| I started making quilts when my first child was born in 1986, and used quilting as a type of therapy ever since. That’s Sew Special! is now a Longarm Quilting Studio; a sewing venture that began with crafts and wall hangings in 1986, growing to encompass Longarm Quilting in 2001, and becoming the first Computerized Longarm Quilting Rental Studio in Ohio. I grew up in Northwest Ohio, and now live in Northeast Ohio with my wonderfully supportive and generous husband, 3 children, dog and 2 cats. My first experience in a quilt show was a first place ribbon for a commissioned quilt that I pieced and someone else quilted. Other ribbons have followed, although I do not compete often. I prefer judging at shows; its my way to share my love of the art. I started quilting small seasonal wall-hangings, T-shirt quilts for members in the community, quilt tops for myself and my family. My first longarm quilting machine was purchased in 2001, a Nolting 18”, mainly as a way to finish my own tops and T-shirt quilts for customers. I just love to machine quilt - so much that I started quilting for a small handful of customers in the local area. A few years later, as my customer base grew, I upgraded and now own a Nolting PRO Series 24 with Intelliquilter (IQ) Longarm Quilting Machine. This longarm machine has many additional features that allow me to do more of a professional job. Wow. Talk about a powerful tool to get those quilts finished! In early 2010, I added yet another longarm to my studio, a second Nolting also with IQ. Check out the rental information and prices, and consider sharing this new adventure with me this year! One of the things I love best about quilting is the ability to be creative and unique. I always want to change things up, try new techniques, and design my own quilts from the bottom up. As part of that creativity, I love to teach others what inspires me! I have several classes and lectures that I offer, and I am working on more - some with the IQ - all of the time! With the IQ to assist me, even more of this is possible! I have written a series of workbooks that started from a class taught on the IQ, and those are available in my "Shop". If you are an IntelliQuilter Owner, those books are of interest to you. Just so I stay busy and out of as much trouble as I can, I am a member of several groups - perhaps you know of some of them: The American Quilting Society (AQS) Buckeye Machine Quilters International Machine Quilters Association (IMQA) The Canton Quilters Guild The National Quilting Association (NQA) Ohio Quilts! Ohio LongArm Quilters (OLAQ) I currently serve The National Quilting Association (NQA) as the Vice-President and as a Co- Chair of the 43rd Annual Quilt Show in Columbus, Ohio in June 2012. Find out more about that at www.nqaquilts.org I also serve as Secretary for the Ohio Longarm Quilters (OLAQ). Their website is www.longarmohio.com |
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About Me