Cheryl Lynch

My name is Cheryl Lynch and I am thrilled to be a guest blogger. I started quilting when my family moved to the Philadelphia area in 1992. My kids were in school and I started taking classes at the local quilt shop (which is no longer in business.) I was hooked almost immediately. The possibilities were endless.

By 1994, I was designing my own quilts and entering quilt shows. I started teaching landscape quilting and found that I loved sharing what I had learned with others. This led to more classes, and then a line of Judaic quilting patterns, called Oy Vey! Quilt Designs.

A turning point in my quilting designs came in 1994, after dropping off my youngest son at college. He was my best buddy and traveling companion. To help me get through the sadness, I decided to make a quilt. I had been getting this great magazine called Quilting Arts since its inaugural issue, but never had used any of the techniques from the articles. (Remember this was 1994.) I started with one technique and one block. After crying my eyes out, I started to feel better. It didn’t take that long, before I had completed my first art quilt. The short name for it is “Motherhood”. My real name for it is “If I did such a good job of giving my kids roots and wings, then why am I so sad?”

The next quilt that I made using similar techniques was done using only blue and white fabrics. I called it “Family Musings In Blue”. It contains a family tree, hearts covered with buttons, photos of the family behind the fabric doors and lots of beading, buttons and handwork. I loved the uneven edges and used that to work on smaller pieces.

I started making fabric books using the techniques I had created for the larger pieces – printing photos on fabric, writing on fabrics, embellishing with beads and buttons, etc. I have made 3 books so far, each of them opening in a different way. This book, about the joy of bicycling, opens in a vertical accordion manner.

The logical progression for me was to share these techniques. I developed a lecture and a workshop to present to guilds. The lecture focuses on putting words and images onto fabric. The workshop offers students a chance to design their own project, frame it out with fabric, embellish it and use creative edges for finishing.

The workshops have been so well received and everyone has a lot of fun while learning new techniques. You can see more at my website: www.CherylLynchQuilts.com.

I feel so lucky to be able to share my techniques through my blog and workshops and lectures. I get to meet wonderful quilters and make new friends. Sometimes I learn as much from them as they do from me.

Want to be a guest blogger? Contact me. I’m booking for late April and May now.