It all started...

with my mother who was always busy creating something with her hands.  Dresses for me and my sisters, embroidered blouses, crocheted tablecloths, knitted sweaters.  I would watch and try to learn by osmosis.  While on a Sunday outing with her, I came across a book about quilting.  I thought, "I can do that!"  That was in 1993.  Since then I have made numerous quilts that have found their way onto the beds of relatives, to Hospice patients, over incubators in neonatal wards and to numerous other recipients.

During those first 16 years, I mastered the fundamentals and amassed quite a fabric collection in the process.  Up till then I had been working solely with fabric and thread.  Now I wanted to try something different, yet remain textile focussed.
 
Over the next 2 years I attended workshops that added things like working with angelina, foiling, stamping and fabric painting to my skill set.  My local guild provided an avenue for sharing "inside tips" that the camraderie of like-minded individuals offers.  And then of course there was the internet where I was able to view what others were doing with textiles.  I decided it was definitely time to spread my wings.  So here I am.

I chose this quilt as my intro.  It was a challenge, in which I was to work within a specified grid and given a selection of ten 4-inch patches, from which I could choose.  My choice had to be incorporated into that grid.  This continued over several months with each month offering a different selection of patches to choose from.

I was able to make up my own patterning as I went along.  I found myself "playing" rather than "following".  I enjoyed the process of playing with setting things askew even though there remained some symmetry.  I think this one intensified my desire to step outside the traditional box however small the steps.  I too enjoy trying new techniques and have stacks of little samples. 

I've got my toolbox open and I'm so ready to take on the challenges that are in store for us.