My start in textiles is very typical – I can remember making my first embroidery at the age of 5. It was on burlap and very big and not that pretty. But I was so happy to make it. When I was ten years old my mom taught me to use the sewing machine by having me sew along lines she had drawn on paper. Then I started sewing clothes for my stuffed animals and Halloween costumes for myself. Needless to say, I really enjoyed Home Economics at school when we had sewing. Later on when I was going to college I worked in a fabric store and in the costume department. And so I continued to gather knowledge and experience bit by bit.
Today I am an active member in two different quilt groups here in Munich (The Samplers and the Munich Modern Quilt Guild) and a member of the Patchwork Gilde Deutschland. I have learned so much and come so far. But the joy I feel when I am working on a project or trying a new technique is still the same. Now I enjoy making quilts, patchwork and bags and doing machine embroidery or free-motion embroidery.
It thrills me to be able to use my skills to create a project for a customer or to teach others about sewing.
In case you were wondering, yes, I am American. But I’ve been living in Germany for a very long time now.
I opened the Hands Gallery artists’ cooperative in Haidhausen, Munich, in March of 2011. This is where you can usually find me – sewing, quilting, embroidering and organizing the store.
Since then I’ve been busy with the store and learning as much as I can about sewing, marketing, and more! Here you can see some of the courses I’ve participated in:
- School of Stitched Textiles
- Experimentation with Art Quilt Workbook
- Dream Plan Do
- Online Workshops with Dionne Swift
- Gail Harker Online Color Studies
- Sulky Teacher Certification
- Coursera Project – Creation of Artifacts in Society
- School of Stitched Textiles