After working for weeks on a quilt as a Christmas gift for my husband, I handed my hard work over to a long-arm quilter to be top stitched. My heart dropped weeks later when she handed it back to me; let's just say it was a disappointment.

The following Christmas, my husband surprised me with a long arm quilting machine of my own, complete with a business license, and an ROI (return on investment) analysis.

He worried that I would refuse his gift because it cost so much, so with the machine he got me a business license under the name "BlueBrit," and a print out showing how long it would take for me to get a return on the investment.

Now ladies: who would turn down a long arm quilting machine in your home?

The ROI was completely unnecessary. I was thrilled to be able to make quilts from inception to binding all on my own.

That Christmas, BlueBrit was born.

And soon he and his band would be evicted from the basement. Quilting takes space!

My husband, a Yank, soon learned that when it comes to quilting, not all Americans have escaped British tyranny!