Saturday, January 26, 2013

A Bit About Me

CRAZY QUILT SAMPLERS
A Bit About Me ...

I guess I would say I am a non-traditional, traditional quilter.  I like hand work - redwork and crazy quilting, plus I like all the new products and techniques available to today's quilters. 

In terms of quilting - I really started quilting in 2000, but have been sewing all my life.  I was looking for a creative outlet – something that could be done at home and in my spare time.  There wasn’t much, since I worked fulltime in the electronics industry and had two young sons.  Still, I found time to work on several quilts with the local elementary school.  We made several quilts based on their art work to raise money for playground equipment.  By 2002, the electronics industry in the US started moving off shore and me in the process.

Since I had all this free time on my hands, I began studying quilts and their history – then collecting quilts and related ephemera from the 1800s to the mid 1900s.  I started teaching and continue to do so at local guilds and quilt shops. 

In 2009, I organized Brazieres For A Cure, A Breast Cancer Awareness Project, and participated in two Project Iron Quilter events (the premier event held in Ithaca, NY and the second one in June 2010 at the Genesee Valley Quilt Club (GVQC) in Rochester, NY. 

I now have a teenage son and a wonderful husband that supports my endeavors.  While I like the traditional quilts - my quilts tend to involve lots of color and texture.  I like to work with unexpected fabrics - velvets, lame (pretend there is an accent over the 'e'), satins, plus fibers and beads.

I have a couple of blogs in addition to this one:
Quilt History:  http://QuiltPapers.blogspot.com
Braziers For A Cure, A Breast Cancer Awareness Project:  http://Brazieres4aCure.blogspot.com

If you are interested in out-line embroidery, you can see the quilt based on Margaret Techy’s 1933-4 series quilt Old English at http://ctqg.blogspot.com/2009/03/bluework-garden.html
I worked out the design and layout for the quilt, and members of the guild put it together.

I will be posting images of my work as I get free moments.  As a start, here are some Crazy Quilt Sampler squares I did.  Enjoy, Louise