I have been sewing since I was nine years old. The first thing I made was a pair of shorts with a matching shirt. The fabric was yellow, pink and white. During high school I made lots of clothes from the fabric I bought in the remnant bin. Usually these were end of the bolt or the fabric had a flaw and sometimes it was just ugly.

I started quilting in 1994 and have not looked back. I make 5-7 baby quilts year. The first quilts were for my nieces and nephews and friends and co-worker's children. It has come full circle and I am now making quilts for the children of my nieces and nephews and the grandchildren of my friends. There are always some neighbor children thrown in. I think all babies should have a quilt so they know they are covered with love.

I also make little quilts for pre-mature (preme) babies. One of the guilds I am in has a commitment to two hospitals to provide 80 premie quilts. I usually make 40 a year. They typically measure 18 inches square and have a flannel back. There are such cute fabrics for babies it makes it easy to come up with the designs.

Art quilts are my passion. They combine color, texture and design together. My designs are original or reworked traditional. I love color and my work clearly shows that. In addition I love adding a layer of texture, which includes applique or beads. I really love adding beads. A few of my art pieces have hundreds and thousands of beads. Most of the time, I start the process with a design in my head which I put down on paper. I then pull fabrics and start cutting and sewing. Lots of times my draft is not even close to what I actually made but it is still part of the process. Sometime I see a fabric and it serves as the jumping off point for the piece of art.

I had my first solo gallery show of my work with 18 quilts hung. The artist’s reception was so much fun. There were 60+ people there, which was the largest gathering the gallery ever had. My second show was put up on March 28 and is located in a yoga and art gallery. The combination of yoga and art gallery seems odd but it is a beautiful space. As a yogi is feels like such a natural to combine the two.