More than 20 years ago, a friend could not stop talking about the quilt his mom had made for him – how much he loved the colors, how warm it was, how soft it was. He suggested to me once, “You sew, you should make a quilt.” I did and it was awful – no seams matched up, points of triangles were cut off, and it puckered and rippled all over the place, but I was hooked! I studied and tried every technique I came across to improve my quilt making. Very quickly cotton became my medium and my dream of becoming a painter was replaced with being a quilt artist.

I view fabric as my pallet. My hand dyed fabrics are created using permanent, fiber reactive dyes. I triple wash and treat each piece with a dye retention agent in order to prevent colors bleeding and to keep colors bright. Many of my fabrics are in half-yard pieces which pushes me to get creative in how many colors I can put in one quilt. One of my most favorite steps in the quilt making process is the design phase – I’ll have a spark of an idea or pattern I want to attempt and start putting fabrics together. I love pulling fabrics of different shades and hues together as I sit on the floor in front of my storage cupboards.

I construct and quilt each piece on my standard, home sewing machine. Her name is Lily (really, it says so right on her front nameplate). Fourteen years ago, when she was new, I named the first quilt I made with her “Celebrating Lily.”

Over the years, my quilts have been awarded ribbons both from the Minnesota State Fair and Minnesota Quilters, Inc. Each piece I make is made with the same attention to detail and care as if it is being prepared for a show – precision piecing and heirloom quality quilts are always my focus.

I have a hard time defining many of my pieces because I believe in the functionality of a quilt. I love the idea of making pieces which are equally at home hung on a wall as decoration, used on a bed for snuggling, or for wrapping an infant in a one-of-a-kind baby quilt. I’ll make the quilts to last and leave the usage up to you!

Be sure to check out my other shop on Etsy!

www.HotPotHolder.etsy.com
Handmade pot holders in a variety of colorful prints

And coming soon:
www.sonyabquilts2.etsy.com
A continuing love affair with cotton and quilting