Hi everyone, this is Gayla Myers. Wish I could be doing this in person. Hopefully in the next
couple months we can be back together.
My quilting journey hasn't been as long as some. But my sewing for myself and others has
been
most of my life. Both my grandmothers did some form of needle work. Which, instilled in
me my
love for all types of embroidery. My mother taught me how to machine sew. I have been
doing
some form of sewing since I was in the third grade and began selling the things I made in
the 5th
grade. I have participated in many, many craft fairs, I have had my creations featured in
several
specialty stores and now my embroidery and longarm business is in the
basement of my home. My future goal (hopefully) is to open a brick and mortar store
doing
classes and expanding my longarm and embroidery services.
I have pictured my first sewing machine, my Bernina Quilters edition sewing machine
which has
an embroidery module, my four needle embroidery machine and then my absolute
love! My Innova
26" longarm machine equipped with embroidery capabilities and computerized
technology on a
10' table.
My goal has always been to sew for pleasure and to use my love of sewing and quilting to
expand that into a second business when I retired. I started making quilts many years ago
but always gave them away or sold them, or gave them to my animals to sleep on!
The first quilt in my pictures is sewn with traditional blocks and cute farm scenes. This is
the only one I have left that I did prior to having my longarm.
The next quilt is one I appliqued and then did
custom computer aided borders with free motion
quilting around the
applique pieces and in the center.
The quilt showing in the background of my sewing machines is one I entered into the fair
and received a blue ribbon and reserved grand champion for my hand embroidery and
quilting.
The third quilt is one I worked on piecing and appliquéing for well over a year and then
custom free handed the quilting on my longarm.
Finally, the last two are quilts I designed
myself for customers this fall. They are a
combination of quilting and sewing on my
domestic machine, machine embroidery, and long-arming.
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Now let me introduce you to
Jane R
I was
in 4-H for a few years and took home ec in high school so I knew the rudiments
of
sewing. As a young adult I made some simple clothing and made a few
baby things but
never was a seamstress.
I did
always want to make quilts. My mother in her later years had time to
piece
tops in quilts and friends of hers did the quilting. My aunts from
out of state quilted
and the family would visit about quilt patterns and what
they were doing.
A few years ago, I decided to
make a tee shirt quilt for my husband. I really didn’t
know how to do it,
but I learned along the way. I did tee shirts on both sides
with batting
in the middle. Yes, it is heavy. Somewhere along the way with great
help from Francis Benson I made a tossed 9 patch as a Linus blanket.
A friend invited me to join
Piotique Quilt Guild and I thought it would be a great
chance for me to learn
to piece. I needed a new bed spread and I wanted to
make it. I
signed up for the class on Random Access quilts, chose the fabric, and
cut out
the many pieces. It was a learning experience, but Ginny B helped
me.
She was my sewing teacher.
I needed to get so much done before
I went back for my next “lesson” for more
encouragement. I am really
happy with that quilt. It was quilted by Lori Bond.
I also made a
few Linus quilts during the past year. They were good practice for me.
The next class I took was the
one on string quilting. Again, Ginny stood with me as I
navigated the
process.
I finished the first one called “Zigzag” last year but didn’t
take
it to be quilted. I wanted
to take the companion quilt ”Ell Oh” at
the same time. I did quite a bit of work on it but
summer came and I
spent most of my time outdoors. Finally, after Christmas I returned
to
the quilt. I’ve had some trouble with it, but I’m pleased that I have
been able to work
through my many errors. I put several pieces in wrong,
redid them, and I’m pleased to
say it didn’t frustrate me too much. I
have learned to be very careful in my cutting and
stitching. I am looking
forward tp finishing this quilt and starting on a new project.
Jane Roth
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Next
Sharon S.
My quilting journey was inspired by several people. My
Grandmother Pauline
crocheted and made tied quilts she gave to family members.
My friend Amy is an artist and quilter.
She got me started on the very first quilt. Of course, she made
most of the blocks. Along the way, She kept telling me there are no "quilt police"
but used a different
term. She said log cabin blocks would be simple and then we would
make pinwheels.
As it turns out, my choice in design and color made me the
"quilt police".
So we laughed and changed the pattern for the log cabin blocks.
That was 2011.
I took some sewing classes in Concordia.
Jenell, another fabric artist, made friends with me and invited me
to the guild.
I was able to curate a pop up window display of her artistry.
About the same time, a group of ladies and myself were being
mentored by Mara Del
and we all made a quilt as well. I entered that quilt at
Cloud County Fair
and received a blue ribbon. I joined the guild and continued to be
mentored and inspired by others. I have made 16 quilts two of
which are crib size
and 2 wall hangings. All of which I have gifted. I have seven
finished
tops I need completed into quilts.
I would like to encourage every fabric artist to always share and help
others on their journey. I am not sure I would have found this quilting
journey had it not been for others. I have found it very therapeutic
Sharon
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Last but not least -
Kim H.
Hi! I’m Kim Helms. I have had a love for quilting
since I was a little girl. I use to play in my mom’s
sewing things and she always had an old tin with
cut out quilt pieces in it! They were so much fun
for me to play with! I finally sewed the pieces
together when I was in high school and I put my
first quilt together in high school! My mom showed
my how to hand quilt and we worked on it and I
finally finished it the year I got married which was
when I was 20 years old. I was hooked!
Since then I made several quilts for my kids over
the years. I made a lot of scrap quilts from fabric
left over from sewing my girls clothes. I did a lot
of sewing.
Scrap quilts and applique quilts are my favorite
kind of quilts! I love the hand quilt and the majority
of my quilts are done hand quilting. I made maybe
a handful of machine quilting quilts. I have no idea
how many quilts I have made. I never kept track of
them and I have given several away as gifts. I am
a self taught quilter but in the last few years I have
become good friends with a lady that was an
excellent quilter who use to teach quilting, make
patterns, and won several awards over the years.
She has taught me many things! I am blessed to
have her as a friend!
The quilts I have chosen to show are a few of my
applique quilts.
The first one is one I made when my kids were
little. It was all from scraps and my kids named it
“Angels in the outfield”. It was named that by my
kids because of the angels in the quilt and that
was a popular movie at the time! The people and
pets in the quilt all stand for my family. We have
our house in the picture also. The kids just loved
this quilt. It is special to all of us. I always hung it
on the wall at Christmas time. It was my first
attempt to doing the invisible thread technique.
I didn’t do the best job but hey, we all learn
sometime!
The next quilt is one that I made from a kit.
I call it a picture of me in my garden! I love
to sew and I love to garden so this was a
fun quilt! I did this one also with the invisible
thread technique. I think I improved a little on
this one! J
The next quilt is a little wall hanging that I did.
It was my first attempt with needle turn applique.
I’m not sure why I did a pattern with such small
pieces for my first attempt! I loved doing it! I was
hooked with applique!
My final quilt is also an applique quilt that I did
using the blanket stitch. I used buttons as
embellishment. The buttons all come from
my mother-in-law’s sewing basket. I only
seen my mother-in-law twice. She died the year
before we were married with cancer. Sweet lady!
This quilt was a challenge because of the set
on point! Ugh! I still struggle with that!
Thank you for asking me to give my little story.
As a quilter we all know we could go on and on
with our stories. I am very thankful for what
God has blessed me with when he gave me the
gift of quilting!
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Thank you to each and every one of our members
who shared their stories and
their quilts with us. I do so hope I got the pictures
in the right order.
Next month - please come join us again for our
"Tag Team" program.
Be safe
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