I am originally from Southeast Asia, and trained as a Chemical Engineer at the University of Arkansas with a graduate degree.  I never even touched a sewing machine in my life, let alone quilting, until the Fall of 2005. After that, I was totally smitten with the art of quilting.  When I am not quilting, I like to read, collect china, and indulge in all things heirloom, and handworked needlework like smocking and cross-stitching.  One goal I would like to achieve quilt-wise before I die is to reproduce a Baltimore Quilt in full size.  I now reside in northern Virginia with my family, and love exploring the historic sites in the area.

Blog:  http://www.ivoryspring.wordpress.com

Website:  http://www.wendysheppard.net

Pippa Armbrester is a quilt designer who lives in Boston with her husband and teacup poodle. While studying art history as an undergarduate, she fell in love with textiles and never looked back. Her work explores contemporary interpretations of the quilting tradition, bold geometric designs, and solid colorful fabrics. She designs and sells quilts full time, and when she’s not quilting enjoys running, knitting, and culinary explorations.

Website: www.pippaquilts.com

I have absolutely no background in sewing. In fact, I consider replacing buttons a challenge and avoid doing so as much as possible. The very thought of trying to use a sewing machine was terrifying until a kind soul took the time and patience to explain each and every step to me over and over again until I got it.

That was about a year ago and I haven’t been away from a sewing machine for more than a few days since. At first I made every pattern I could find that I liked, but now I am more interested in trying to design my own quilts. Designing Squared Away for Quilt Magazine was my first attempt and hopefully not my last.

Lynn has been sewing since the age of nine.  She learned to sew from her mother and was encouraged by her grandmother, who always told her that anything she made was the “most beautiful thing” she had ever seen.

Lynn made many of her own clothes in middle and high school and completed her first quilt when she was twelve.  Since then, she has had quilts juried in the American Quilt Show in Paducah, the Modern Quilt Guild Showcase, and the QuiltCon show.  Her quilts have been published in Generation Q magazine, Fat Quarterly, and Lark Book’s Pretty Little Mini Quilts.

Lynn lives in Michigan, where she grows vegetables, raises chickens, and takes inspiration from her husband and three amazing children.  She enjoys many kinds of needlework and loves to knit, spin, embroider, and browse her collection of vintage children’s books.  Lynn writes about her daily life and shares photographs of her creations on her blog www.thelittleredhen.typepad.com

Always considering herself an eclectic collector, Lori Krueger brings the same range to her sense of design. An established jewelry and interior designer, textile design is her most recent passion. Her latest fabric collection designed for Windham Fabrics is “Downtown“.  Sewing since she was 9, she is right at home working with her hands. In 1989, she began Lori Krueger Accessories, a hair accessory company, bringing to America the original “Lori Loops.”

An avid antique and quilt collector, her reliable motto is, “There is nothing like a good flea market find.” Apparent in all of her designs is a bold mix of old and new, daring colors, along with motifs where you least expect to find them.

Lori Krueger lives with her husband and two daughters in New York City. She also owns The Patchwork Co fabric store in Windham, NY.

Visit my blog at thepatchworkco.typepad.com

I have always enjoyed playing with scraps! My grandmother sewed for everyone in our small town & made the cheerleader’s outfits and other costumes, so her trash bin had great things to spark imagination. My other grandmother was a schoolteacher and also sewed, she had 7 daughters & would tell about receiving a whole bolt of fabric from my great-grandmother to make dresses for everyone. She quilted after she retired and made a quilt for each of her children plus various projects for the rest of the family. I learned a bit of crochet & embroidery but my fingers itched to do ‘real’ sewing. I had to wait for freshman year & my first Home Ec class. Our teacher was terrific and very patient. She had quite a challenge with our class as some had never held a needle while others had been making their own clothing for 4-H since 4th grade. I made garments that year, having padded my experience with every item I could think of so I wouldn’t have to make an apron!

My first quilting experience was making baby quilts with my grandmother & mother in 1970, when my sister & I were both pregnant. The first quilt I made by myself was a few years later for that daughter, a Log Cabin quilt as you go pattern that was in a magazine. Guess you would say I was hooked at that point. I didn’t realize that all our beds were covered with quilts until my youngest daughter came home & talked about the quilts on her friend’s beds that came clear to the floor- she hadn’t seen an actual bedspread in our house!

Fast forward to an Alumni Banquet, where one of the former students mentioned owning a quilt shop about 12 miles away. I was sure she could use my help and I have been spending time there for 10 years or so, first helping customers & all the usual chores for the business, but eventually she taught me to use the long arm machine, and I now quilt for customers as well as my own projects. A chance conversation at a quilt shop in Oregon led to working with Fabri-Quilt occasionally, designing projects and making samples for their convention booths. It is all great fun and I am blessed to have a husband who supports my passion for quilts by helping with quilt shows and other related activities. I have 4 children & 5 grandchildren & 1 great-granddaughter, all share my hugs & quilts!

Jocelyn Ueng is the design manager for It’s Sew Emma® Patterns. She enjoys the process of highlighting the beauty of fabrics in quilts and feels fortunate to have found this creative avenue!

Blog: www.fatquartershop.blogspot.com
Website: www.itssewemma.com

I have been sewing most of my life but, I wanted to learn to quilt. So one day in the year 2000 I spent a day with my mom and she showed me a “9-Patch”. I was off and running. Fighting depression quilting became my safe zone.  I have been blessed to design for Hoffman, Windham, P&B, Northcott, Timeless Treasures, and Quilting Treasures. As a designer and teacher it is hard work, but every day I thank God that I am a quilter.

Website: www.thequiltedbutton.com

As a child, Tanya lived in many midwestern states and was able to admire the handiwork of the pioneer women that had first settled those areas.  Now, from the comfort of her own home, she is able to browse the Internet and be inspired by the many women and men who take the time to share their knowledge and craft with others.  She is now contributing back to the quilting community as a member of the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild and through her blog www.squaresandtriangles.com.   While she has a background in Biology, and has worked in labs and been an educator, she is currently the full time mom to four wonderful children, the wife of a supportive husband, a runner, a fabric collector, and a quilter.

I have been quilting since 1997 and I particularly love doing appliqué designs with bright, cheerful fabric. In addition to being a quilter I am also a dough artist.  www.kariepatch.com