I have such vivid memories of my mom sewing and crafting throughout my childhood, but it wasn't until junior high that I really got behind a sewing machine myself. My home economics class taught me how to care for a machine and introduced me to the basics of garment sewing. I was probably around 14 when my Aunt Yvonne helped me make my very first bed covering (not quite a quilt) as payment for a summer of babysitting. It had maroon piping, oversized florals, and a striped green dust ruffle and I thought it was super dreamy.

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When I graduated high school in 1995, my parents gifted me my very first sewing machine: a sturdy little Pfaff Hobbymatic 875. That was a long time ago, and believe it or not, I still take that same machine with me when I sew with friends. It's a happy little workhorse that never lets me down and makes the straightest, prettiest stitches.

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Over the years I've sewn just about everything, clothing, crafts, costumes, wedding dresses, bags, and of course, many quilts. For the longest time, I tied all my quilts (except for one I hand-quilted) until a friend casually mentioned in 2012 "You know, you could try free-motion quilting on your machine." I had never even considered it. I gave it a try and, wouldn't you know it, I was hooked! My trusty Pfaff handled it beautifully until the quilts got bigger and bigger. Eventually, its little arm just couldn't handle the bulk.

That's when I upgraded to a machine with a larger throat which scratched the itch for a while... until it didn't. In 2022, I took the plunge and bought my first longarm machine. Then in June 2024, I upgraded that longarm, this time to a Bernina Q24 with Qmatic. Now, I can offer beautiful digital edge-to-edge quilting, and I couldn't be more excited.