English Quilting
Hand guided quilting
Sewing has been a big part of my life. My sister taught me how to sew a dress when I was 12, we bought the fabric from Grants, there were no fabric stores at that time. It was a rough time learning from my older sister, she told me to sew a straight line, so I did, right down the center of the fabric. The quality of the fabric wasn’t very good and left holes when she made me take it out. I wasn’t deterred. In home economics when everyone else made one item I made four. One was a nightgown for my sister, she loyally wore it and it was years later that she told me I put the gathers in the underarm not the shoulder. Oops.
I’ve improved over the years, fortunately. I took a quilting class in college. The teacher said the only way to quilt was to do it all by hand. I completed 2 rows by hand and cut each piece by tracing the template and cutting it out with scissors. That summer I visited Lancaster, PA and saw the Amish used treadle sewing machines, if they could use a machine then I could too! I finished the quilt in a day and haven’t stopped quilting since.
I owned Crossroads, a fabric and craft store in the 80’s. After I closed the store I started a little known business called English Traditions with my husband. I like to think that Jon and I have a tradition of providing a quality product with superior customer service. I used English Traditions to sell hand smocked garments at Letchworth Park and for the past 12 years I’ve had an online business of selling caps and scarves for people going through chemotherapy. (https://www.etsy.com/shop/EnglishTraditions)
I’ve had a long arm quilting machine for over 15 years. I love bringing quilts to life with finding a pattern to bring out the best features of the quilt.