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Thanks for the votes!
It's finally over!
Click the image above to get a look at the winner.


To be a part of this unique quilting contest has been an incredible honor and an amazing experience!

The 2008 challenge has been put on hold. I was recently asked by a few people why. So, I am posting the information here again.
The 2007 contest was riddled with quilts that were older than the 2 year limit outlined by the rules. The grand prize winner was chosen late after an effort by Reality Publishing to determine which quilts should not have been enterered and therefore could not be considered in the final vote. It is a real shame. This contest was a great idea. Unfortunately it seems the grand prize of $100,000 was it's undoing. It's possible that honest mistakes were made by some of these entrants. But it seems unlikely that nearly 1/3 of the finalists missed the 2 year limit in the rules.

If it is possible for Reality Publishing to re-group I would love to see the re-birth of this contest. I would hope there would be an addition to the long list of rules and it would read "Only quilts 2 years old or younger and not previously shown or entered in any contest will be considered." I believe this would open the competition up to wider audience and result in an amazing race to the grand prize. With everyone submitting new work, others, like me who are new to the quilting an sewing world might feel less intimidated about entering. It is daunting for talented 'new' quilters to know they will be competing against proven multi-prize winning quilts. If all of the quilts would be facing the judges for the first time I believe that would make for an interesting contest!

When I first saw the $100,000 Quilting Challenge Magazine at JoAnns Fabrics, I though "Oh, no, I'm not ready for that yet." and walked away. A few months later, a friend asked me if I knew of it and I admitted I did not. She suggested I enter because, as Kathie said "I think you should. Your quilt is beautiful and I believe it has a great chance of winning!" With nothing to loose I took the chance! I am honored that my quilt, Approaching Winter is among the winners in a group of distinguished seasoned professional quilters!

My quilt is back home with me now after it's latest showing at The Machine Quilters' Expo (MQX) which was on April 14-19 2008. I will be submitting it for judging in the World Quilt Competition.



My entry in the Glenn Harris digitizing contest.

Visit the machine embroidery site of Glenn Harris! While there sign up for his newsletter and Yahoo Group!

Click Here to Download the ZIP (HUS and PES) file!

I have decided to offer a few free samples of my machine embroidery for those interested. I am considering selling some of my designs, but to do this will require a re-vamping of my web-site....again. Since I would rather spend valuable time in my sewing room than writing HTML code, I do not anticipate having my embroidery posted any time soon. But, in the meantime, I will try to post a free sample every now and then. Please click here to go to my first machine embroidery sample! Emroidery-Quilts and designs

Getting Started

I would have said you're joking if anyone had said to me 4 years ago that I would not only be a stitching nut, but that I would also be creating prize-winning pictorial quilts!
But, this is exactly what I have done. I guess it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks. It started with a small sewing machine my mother sent to me 4 years ago. I had been making ribbon pillows and she thought it would be helpful if I had a machine to help me out. there was only one problem...I didn't know how to sew!

I had an opportunity to learn just after my husband went away to Geneva for a month-long meeting. We had set up the attic room for me to use as painting studio. I set-up the machine and every day I would go up there and play around with it. Using the fabric I had for my pillow backs, I set about teaching myself how to sew. Before my husband arrived home, I had completed my first queen-sized patchwork quilt!

I had been suffering from a serious painting block after a dozen years or so of making a name for myself as a watercolor artist. Usually when this happened, I was able to paint through it. But, not this time. And, I was worried about not having a creative outlet.In the short time it took me to develope some basic sewing skills, I was hooked. It was after my 4th or 5th traditional quilt that I found myself wanting to do more. I wanted to see how far I could go with this. What follows on these pages is photos that will take you through my journey. Enjoy!