SandyC

I've been a life-long clothing sewer for easily 50+ years. Back in the late 80s or early 90s, quilting was making a comeback and I decided to take a class at a local quilting store. I didn't understand that a beginning "hand quilting" class meant the actual quilting and not making a quilt top. We were given a quilt sandwich (about 24" square) made up of a piece of batting and two pieces of unbleached muslin. First, we traced the pattern onto a piece of muslin, hooped the sandwich and got started. The instructor apparently had picked up her teaching style from Hilter's Book, "How to Scare and Intimidate People into Doing What You Want." (I just made that last part up!) Every time she came by me, I was told I did it wrong and she made me rip it out. I think the class was four weeks long, and as you might expect, I didn't finish it concluding that quilting was definitely not for me. Fast forward 10 years or more and a friend asked me to take a quilting class with her through a community education program offered by our local school district. I found myself back in a class with a 24" square fabric sandwich made of up of a flower fabric repeat, batting and a backing hooped. We started the hand quilting process, but this time the instructor was full of praise. Never an unkind word. The second class I shared my first experience with her and here was my "lightbulb" statement to live by: Your work may not be perfect, but you are doing a good job and unless you plan to enter it in a competition, no one will see the little imperfections that make your creations uniquely yours." That evening a quilting fanatic was born. Since then I've made dozens of quilt tops. My goal is to make a quilt for every member of my family, for friends on special occasions and recently I started making quilts for nonprofit groups I support to raffle off to raise funds. To date, my quilts have made about $5000. A total for which I am very proud. I've been a life-long volunteer and recently retired from volunteer management in a healthcare setting. This spring I graduated from seminary and two week ago accepted my first position as clergy in charge of a small episcopal parish in eastern AZ where I have my sewing room and set up and my projects lined up. I have been married for 30 years and we have a son who is currently serving in the US Coast Guard I am a very proud quilter, mom, wife and humble servant of Jesus Christ (not in that order actually, but you get my drift, I'm sur). Thank you for a place to share my passion with my peers. God is so very good, isn't He?