My Studio
Peter and my Log Cabin quilt, the very first quilt I hand-stitched in 1974.
This is the studio in which I quilt your quilt top, complete attic quilts purchased at auction and put together my original quilts.
Shown in the photo is my quilt frame, custom built for me by Peter Hammerling in his woodworking shop in Clermont, New York. That's Peter in the photo. I use a professional short arm machine to quilt your tops and mine. I use a Singer machine 201-2 and a Singer 237 purchased in 1977 to piece some of my quilts. I also hand quilt some quilts. On the frame is the vintage nine-patch quilt I found at auction, added borders and quilted with free-motion flowers. It sold at the Vermont Quilt Festival in 2011.
The quilt on the frame in the photo below is a butterfly quilt made for a teenager. I pieced the quilt using the Drunkard's Path pattern and hand embroidered the butterflies' antennae. The quilt is set on the diagonal. I used free motion quilting (my preferred method) to machine quilt this quilt.
I began to quilt in 1974. I wanted to use the scrap fabric leftover from making my own clothes. I was taught to hand piece and hand quilt, using only cotton fabrics (pre-shrunk and ironed prior to piecing). Back then, we used round quilting frames to keep the quilt taut while hand quilting.
Quilting has evolved since then. I now machine piece and machine quilt. I still take great care to select the proper fabric, always cotton, for the quilts I create from scratch.The vintage quilts I purchase at auction and from others' attics are sometimes made with polyester blends. I repair these quilts if need be, clean them carefully and add cotton borders. I then embellish the vintage quilt with free motion quilting designs and offer them for purchase. Thus, I marry traditional techniques of quilting with modern applications while retaining my interest is utilizing leftovers to create beautiful, functional pieces.