I started sewing as a young girl. Like most of us, doll clothes were the first things I made. I always say “Barbie wasn’t well dressed but at least she wasn’t naked!”  I credit my mom for never stifling our creativity; it seemed that any fabric scrap was fair game. Art and home-ec classes rounded out my sewing/designing education and after high school, garment sewing was what I did most. I’ve made wedding gowns (including my own), costumes and my business before quilt designing was making aerobic wear. I was known as The Leotard Lady. 

I’ve now been quilting for over 30 years (how’d I get this old?) and teaching and working in quilt shops for 20 of those years. I have been blessed with the opportunity to design quilts for a few fabric companies including Blank Quilting, Timeless Treasures and several magazines. Other projects have included raffle quilt for guilds that I belong to as well as commissioned works for various corporations.

Since I’ve always preferred to create my own designs or adapt traditional quilts to my own style, starting a pattern company was a natural step to take and I began The Irish Chain Pattern Company in 2003. I’ve done a couple of lines of fabric with Blank Quilting Fabrics.

My patterns include the ‘Quilted Jewel Series’ which uses a set of templates that I designed to cut 60 degree angles and avoid ‘Y’ seams and a line of more traditional style patterns.

 I consider myself very blessed to have a career where I can “take pleasure in all my toil” (Ecclesiastes 3:13), to be able to teach others and to share the talents God has given me.