A Quilter's Life

I’d have to give Jackie Brown the extra patience award.  I am so thankful that she worked around my schedule  when I not only had to cancel on her once, but twice because of my medical issues.  Then what a thrill it was for me that her daughter, Amy, popped in to say HI as we started the interview.  Such a wonderful day for me! Jackie is passionate about her work as a teacher, designer and long arm quilter.  She simply can't think of anything sheI'd rather do!  For her the most rewarding part of her work is seeing the look of excitement and satisfaction on the faces of her customers, whether she’s finishing their quilt or teaching them how to quilt for themselves. She thanks God for her husband, children, and grandchildren as well as the people who have given her the opportunity to serve them through Jackie’s Machine Quilting. You can see Jackie's amazing quilting here. Connect with Jackie: Website: Jackie's Machine Quilting Facebook: Jackie's Machine Quilting Instagram: jackiesmachinequilting Pinterest: Jackie's Machine Quilting YouTube: Jackie's Machine Quilting

Christine Lindebak is forever grateful to her parents for supporting her on her sewing journey from such a young age to where she is now.  Can you imagine being so young when you began to sew that you can’t even imagine not being able to do so?  Sewing runs through the fiber of who Christine is and it’s exciting to hear how it has shaped her life. Here are a couple of quilts that Christine has made   This is the dress she made when she was young that we chatted about Here are some of Christine's clothing patterns that she has used quilts in       Here's Christine's mom that had so much patience and encouragement for Christine Can't forget Christine's sewing buddy, Owen, and her fetherweight Connect with Christine: Website: Sewing and the City Instagram: sewingandthecity Pinterest: Sewing and the City

The way Phyllis Biffle Elmore feels about the quilt that her Grandmother Lula gave her is how I think many quilters hope others feel when we give them a quilt.  With significant history and mesmerizing storytelling Phyllis has written Quilt of Souls transforming oral tradition into a beautifully written document, powerfully presented and preserved for posterity.  She stitches together true tales of racism, sexism, and colorism, but also strength and pride, creating a multigenerational patchwork honoring her family and ancestors. This is the quilt that Phyllis' Grandmother Lula made for Phyllis and a picture of Lula Horn. This was the last quilt that Phyllis' Grandmother Lula made when she was over 100 years old And this quilt Phyllis calls it Smokey Quilt.  It was in a fire but wasn't destroyed. Connect with Phyllis Website: Phyllis Biffle Elmore Facebook: Phyllis Biffle Elmore Instagram: Phyllis Biffle Elmore X: phyllis lawson

I see Sara Browne and her cousins as heroes. When Covid and the lockdown began she could have just looked after herself, but she reached out to others to lift them up!  She continues to add value to people’s lives even after the lockdown has ended.   She sees herself as an enabler by helping people learn the parts they don’t know how to do for themselves. You might find yourself looking at the sky in a different way after this interview with Sara.  There is color all around us if we look for it. This beautiful scrappy quilt was made with the scraps that had been thrown in the trash after one of the sewing classes. Here's her Scrappy Jewel and Scrappy Confetti Quilts made for her niece and nephew Barn Storming Quilt Several more wonderful quilts And a couple of lovely table runners And of course Ruby and Sara's girls (chickens) Connect with Sara Facebook: The Lockdown Patchwork Project YouTube: The Lockdown Patchwork Project And thanks again Helen for connecting me with Sara!  

Kena Tangi Dorsey lives her life the way she wants to live her life.  It’s taken her in different directions throughout the years, but each step has added knowledge that she is able to use now. While living in Harlem, New York, Kena had an abundance of access to African shops and boutiques along 125th Street, so she began infusing African wax prints, kente cloth and mud cloth textiles into her quilting projects -  by making wall hangings, table runners and quilted bags with them.  She also loves working with Indonesian Batiks and had fun purchasing a large collection of them on her trip to Indonesia a few years ago!   This is one of Kena's favorite quilts! She calls it “Black Butterfly.” “Oba!” was Kena's first Benartex Ambassador project for 2024. For her fabrics, she chose the “Transparency” collection by Modern Quilt Studio. The purple quilt is a wall hanging quilt made of all African Ankara fabrics and a lavishly lavender organic cotton solid fabric for the background. Making portrait quilts is one of Kena's favorite things to do,  “Marvalous” was published in Art Quilting Studio Magazine! Connect with Kena Website: Kena Quilt Studio Facebook: Kena Quilt Studio Instagram: kenaquilts   And Thanks to Shelly Martella for connecting us with Kena! Connect with Shelly Website: Threads & Ewe Facebook: Threads & Ewe Instagram: threadsandewe Pinterest: Threads & Ewe X: https://twitter.com/ThreadsandEwe My interview with Shelly Martella

What do you do when the company you work for closes and your family needs help?  Open a quilt business, of course.  Ronni Chavez was able to make it all come together through a rough time in her life.  Now Ronni is designing entertaining quilt patterns, offering tutorials, and has even written her first book, The Crazy Quilter. Ronni made this Disappearing Orange Peel especially to have it used for the feature picture of this episode.  Isn't the couching and quilting spectacular! Don't forget to look for her book. Connect with Ronni: Website: Road Home Quilting Website: RHQ - Quantity Source List to find The Crazy Quilter in Ebook: Books 2 Read

I need to add a note to this episode before it begins.  I had emailed Mel a few weeks ago for a follow up and didn’t get a reply, but I know she’s a busy lady and didn’t think much about it.  Then today I received a note from Carolina that she had also reached out to Mel several times with no response.  So Carolina did more digging and found Mel Shields obituary.  Mel passed away on April 5th, 2025.  Only five days after this interview was recorded. This was quite a shock to us.  But I can’t imagine the shock it must be to her dear husband, Paul. Paul, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy.  It was a privilege to know Mel through our quilting group.  She will be greatly missed.  And I want to let you know that you and your family are in our prayers. It was an honor to record Mel’s story.  And Paul, I hope being able to hear her voice in this interview will give you comfort.   Mel Shields just has a few rules you need to follow when you’re at The Quilting Room with Mel. There are no quilting police, you make your quilts the way you want to and if you are happy with the results, so is she. Everyone is welcome in her quilting room and last but not least enjoy your sewing machines the way you want to. These rules become very clear as we get to chat with Mel you’ll hear her deep love for quilting and sewing machines. Here's Mel's No Y-Seam LeMoyne Star Obituary for Melissa Dawn Shields September 28, 1979 - April 5, 2025 Quenemo - Melissa Dawn Shields, 45, passed away on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at Advent Health in Ottawa, Kansas. She was born on September 28, 1979, in Ottawa, Kansas, the daughter of James and Donna (Green) Meek. Melissa had lived most of her life in the Quenemo Community. She graduated from Marais des Cygnes Valley High School in 1998.   Melissa had worked as a waitress in high school and college, worked for Grapevine Internet as a Tech Rep and had worked several years at Marais des Cygnes Valley Elementary School. She had started as a Para with Three Lakes and then became the librarian and IT technician for the school. She had been a volunteer firefighter and worked with Osage County Emergency Management. She was a member of the Quenemo United Methodist Church and had always helped with the Quenemo Penny Suppers. On December 19, 2004, Melissa was united in marriage to Paul Shields at the Michigan Valley Community Church. Melissa was preceded in death by her parents, James and Donna. Melissa is survived by her husband, Paul of 20 years; by her son, Joshua Shields of Herington; by her stepdaughter, April Shields; by her brother, Jim Meek of Spring Hill; and by her sister, Dee Dinkle of Independence, Missouri. Funeral services for Melissa will be held at 11:00am on Friday, April 18 at the Feltner Funeral Chapel in Lyndon. Burial will be in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Quenemo. The family will receive friends from 6:30 to 8:00pm on Thursday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions in memory of Melissa may be made to Marais des Cygnes Valley Elementary School, sent in care of Feltner Funeral Home, 818 Topeka Avenue, Lyndon, KS 66451.  

I am so thankful to Mel Shields for introducing me to Erika Pinkley.  I love Erika’s “can do” attitude.  She seems to be consistent in seeing what she wants to accomplish, finds a way to do it, and then be told that was one of the hardest things to do. We didn’t chat about Erika’s logo during the interview, but as I was again looking through her website I read that she was inspired by her mom’s favorite quilt block design, the Monkey Wrench, when she started Little Glass Quilts. Here's a sample of Erika's Little Glass Quilts!  This is Kansas Home. Connect with Erika Website: Little Glass Quilts Instagram: Little Glass Quilts Facebook: Little Glass Quilts TikTok: Little Glass Quilts   And again, thanks to Mel Shields Website: The Quilting Room with Mel Facebook: The Quilting Room  Instagram: homeecmel YouTube: Melissa Shields TikTok: homeecmel    

Sam Hunter is busy making patterns, YouTube tutorials, lectures for guilds, blogging, guiding retreats in Europe and last year she started the podcast Rev Craft Biz where she has conversations with business owners in the craft industry. Sam’s philosophy for Hunter’s Design Studio is to design things that you can enjoy. Her tagline is “Helping people have more fun while they make more things”. Sam wants you to have fun, joy, and comfort from your creative efforts, and she hopes the things she makes support you in that! You’ll want to check out Sam’s website just to see how many Lego Sams you can find. Sam just loves all of her quilts so it was hard for her to pick one to share with you.  This is her Fourteen Squared pattern. Connect with Sam Website: Hunter's Design Studio Facebook: Hunter's Design Studio Instagram: huntersds Subscribe to Sam's YouTube: Hunter's Design Studio Pinterest: Hunter's Design Studio      

Threads & Ewe is the fulfillment of Shelly Martella’s lifelong dream to own a combination yarn and fabric store. Her goal is to provide a wide variety of exceptionally made fabrics and yarns, from around the globe, that will support the creative needs of sewing enthusiasts and fiber artists. Shelly is thrilled to finally be working in a career that lets her indulge her passion for beautiful fabrics and fibers. Shelly created the Threads & Ewe website not just as a yarn and fabric shop...but as a friendly online destination where quilters and knitters come to create! Here is Shelly receiving the Best Customer Service award! Just look at how wonderful Shelly's booth is! And here is Shelly enjoying what she does. Shelly at the International Quilt Festival Contact Shelly Website: Threads & Ewe Facebook: Threads & Ewe Instagram: threadsandewe Pinterest: Threads & Ewe X: https://twitter.com/ThreadsandEwe

The work on Kim Brownell’s quilts gravitate towards animals, nature scenes, and bright colors.  Her techniques include and blend: fabric collage, free form art quilts, raw-edge applique, as well as many others.  Kim has a passion for entering quilt challenges which spark her imagination and inspire her.  She says her dream is to also inspire you to have fun and to help you learn what you can create.  Here are a couple of Kim's quilts Connect with Kim: Website: The Wacky Doddle Quilter Facebook: Kim Brownell Instagram: the.wackydoodle.quilter   And Thanks to Mel Beach for sending Kim to A Quilter’s Life Connect with Mel – Website: Mel Beach Quilts Facebook: Mel Beach Quilts Instagram: melbeachquilts Pinterest: Mel Beach YouTube: Mel Beach Quilts      Don't forget to subscribe to her YouTube channel And Mel’s episode on A Quilter’s Life: Mel Beach  

This remarkable interview with Dana Jones is a little longer than the average episode of A Quilter’s Life, but you know how it is when you get chatting with quilters.  Dana loves teaching quilting from beginning classes to advanced techniques, from teaching her own designs to teaching quilts designed by others.  And she shared with us many of her wonderful insights. We talked about Dana's Peace Cranes Over Hiroshima Here are her Warp Speed and Don't Call Me Girl quilts Connect with Dana Website: Dana Jones Quilts Facebook: Dana Jones Quilts   And Thanks to Mel Beach for sending Dana to A Quilter's Life! Mel's episode on A Quilter's Life: Mel Beach Website: Mel Beach Quilts Facebook: Mel Beach Quilts Instagram: melbeachquilts Pinterest: Mel Beach YouTube: Mel Beach Quilts

Christa Watson is passionate about all things that have to do with domestic machine quilting.  She is an award-winning quilter, pattern designer, author, and digital educator!  After the interview I remembered I should have asked Christa about the sewing cabinet that she co-designed with Arrow.  I’ve seen it demonstrated and it looks fabulous.  Then a little later I received an email from her and she shared that her Colorful Chaos quilt that we talked about was juried into the quilt show in Paducah.  I’m so happy for her!  So if you’re able to get to that show make sure to look for it. Here's Christa's Colorful Chaos quilt I had the privilege to meet Christa in person at QuiltCon 2024 Connect with Christa Website: Christa Quilts Facebook: Christa Watson Instagram: christaquilts Pinterest: Christa Quilts YouTube: Christa Quilts       Don't forget to subscribe to her YouTube channel

Bea Byrne is a quilter, artist and entrepreneur living in Oakland, California.  She has a love of anything to do with textiles but her real passion is quilting. After a career in tech and events Bea realized that organizing and hosting an online conference would be the perfect way to merge the two worlds.  She has created the Quilt n Learn events which include teachers from all over the world.  And if you’ve been listening to A Quilter’s Life for a while you may even recognize some of the teachers at this event. Here's Bea's quilt Self Portrait Triptych To connect with Bea for the Quilt n Learn events Website: Quilt n Learn Facebook: Quilt n Learn Instagram: quiltnlearn YouTube: QuiltnLearn   To Connect with Bea about her teaching and lectures Website: Bea Byrne Facebook: Bea Byrne Instagram: beabyrneartist   And Thanks to Mel Beach for sending Bea to A Quilter's Life Connect with Mel – Website: Mel Beach Quilts Facebook: Mel Beach Quilts Instagram: melbeachquilts Pinterest: Mel Beach YouTube: Mel Beach Quilts And Mel's episode on A Quilter's Life: Mel Beach

You'll probably noticed before you start listening, this episode with Theresa Benson is about twice as long as our average episode.  Theresa has so much to offer!  Her workshops are a fusion of art and technology, where quilters of all levels discover that color theory and AI can go hand in hand.  Whether she’s unraveling the mysteries of tech for the quilting community or sharing her passion for fabrics and patterns, Theresa’s enthusiasm is infectious.  It won’t take long for you to join in her enthusiasm on this episode too! Theresa's portrait quilts And some of her animal quilt designs I just love Theresa's smile! Connect with Theresa Website: The AI Quilter Facebook: The AI Quilter  Facebook Group: The AI Quilt Guild Instagram: theaiquilter YouTube: The AI Quilter If you want to connect on her professional level Linkedin: Theresa Benson Website: Radiant Meatball The podcast that Thresa and her friend, Amy Redbird host on the importance of laughter and strength in personal development and mental wellness:  Healarious

Sondrasa has found quilting to be the perfect pallet for her creativity. Playing with the mediums of fabric and thread to create her own unique brand of fabric art for international quilt shows and also creating her own quilt patterns which are designed to help even a confident beginner create beautiful quilts. Sondrasa sees every quilt as a work of art knowing that the maker has made it out of a labor of love. Here's Sondrasa's Desert Spring BOM Connect with Sondrasa Website: Art Quilts by Design Facebook: Art Quilts by Design Instagram: sondrasasews YouTube: Art Quilts by Design Twitch: Sondrasa  

I knew when Mel Beach shared that at a young age she had memorized who the artist was of each sculpture in the museum near her, that she was going to be sharing some brilliant information with us and I wasn’t disappointed.  We can easily see how her life experiences molded her into an inspiring quilt teacher.  I loved the quote from her coach that “If you had fun, you won.” This is Mel's Emerald Gardens quilt.  I still can't believe it's only 12" x 12".   Connect with Mel - Website: Mel Beach Quilts Facebook: Mel Beach Quilts Instagram: melbeachquilts Pinterest: Mel Beach YouTube: Mel Beach Quilts   Again my thanks to Carolina Moore for encouraging Mel to be interviewed. Here’s where you can find Carolina: Website:  Always Expect Moore.com YouTube: Carolina Moore Pinterest:  Carolina Moore Instagram:  craftmoore Facebook:  Always Expect Moore Podcast: I Love Notions  

Tonya Dunning started her business to get the word out about fidget quilts. Since then she has expanded her line with other fidget items. She learned how to write quilt patterns and realized that she loves editing and writing. So she not only writes her own patterns but is able to edit patterns for other quilt designers. Examples of Tonya's fidget quilts.  The last picture is the marble fidget. Connect with Tonya Website:  Memory Barn Studio Facebook: Memory Barn Studio Instagram: memorybarnstudio YouTube: Memory Barn Studio   I want to give a shout out to Danelle Howard for encouraging Tonya to share her story on A Quilter’s Life. If you missed Danelle's interview on A Quilter's Life - Danelle Howard Here’s Danelle's links: Website:  Cottage Path Quilting Instagram: cottagepathquilting YouTube: Danelle Howard – My Gathering Basket  

I’m excited to share the favorite quilting tools of my guests on A Quilter’s Life podcast from 2024.  I love how this list changes from year to year.  You’d think that they were sharing the new and improved tools that we all love to get our hands on.  But it seems we are all so thankful that we have some basic quilting tools that allow us to make our beautiful quilts.   Computer Software - Design quilts Seam Guide - Seams So Easy by Lori Holt   You don’t have to draw the lines for half square triangles or flying geese.  It makes it easy. Needle - Brand new sharp applique needle.  Hand needles get dull also and it stitches like butter when it’s brand new. Oliso Iron  Thimble - Handmade leather thimble Seam Ripper - Seam Ripper to correct our mistakes Quilting Hoop - A Norwood frame that sits on a pedestal with a ball joint swivel Design Wall - Fons and Porter has grommets to hang it Scissors Karen Kay Buckley little red handed scissors  Karen K Buckley scissors for collage  small scissors to get in small places Sewing Machine Juki to sew fast Quilting Machine Digital dual foot on sewing machine.  Has special censors and keeps everything neat Stiletto Stiletto it makes tricky piecing go so much better Stiletto helps grip fabric,  Been indispensable on art quilting. African porcupine quill stiletto  Not going to harm your machine like a metal or wood one might. Light box. Helps make pet portraits to get the colors and shapes right.   Also for paperpiecing.   When drawing patterns when making mosaics. Light desk to create nice applique patterns. Rulers Stripology Ruler -  Easy to make squares.  For instance you can lay it on the fabric and cut the size you want your square.  Then turn the fabric a quarter of a turn and lay the ruler on again and cut the same length again and you have perfect squares. Efficiency

Sharing a tip has always been a question for each of my guests on A Quilter’s Life podcast.  But this is the third year I have put them into an episode sharing just the tips from the year..  This year I’m going to add who gave the tip so if you want to look them up you can. We received so many great tips this year.  I wanted to have a top 10 list, but I ended up with 12.  These first eight are tips that just one person gave this year. 12-Andi Stanfield Wash batiks before cutting.  Those fabrics tend to bleed more because of the process used to create them. 11-Erin Grogan When making covered corners, also known as snowballed corners, instead of following the normal directions of sew, trim, press.  Change the order to sew, press, and trim.  The bias edge won’t stretch as it does with the first way. 10-Jan Lockhart Take a picture which helps, but also go the next step and change the picture to black and white and it helps with color placement.  I have been amazed when I’ve used Jan’s tip.  Certain blocks show that they’re out of place when using this process. 9-Holly Sprout  Make sure you read through the instructions completely before you start the project and measure things thoroughly before you cut them out.  We’ve all been there when we’re in a hurry and we’re so sure we understand and measured correctly.  But taking that extra step to double check is always worth it. 8-Lisa Shepard Stewart  Try a new fabric that you’ve never used before in quilting and mix it in with the fabric you have.  Repurpose a pillow or something simple where you can experiment.  I still haven’t reached a comfort level to try this.  Have you?  Maybe I just need to take that leap. 7-Robyn Capps Don’t over think.  Instead when you think about it just do it. Don’t be afraid.  Robyn’s tip could probably apply for me to try Lisa’s tip. 6-Mary Shepard Suggested the book Walk by Jacquie Gering because Jacquie’s explanation of how to get a good sandwich and how you get a good stitch is like nothing else Mary has ever seen.  5-Dora Cary Gave two tips.  First - Slow down.  Dora’s second tip is to make a template out of batting.  She also has a no baste quilting method. Don’t need to pin it because cotton sticks to cotton.   4 -Robyn Capps & Juanita Roby Robyn Capps Make sure you have a good ¼ foot on your sewing machine.  Makes a difference on your pattern and your seams.  It’s a personal preference if you want to press the seams open or to the side.  Juanita Roby Make sure you have your quarter inch seams good! 3-Teri Tope and Eva Saunders both had tips for working with thread Teri Tope When you pull your thread off of the spool.  Use the end that you started...