I began quilting in 1999 when my best friend, Wendy, told me she was pregnant. Wendy and I have been friends since second grade, and we were the maid-of-honor in each other’s weddings. I wanted to do something special for her first baby, so I decided to make a baby quilt from my bridesmaid dress. I bought “Your First Quilt Book” by Carol Doak and headed to my local quilt shop to buy coordinating fabrics to pair with my purple acetate dress. It was a stressful endeavor, but my quilt turned out and was much loved by Wendy and her son Gavin.
After that experience, I decided to pursue quilting as a hobby. It was a colorful and creative outlet to balance with my career as a computer programmer. I started taking classes, bought a new sewing machine, and got to know the ladies at my local quilt shops. One of the store managers said I seemed like a patient person and asked if I would be interested in teaching the sewing machine mastery courses they provided with the purchase of a new machine. That sounded like a great way to meet people, so I began teaching classes on weekends. Since the students had all makes and models of sewing machines, it gave me a familiarity with many machines. (I was only stumped by one sewing machine that the student had purchased from the trunk of some guy’s car. Her manual was in Italian and the machine was far from intuitive!)
When not quilting or teaching, I enjoy spending time with my husband Shawn, our three children Eric, Stephanie and Connor, and our grandkids Malcolm and Gwen. We live on 18 acres in beautiful Worley, Idaho.
I recently retired from the County of Sacramento where I spent 23 years as a computer geek. Now, I do freelance web design using WordPress. I also make the occasional QR code quilt (they really work).
© Copyright 2025 Great Lakes Heritage Quilters is a 501(c)4 non-profit social organization and our purpose is to stimulate an interest in quilting, educate our members, and engage in charitable projects that benefit our community.
