About me

We arrived in the US from England in 1983. I discovered quilts in 1986 when I moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, and was thrilled to see them displayed on clotheslines outside farmhouses on the back roads in the Ozarks. The local quilt group, Q.U.I.LT., educated and mothered me, and I discovered the endless possibilities as well as the joys of sharing a common interest with other enthusiasts.

We moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, and in 1992, I became president of the Arkansas Quilters’ Guild. This group includes several exceptionally talented quilters whose innovative approaches to both traditional and contemporary quilting were inspiring and influential.

Since 1993, we have lived on Bainbridge Island, in the Pacific Northwest. We have graduated from “non-residents aliens” to “resident aliens” and plan to stay! My husband is a sleep specialist at a hospital in Seattle, and our two children are in college.

In 1994, I was recruited to help make quilts for a fundraiser at Wilkes Elementary School, Bainbridge Island. After five months of making quilts with the 20 classes in the school, the auction netted $10,000. The kids loved it and their enthusiasm blew us away. The projects were designed to complement the curriculum, and techniques, ranging from drawing and painting on fabric, to hand sewing, were selected that were appropriate for the age and skill levels of the children.

Three years later, I made another 20 quilts with children at Blakely Elementary School and the Family Classroom. These projects all appear in my book, Creative Quilting with Kids, (Krause Publications, 2001).

My work with children at Hyla Middle School and teacher Chris Johnson resulted in my second book Patchwork and Quilting with Kids, (Krause Publications, 2003). It includes a variety of projects, from pillows and tote bags, to small quilts and lap quilts, and is appropriate for beginning quilters of any age. The children loved making preemie baby blankets, which we donated to the Neonatal Clinic at the University of Washington Hospital.

In June 2004, my daughter and I went to Mongolia, where we taught quilting in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar to needy women at the New Way Life Mongolian Quilting Center. I returned in June 2006 to help organize the first International Quilt Show in Mongolia. My work with the Mongolian women is on going, as I try to provide them as much support and encouragement as possible.

From September 2006 to August 2007, Wanda Rains and I will be co-presidents of Kitsap Quilters Guild. When I'm not quilting, I enjoy gardening, bird watching, and a little gentle yoga. I'm active at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church where I sing in the choir.