All of my life I have loved art, playing with colors, painting, drawing and getting my hands into any medium I could mold into my personal expression. I have never stopped my quest for learning, having attended college and adult education classes, trying everything from macramé to matting and framing. However, I have always returned to fabric as my chosen medium, quilting in particular. It is only recently that I feel I have worked hard enough at this skill to be comfortable with presenting myself as an artist.

Now that I am focusing on what I really love, the rewards are many. From the moment I wake in the morning, until I go to bed at night, I dream of quilts, classes and creating elegant quilting designs. I can’t tell you what aspect I like the most, working with beautiful fabrics to make the quilts, talking to you the viewers about how I construct them, using my computer to draw efficiently, writing the books, or designing patterns and products. I love it all and have found purpose for my life using my gifts, knowing that everyday I am doing what I was put on this earth to do.

Born in Madison, WI, my first advanced training in studio art was at the UW Whitewater, where I met my husband. Later I attended classes in Interior Design at Madison Area Technical College, as well as many years of adult education classes in various crafts, needle arts and improving the home interior and accessories. I learned numerous quilting techniques in on-going classes offered through the Technical College.

For twenty years, I owned a home decorating business, installing wallpaper, applying faux finishes, painting original murals and serving as an interior design consultant. In 1985 I started J.M.P. Designs, a small business through which I designed and self-published patterns for miniature quilts and dolls. After a few years decided to put off designing for a while and concentrated on raising our two sons.

My first venture back into the industry was designing images used in the production of the hand quilting aid, Stick-N-Stitch, produced by Pieces of the Past. The product was chosen by Quilter’s Newsletter to be included in their Tools Review for 2001. More recently, with the boys off to college, I returned to school completing a degree in Graphic Design in December of 2003. My intension is to combine my artistic ability with computer technology to add an exciting new dimension to the art of quilting.

In 2003, I began Heirloom Quilting Designs, a small publishing business. Through it, I promote my classes and distribute original patterns. My focus is in developing quilting designs that are elegant and graceful yet can be stitched with a continuous line of thread. I have written three books on the topic and am developing products for the industry that will aid the machine quilter.

I have been quilting for most of my adult life, beginning in ancient times, when we glued sandpaper to cardboard to make templates, and scissors were used to cut fabric! Over the years, I have tried many aspects of quilting, from the traditional methods, to the time saving innovations. At first, I quilted only by hand, but as demands for my time increased, so did my desire to complete my work quickly.

Machine quilting on a home sewing machine intrigued me because of the way the lines of stitching were used to create patterns, just as I would use my pencil when drawing illustrations. Gradually I began quilting by machine, relying on the walking foot to stitch in the ditch and only attempting straight-line patterns. I knew I wanted more. My life changed in the spring of 1999 when I saw the heirloom machine quilted artwork of Diane Gaudynski at the Prairie Heritage Quilt Show near my home. I could not take my eyes off the wonderful, perfectly quilted designs and tiny stippling! I met Diane there and learned that her quilts had been quilted on a home sewing machine and that she taught classes.

That fall I took two one-day classes where I learned piecing techniques that resulted in greater accuracy than I had ever achieved before. Driving home after the first class, I felt like I had started over from scratch after so many years

In February 2000, I attended Heirloom Machine Quilting classes taught by Diane and my life has not been the same since! She taught me to use my home sewing machine for free motion quilting. I took my new skills home and immersed myself in drawing new designs. I kept the words of Eleanor Roosevelt in my thoughts as I worked.

It was at this time I dreamed of a new future for myself, one where quilting would take center stage. I returned to school, knowing that if I wanted to bring my designs to market, I needed to learn some new computer technology. While a student, I practiced my machine quilting skills until it enabled me to embellish my quilts with texture and images that until then I had only imagined in my quilting dreams!

I began to exhibit my work at shows across the country where my original designs caught the attention of the judges as well as the viewers. You can imagine my delight to have my first Heirloom Machine Quilted piece, Ode to Diane, featured in the AQS publication, Machine Quilting by Diane Gaudynski. In addition, three of my quilts were included in Harriet Hargrave’s Heirloom Machine Quilting, 4th edition.

Since completing my degree in 2003, I have been working in the quilting community, lecturing and giving workshops, writing books and developing products for quilters. My intention for entering the industry is to provide quilting designs that you can use to fill the plain areas of your quilts with beautiful images that touch your heart and motivate you to bring extraordinary beauty to your work!

My current work focuses on including narrative images in the compositions that evoke an emotional connection with viewers. I have quilted initials, dates, and images with which I can dedicate my work to special people in my life. The checkerboard and basket weave background textures are included as my personal signature. The quilts you will see on the gallery pages are the result of my efforts over the past 8 years. I hope that these quilts will touch your spirit and encourage you to try some heirloom machine quilting yourself. I know that I can do this because I have the determination to succeed; I believe that if you hare a strong desire, you can too.

From the first seeds of inspiration, to the selection of the fabric, pattern and quilting designs, right through the final stitch, each step of quiltmaking is important and can be so much fun! Enjoy the process and delight in your progress. Do your best and you will achieve a great sense of satisfaction in your work.

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