My infatuation with quilts started when I was about 10 years old living in Piedmont, Alabama.
My great great aunts, Lizzie Taylor (who we called Aunt Shug) and her sister Aunt Emmaline Taylor, got me interested. I would ride my bicycle down to their old home with my basket brimming full of my fabric treasures and spend the whole day with them. Aunt Shug would cut out the pieces of triangles and squares and I would take so much pride in sewing them back together. Later on I advanced to making my Barbie clothes and her blankets or quilts.
I graduated in 1972 from Piedmont High School and left home to be the Receptionist at WVOK Radio in Birmingham. Like most young people I put all the old fashioned ideas on hold and started a new life of trying to find myself.
About 20 years later I dabbled in knitting, making porcelain dolls and ceramics. I kept searching out trying new ideas to find what I really had as my talent.
In 1985 I went to work for the Post Office in Birmingham and I did not have time to do much of anything but work. I met my husband Gary the end of 1986. He worked there also. We married in 1987 and worked, traveled when we could and basically adjusted.
Then a few years later I painted clothing. Tshirts, jackets and anything else. I will still trying to find myself. Not once did it occur to me to start quilting again.
We moved to Locust Fork, Alabama in 1992 which is about 30 miles north of Birmingham. I still dabbled in crafts but not quilting until Gary saw an article in the Blount Countian Newspaper about the Blount County Quilters Guild.
I went the first day with the intentions of joining. I did. That was 4 years ago. I have been going full force since then. I finally found out what I was cut out for!! QUILTING.
Gary saw so me enjoying it so much he decided to give it a try. After showing him a few basic things he took off like wildfire. His work is so good. He even has his own sewing machine and he does all our cutting. He cuts perfect and fast.
The first quilt he entered in any show was his yo-yo quilt. It has over 1000 yoyos in it and he won first place in the show. I have won from 1st to 3rd place in several local shows on my work.
This June’s issue of Thicket Magazine (2008), there is a story about us and our quilting. I was so please to be able to be in such a great magazine.
Two weeks ago I received my letter from the American Quilters Society. I am a semi-finalist in the quilt show that is going to be in Nashville, August 20-23rd, 2008 at the Gaylord Hotel. This is an honor. I will be completing against quilters from 42 states and 10 foreign countries.
I am so proud, humble and honored.
Quilting is our life. We love it so much and get so much pleasure from being able to make a quilt for someone. I am always very pleased when I finish and look at the piece and know that I spent all my energy to putting it together and now it is completed and going to a home to make someone very happy.