...

As Judy Lyon wanted something specific quilted into the quilt she had made for her son, she made her first pantograph.  Her longarm quilter became a friend and they launched MeadowLyon Designs, LLC.  Judy has spent the last 20 years designing and selling pantrographs at shows across the country.  When her eight children would ask, “Why are you doing this Mom?” She answered, “It’s because I love cr...

If you have a chance, you need to take a look at Ann Bench’s quilts and sewing projects that are posted on her episode page at aquilterslife.com. Over the years she has made hundreds of quilts. I think she probably has the largest sewing room I’ve ever heard of. What fun to visit with Ann! Ann's Big Quilts: Ann's little wall hangings: Her other crafts:

Robin Rhodes is a quilt artist and she hopes that her great grandchildren will see a glimpse into not only her life but also the life of the time. She likes to create things that can be recreated by others but gives the freedom for them to make it their own through careful color and placement. At Neverland Quilting, Robin teaches you how to tell your story through quilting so that it is not f...

I was able to contact Julie Bragg after I saw an ad for the 2021 Quilt Show put on by the Lorain County Piecemakers Quilt Guild in Ohio. Julie shared her story and also gave me information about the Quilt Show coming up soon on September 10th through the 12th. I’m hoping that some of you might be able to attend and I’d love to see you there. Here is Julie's Whigs Defeat quilt Here's info...

Dara Tomasson is the weight and life coach for quilters. She is an elementary school teacher turned long arm quilter and now a life coach specializing in weight loss. You will find Dara spending a lot of her day helping fellow quilters lose weight and create more joy in their lives as she uses her life coaching skills to help them. Not only does Dara liberate your free motion quilting skills but l...

Susan Smith helps machine quilters create with confidence, freedom, and joy through her business Stitched by Susan. She also has a podcast called Measure Twice, Cut Once....and other life lessons learned from quilters, where Susan talks to her guests about the joy, hope, and even healing that can be found in the process of creating something beautiful. I’m so thankful that my friend, Jam...

What a blessing to spend time with Mary Leathea Pettway.  When I interviewed Tangular Irby, she told me about her aunt that is such a great influence in her life and she even used some of her aunt’s quotes in the book she wrote: Pearl and Her Gee’s Bend Quilt!  If you haven’t had a chance to listen to my interview with Tangular, you’ll want to find it and hear her story.  In this episode with Mary...

Hard to believe I've had the privilege of interviewing quilters for 2 years now!  I enjoy each and every one.  And I'm so looking forward to continuing to meet these wonderful people behind the beautiful quilts.   This past year I finished these quilts for my twin nieces. And I'm sure you've seen that it's better to fold our quilts on the bias.  So I've started to fold them like this to give them...

Dual citizenship, intelligence officer, high school teacher.  All of these have described Andi Stanfield.  But Andi fell in love with quilting and is now a longarm quilter, pattern designer and teacher.  She helps quilters enjoy, experiment, and excel as they express their creativity in a tangible way.  Currently she is enjoying the challenge of monthly designs for the Island Batik Ambassador prog...

I just had to take a little quiz that I found on Facebook when I saw the question, “Ever wonder what type of quilter you are?” It was posted by Jen Lee of Red Thread Studio. It was a fun little quiz and had a nice report to help me. Jen has a drive to help quilters, both new and experienced, throughout their quilting journey to make progress on and to complete their projects by over...

Nature has always called Benita Skinner and now she is getting to live off grid in a forest.  It’s not always easy, but she loves it.  Benita is celebrating 20 years of quilting this month of June in 2021.  I’m sure you’re going to love her unique style! Benita’s Victoriana Album quilt: Connect with Benita: Website: Victoriana Quilt Designs Facebook: Victoriana Quilt Designs Twitter:  Benita Skinn...

What a joy to spend time with Tangular Irby as she shared with me about her journey to learn more about her Gee’s Bend family. I was very impressed with these three statements of hers that I hope to incorporate as I continue to make A Quilter’s Life podcast. She says, “When you see your family doing something you don’t realize that everybody doesn’t do it.” “You don’t know what’s sp...

Shannon Gillman Orr solved a problem for herself and quickly found out other quilters wanted a product that she hadn’t even published yet. I’m amazed at how well she was able to pivot with it and made it possible for quilters to have such a wonderful product. It was fantastic to hear how she admired the tenacity, fortitude, & grit of her great-great grandmother and then worked very hard t...

I want to thank Sara White’s cousin, Barb, for connecting me with Sara! After we had scheduled this interview, but before the day we recorded, I realized that Sara is one of the wonderful quilters that makes quilts for Soothing Stitches because I saw her in a post on Facebook. Soothing Stitches is a great organization in our community that makes special quilts for very sick children.&nbs...

Tori McElwain and I had such a fun visit. She is an International Teacher, Speaker, and Pattern Designer. Also she has been quilting for 20 years. After the interview Tori reached out to me and asked if I would be ok with her starting a YouTube channel to interview other quilters. There are so many wonderful quilters that there is no way I could ever interview them all, so of course I said Yes! If...

Kathryn LeBlanc of Dragonfly’s Quilting Design Studio has been busy bringing quilters and quilt designers together.  So often we are busy building our own businesses that we forget that we’re in this together.  Kathryn has created a special block of the month program where different designers create blocks in a theme so that quilters get an opportunity to be introduced to many designers.  Although...

Meagan Rowell’s husband, Eric, wins the Most Patient Husband award. I love how Meagan explains how loving and helpful he is. Meagan is a coworker to Peter Phillip and Peter’s wife, Misty, is my friend and fellow podcaster with the podcast By His Grace. Misty and Peter also have Spark Media which helps Christian podcasters. So I wanted to thank them for connecting me with Meagan...

When Danell Cline talked about licking the S&H Green Stamps it brought back such a vivid memory that I could almost taste them. And I completely related to her when she was listing off the seven steps of the creative process. I want to thank Annie Smith, who is on a previous episode, for introducing Danell to A Quilter’s Life podcast and I’m so glad that Danell connected with me so t...

Quilting has changed Robin Koehler’s life in so many ways and she gets the most joy out of inspiring others!  I had so much fun hearing her story as well as finding out how Nestlings by Robin came about.  Robin’s main focus is being a quilt designer and teacher.  But she also does hand quilting commissions  and is an AQS certified quilt appraiser.  The term she likes to use for herself is Heritage...

I found a list of the top 25 quilting podcasts, so I took a look to see if A Quilter’s Life was listed. It was. I also found another quilting podcast called The Quilter on Fire Podcast by Brandy Maslowski. I was so happy to find another quilting podcast that I enjoyed listening to. So I reached out to Brandy and she agreed to be a guest on my podcast. Brandy is a firefight...

I’m so glad that Lin McQuiston contacted me after her guild members Carolyn Burgess and Betsy Bauman had been interviewed. Lin and I had a wonderful time visiting. Have you ever journaled about what was going on in your life while making a quilt? It helped Lin realize how her quilt got her through the best of times and the worst of times. The quilt below is Stars and Springs (aka Life In...

When I first saw one of Raymond Houston’s quilts it mesmerized me. I just wanted to follow the loops his blocks created. He uses the operations of symmetry and a single patch to create his very unique patchwork quilts. Raymond is an author, designer & textile artist at Nacho Grandma's Quilts . While enjoying his retirement he’s making quilts and quilt patterns. Here's Raymo...