Quilting has interested me for most of my adult life, but now that retirement has arrived, I am finding much enjoyment  in exploring the numerous techniques others have developed,for producing textile art. Quilting as both an art form and as a method for producing beautiful practical items for everyday use, is increasingly exciting to me.  The more I learn, the more I crave new ideas.   My plan is to create a site that chronicles my own progress, while sharing what I learn,and while learning from other quilters.  I look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy following both my errors and my successes.        

My quilting history would have to begin with memories of being allowed to observe a group of hand quilters at work over their frame, while in my mid-twenties.  The stitches and needles were so impossibly small and the fingers flew so fast.  They made it look so easy that I picked up one of the larger needles in sight with the thought of giving it a go.  In 5 or 10 minutes I realized that I was far out of my league.  The needle was dropped and I stayed to watch and listen to the lively conversations.

For the next 35 years, my experience with quilting was limited to gaping, open-mouthed, at quilt shows,  and piecing and tying a few quilts for babies and relatives.  (Both easy audiences that didn’t find fault.)

After retiring I found that I still longed to learn the dying art of hand quilting.  There is a wonderful quilting group in Bay City Michigan, The Bay Heritage Quilters Guild, which welcomes newcomers and includes several patient women who are willing to teach what they have learned.  Some of my first posts show some of these early efforts, and I will be forever grateful to these women and their encouragement.

Early in 2014 I gathered my courage and began to learn free-motion quilting.  At the time this blog was initiated I was patiently awaiting my first class while learning what I could from books and the internet.

My interests are now far ranging and include, dying fabric, making use of internet technology in quilting, portrait quilting, non-computerized machine quilting, and whatever I read about tomorrow.  I hope to develop all of these skills, and will share as I go.