My quilting journey started in earnest March of 2020. Having been deemed unessential I, like many people, found myself at home quarantined. I had a decision to make. I could sit and worry and watch endless hours of television or I could do something more productive with my new “free” time.

Like thousands of others I started making sourdough. It was fun; and to this day I love the aroma of baking bread. It just didn’t take up a lot of my day. What I needed was to fill up all those long hours. What about making a quilt?

I had, at the time, made at least 5 quilts. The first was a tied baby quilt I had done as a project in high school. The second was also a project, I completed my first pieced quilt for a church program. For this I bought my first quilting book (Quilts from America’s heartland), shopped for fabric, borrowed a cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter and went to work using my little sewing machine, an entry level Brother. I had little skill but enjoyed being creative. My mother ended up hand quilting it for me.

For the third, fourth and fifth I tried my hand at making picnic blankets. I pieced squares of old jeans, used flannel for the backing and tied them with yarn. I still love making Levi quilts! Creating by combining new fabrics and reusing the best parts of old jeans really appeals to me. They are cozy and durable. Best of all people seem more inclined to actually use them.

Now back to 2020. I needed to do something to keep my mind off the commotion that was all around me. Something I could control when everything thing else seemed scary and out of control. My daughter in law is a talented seamstress and I wanted to have more in common with her. I decided to make a quilt but I wanted to learn to do it better. So I turned to her for advice and also YouTube. With the availability of free instructional videos you could learn almost anything. I scoured the internet for quilting tutorials.

First I found Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilting. I instantly loved her. Listening to her happy and comforting voice helped me feel safe somehow. She made me feel like I could do it. That quilts could be beautiful even with flaws. She and her husband Ron taught me and my husband Steve how to build a design wall. She taught “batch” sewing, to measure twice and cut once, but most of all to have fun! She let me see her imperfections. Although she knew what she was doing it didn’t appear she wanted you to think she knew everything. She had guests on her show that taught and gave her tips right along with the rest of us. It was fabulous! She seemed unafraid of being vulnerable. I adore her.

Then came Donna Jordan of Jordan fabrics and Karen Brown of Just get it done quilting. I am indebted to these four women. It’s hard to say where I leaned the most. They each have their own style and techniques but each of them filled me with more confidence. That I had the ability to create something beautiful.

Quilting is now my happy place, my safe place.

I have made over 100 quilts ranging in size from baby to king. I would have to say that my favorite is baby.

Part of my joy is giving them as gifts to the people and the causes I love.

I believe in being a lifelong learner. I’m always excited when I find someone with a new tip or trick. There are so many talented, creative people out there! My advice is to enjoy the journey, don’t be afraid of unpicking, be meticulous but don’t get hung up on perfection. When you give the gift of a quilt you’re giving a gift of love. Most of the time you are the only one that might see the small imperfections. In my experience rather than searching for things to criticize the ones you give to are far busier feeling loved.