I have always loved fabric and crafts. I remember the joy of rummaging through my mom's sewing box, accompanying her to the fabric store and watching her cut out patterns for my clothes. She taught me to sew and I made basic clothes when I was younger.

My husband and I received a sewing machine shortly after getting married in college. We took a sewing class together which resulted in a dress for me and a pair of shorts for him. I took a job at a fabric store and spent my paycheck on fabric! That was a great part-time job. I still can't walk by a fabric display without touching and straightening it.

After college, my husband and I joined the Peace Corps. The idea of not sewing for two years was more difficult for me than the idea of not having electricity or running water. So I took a small box of pre-cut squares of fabrics and, during the evenings by lantern light, hand sewed a small quilt complete with hand turned heart appliques.

I took a quilting class once I returned home. I fell in love with the process of quilting--selecting a pattern, buying fabric and cutting it into pieces, sewing the pieces back together to make a quilt top and finishing the project with quilting to hold the layers together. I made quilts for everyone! I made quilts for my bed, gifts for weddings, baby showers, for my friends, my sisters, table runners, picnic quilts, etc. I made quilts for my daughter and then more when my son was born. My kids have closets full of quilts. You see, not only is their mom a quilter but both grandmas are as well!

It was a couple years ago that I realized no one else I knew needed another quilt from me, but I couldn't stop making quilts. I started my Etsy store as a way to pay for my quilting hobby. It has now turned into a part-time job--even better than the one I had at the fabric store in college.

My quilting has changed over the 17 years since I made my first quilt. Not only has it improved with all the practice I've done, but my style has changed. I no longer have the patience for piecing hundreds of pieces together. I have developed a love for applique and less intense piecing. I love large areas of "blank" space in a quilt where I can fill it with intricate quilting.

For many years I machine quilted my quilts on a regular home sewing machine. It was always so difficult for me to wrestle a large quilt with all its bulk while quilting a design. I mostly kept my projects to a relatively small size (think baby quilt or lap quilt) and the quilting simple for this reason. I recently purchased a long-arm quilting machine. I feel like this purchase has allowed me to expand what I quilt and how I quilt. With the long-arm, I can quilt larger size quilts and with much more detail. My long-arm quilting machine is not digitally computerized nor do I have a laser light to follow a printed pattern. I do all my quilting in a free hand manner. I physically move the sewing machine around to create the design that I have running through my head.

It is my hope that each of my creations will portray my attention to detail, my attraction to color and my love for whimsical quilted keepsakes.

I am on Instagram @shanschlosser. Follow me to get a look at what I'm working on and what inspires me!

I have been PUBLISHED in a variety of quilting magazines.
See my patterns in:

McCall's Quilting Jan/Feb 2015
Fons & Porter's Easy Quilts Spring 2015
McCall's Quick Quilts April/May 2015
Modern Patchwork Winter 2016
Quilts and More Spring 2016
McCall's Quick Quilts April/May 2016
McCall's Quilting May/June 2016
Modern Patchwork Summer 2016