Who are your quilting mentors? I know mine!

I have been quilting for 40+ years.  I started as a self-taught, book-learned quilter in 1976 during the Bicentennial when historical crafts became the rage.  I muddled through my first few quilts, then took a few classes, and was swept up in the possibilities of quilting!

I have taken some great classes and learned from some great quilters.  So I was musing, at a four-day retreat this weekend, who has influenced my quilting life the most?

Indirectly, Jinny Beyer

I took my first formal classes from a quilt shop owner who had studied with Jinny Beyer.  Sadly, I have forgotten her last name, but her first name was Kathy and she owned a shop in Everett, Washington.  She taught us so well that I still use the techniques in every quilt!  This was before the rotary cutter revolution, and we learned to make and cut templates (with scissors) and to be accurate.  We hand-pieced, machine-pieced, hand quilted, hand-appliqued, machine-appliqued, used traditional blocks, and designed our own.  This was in my “hunter green and coral” period and the first quilt I completed in her class is still part of my collection.  Thanks, Kathy and thanks, Jinny, for starting my quilting journey!

 

I'd like to point out that this is hand-pieced and hand quilted!

Karen Kay Buckley

I took a class from Karen Kay Buckley in Ripley, West Virginia in the 1990’s and she taught me the basics of machine quilting on a domestic machine.  I do a LOT of free-motion quilting on my Elna and she might be pleased to know that she is partly responsible for MANY quilts for Project Linus.  I love to FMQ simple designs; it’s mesmerizing.  I have not taken the time to become an expert with custom designs.  I love the meander look and I don’t get too far from it.  Maybe a few pebbles, some flowers, tendrils, and leaves.  I made a bunch of pillows for kids a couple of years ago and quilted their names into the corners of the pillows for a subtle touch. 

Sarah Porreca

Sarah was a local quilting teacher in the Durham area of North Carolina.  I took classes from her in the 1990’s and a miracle happened – I learned to make a SQUARE log cabin block!  She also taught me to miter the corners of my binding, to crazy quilt, and to be fearless!  Sarah said, “If you make a mistake on a quilt or accidentally cut a hole in the top, applique a heart over it and the recipient will think you’re a genius.”  She was right! 

Sharyn Craig

Oh, my goodness, I learned a lot from Sharyn Craig about quilting efficiency!!  She surely is the original queen of chain piecing.  She had us slicing and dicing and preparing our pieces and units.  In piecing order on the left side of the machine and stacked for action!  And she came around to coach us and make sure we were set up for success!  I have used her techniques ever since and I have become a prolific quilter (ask my friends…).  When I sit down to sew I can put nose to the needle and go like the wind!!  She also taught me the value of pressing the seams “as they are sewn” first, before opening the seam to press again.  What a big difference in the crispness of my blocks! 

Quilters Newsletter Magazine

I was an early subscriber and thrilled that there was a magazine just for me!  With real news about the quilting world plus patterns and GREAT ADVICE!  I still go back and look at old issues – now that the magazine has ceased publication the old issues are like gold.  More than anything I think QNM taught me that I can make every quilt my own, whether using a traditional design or a modern twist.  Thanks to the editors and contributors to this magazine for the leverage they provided all of us into quilting for the love of it.

My Aunt Dollie

She taught me to thread a needle and embroider and do crewel work when I was just a tad.  Every time I thread a Chenille needle with pearl cotton I think of her.  She used to take care of me when my regular babysitter was unavailable or I was sick.  She had a cat named Kilroy.  We spent many hours with needle in hand and she was so patient and comforting. 

My high school boyfriend’s mother

My own mother hated sewing.  Clara opened the sewing world for me – taught me to make clothes, use the features on my machine, and most of all to embrace creativity!  She was one of those people who could take down the drapes and make a ball gown.  Without a pattern.  And it would be beautiful.  I was sewing in a vacuum until she mentored me; without her I would not be a quilter. 
 

Yes, I have taken a lot of classes from a lot of quilting teachers over the years and learned something from every one.  But I think of these people when I am using basic techniques and being thankful that I know how the machine works, how important accuracy is, and how to enjoy the process. 

Who were your quilting mentors?  Drop them a note of appreciation.  It is too late for me to thank everyone who has guided my quilting journey but I remember their good advice and will pass along the techniques to young quilters.  It’s a form of quilting immortality.