Hello Everyone.

My name is Robyn and I currently live on the outskirts of Sydney Australia with my husband and son, our 2 dogs and 1 kitty cat. I’ve been sewing since I was young (I’d say about 10 years or younger – don’t know exactly). I loved going through my Mum’s big suitcase full of fabrics and remember constantly asking her which ones I could use. I guess that was the start of my fabric and sewing life long, love affair.

My Mum and my Grandmothers taught me how to sew, embroider, crochet and knit (although knitting is not my thing – and I really admire those of you who do it). In school I loved sewing and art and did well at both, although in life, my creative energies seemed to have always been in the sewing direction. I love hand embroidery, my sewing machine and making quilts. I really enjoy scrappy quilts as they always feel so warm and friendly to me, plus little scrappy pieces of fabric remind me of people, places etc.

My working life has centred mainly around banking and finance (book keeping), with a 20 year stint so far in co-Managing a small business with my husband. I enjoy what I do. At one point, work took me in the direction of ‘lacing and framing’ embroideries and tapestries. This included stitching cross stitch kits sometimes too. This job was a favourite and a great experience. I have never ventured into ‘sewing and quilting’ for work, but it has been my passion, hobby and interest for many years now.

Continue reading »

I hadn’t given quilts much thought until I was a young adult and my mother gave me a quilt wrapped tightly in plastic. It was a variation of a nine patch quilt. She told me my great grandmother Hanna Balster had made it for me. Hanna had made one for each of her future great grandchildren.

My mother told me to take very good care of it as it was a precious heirloom. As a result it stayed in that plastic package for over 30 years. I know now that a quilt should never be stored in plastic but I was lucky. I’ve always lived in dry country so there was no mold damage.

Continue reading »

What a lovely opportunity to get to know more of the online quilting community! Thank you so much for the invitation, Michele.

Hmm, well, where to start?

My name is Jennifer Rogers Ofenstein. I’m a native Texan and have been crafting my whole life. I have a B.A. in English with an Art minor from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. I live in Austin, Texas with my soulmate and husband of almost 15 years, Eli, and our two kids, Elena and Gareth. I’m a stay at home mom, a volunteer, a crafter and an avid paper pieced pattern designer.

Continue reading »

My name is Carin Vogelzang and I am so excited and thankful to Michele for the opportunity to blog today and share a small glimpse into my quilting world.

I have the privilege of being the founder and co-director of Margaret’s Hope Chest (MHC), a quilting non-profit organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Since April of 2007, we have given about 60 quilts to people who are experiencing seemingly hopeless situations.

This organization was born out of our own family’s hopeless situation, the murder of my 81-year-old grandmother, Margaret Herrema. She was attacked in a grocery store parking lot in April of 2005 and suffered a fatal head injury. After her death, there was a murder investigation, arrests, trials, and prison sentences for two young girls.

Continue reading »

Hi Michele,

Thanks so much for inviting me to be a guest blogger. I started quilting in the traditional way over 25 years ago – all by hand. I think it all starts when you become a mom – at least that’s how it was for me. I had this little baby (Heather) and I had this itch in my fingers to do something creative. I started with some cross stitch blocks that turned into a quilt and I haven’t looked back since.

I’ve done tons of different styles (see more on my web site) – traditional sampler, hand appliqué, kaleidoscope quilts… and then I started trying some non traditional things – freeform appliqué (without a pattern), layered quilts (actually several little quilts on top of one another), and then I developed a really cool technique of capturing things under tulle (kinda like shadow quilting, but with a sheerer top layer and capturing lots more than cut fabrics). This lead to my first book "Fantasy Fabrics" which is now out of print.

Continue reading »

My name is Meg Cox and I’m the author of The Quilter’s Catalog: A Comprehensive Resource Guide, published last year. I was thrilled to accept Michele’s invitation to be a guest blogger because I’m looking for quilters to help me with my next book.

I’ve been quilting for 20 years, since my mother taught me, but I’m still a writer first and a quilter second. I’ve been a professional writer all my adult life, including 17 years as a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal in Chicago and New York. I left the Journal in 1994, when my son was born, and became a freelancer, contributing to a wide range of magazines. My first two books were about family traditions, and I’ve lectured widely on that topic.

Along the way, my passion for quilting deepened and I decided to use my journalistic skills to write a resource guide for quilters. I spent six years researching and writing The Quilter’s Catalog, and interviewing some of the top teachers in the country has definitely influenced my own quilting. I’m more confident and adventurous now, and I even designed 5 of the 12 projects for the book (the other 7 came from famous teachers). There’s no doubt that many, if not most, of you are more accomplished quilters than I am. I’m pretty laid back about my quilting and do it for pure joy.

Continue reading »