My Other Passion

My other passion is quilting and since I started back in 2000 I have made 60+ quilts, from lap size to queen size….

Just like my hobby of scrapbooking started (I was only going to make cards, who has time to scrapbook layouts) my hobby of quilting started much the same (I was only going to make baby blankets, who has time to quilt)… I jumped in with both feet and gave it 100%. I don’t do anything willy nilly, and whether it’s a good thing or not, I’m a perfectionist and will do things over and over again until I get it right.

I started sewing at the age of 12 when Home Economics Sewing classes were offered at my junior high school. Nobody in my family sews, none of my friends sewed, but I thought it would be “cool” to make my own clothes. The first thing I made was a pair of palazzo pants with the high waist and suspenders…. Most people chose an apron or a pair of pajama pants, but I wasn’t going to waste my time on an apron that nobody would ever use, I needed clothes. I was given an old Singer machine (yes it was electric and not a treadle – I’m not that old!) by a friend of my Mother’s and I set up my sewing room in a very small closet in our apartment. That year in my Home Economics class I made a few items of clothing and did not disappoint myself – I actually got great wear out of the items that I made. The year I graduated high school my Mom bought me a “new” Singer machine and it was the best gift I had ever received. Since that time I have purchased a few machines and when I started to make baby blankets I bought myself a computerized embroidery machine. I continued to sew on and off for years, sewing most of my kids clothes and then designing kids jackets. I’ve made many items and one year was commissioned to make each member of my son’s hockey team matching athletic pants that they could wear to the games. I am very fortunate to have a beautiful sewing room as well as a scrapbooking room side-by-side in my house and they are my place of tranquility, my favorite rooms in the house.

This past year we got an invitation to our good friend’s son’s wedding and I knew what our wedding gift to them would be – a quilt. I started in January as I didn’t want to be down to the wire and not have it completed but it went quickly and I finished it in April. I hope they enjoy the quilt as much as I enjoyed making it for them.

Congratulations Tyler & Lauren Kemp