I probably started sewing as a measure of self defense; if my mom was busy teaching me about 5/8" seams and casings for elastics, there was no way she could whip up yet another set of matching floor length gowns for my sister and I to wear while posing for photos at the local Sears photo studio. Fast forward 30 something years and now, thanks to Mom's teachings, I get to do that to my three daughters. But I digress.
My design style is one of "fun over fuss", and I unapologetically preach the gospel of "Perfection is Overrated" through my trunk show of the same name. Quilting isn't mean to be hard or frustrating, and with every pattern I try to help the user focus on enjoying the creative process rather than becoming annoyed by too many matching points and seams. Many of my designs feature whimsical machine applique on pieced backgrounds, other designs feature forgiving and creative piecing techniques. I tend to shy away from trends; I design what I love and have a hard time conforming to what's hot in the quilting world. Other than me, of course.
Since 2005, I have published close to 30 patterns as well as authored "Once Upon a Time: Fairy Tale Puzzle Quilts," an 80 page book published by Quiltwoman.com which focuses on machine applique and embellishment techniques using blocks centered around a princess theme. My work has been featured in Quilter's World, The Quilter, Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, and Cotton Spice magazines, in both pattern design and written articles. I currently am serving on the Quiltmaker magazine "Scrap Squad" for 2014 along with five other quilters, all of us chosen to remake one particular design per issue in all scraps. Nothing has ever been more right up my alley!
While my first love is designing, a close second is lecturing and teaching. I currently am available to guilds anywhere in the continental USA, and would love to speak to you about scheduling a lecture and/or workshop. As I know I am not a big name, I am always happy to provide references.
On a more personal note, my husband and I managed to survive his indiscretions of work and MBA, and we now have three young daughters, twins Eva and Paige, my mini-mes and company namesakes, and Greta, who will likely be in therapy because her name only appears on a pattern, not as part of the true EPQD empire. We live in a pretty town northwest of Boston MA where you don't even need a clear day to see New Hampshire, where all five of us pretty much live our lives covered in thread scraps.
