About Me

I've been quilting off and on for about 40 years. I learned how to knit, crochet, embroider, and quilt from both my grandmother, Mable Cleo Matheson Wineland, and my mother, Shirley Taylor. Each had a hard time trying to teach me, because of my dyslexia and being left handed.

 The quilters in my family start with my mother, and work their way to Sarah True. So if you wonder about my 5th generation, it goes like this - Sarah True, Minnie Reeder, Mable Wineland, Shirley Taylor, and myself. I believe I may be a 6th or 7th generation quilter, but can't "prove" it yet. I have 8 generations of family that have been in the US. We came from the Mayflower, and it could be more generations.

Growing up, I was around family and friends that worked on different crafts. Every change I got, I would learn how to do whatever craft was out there to learn. I'm sorry to say, tatting is one craft I was not taught. My great grandmother, Minnie Reeder, did beautiful tatting, and I still have her tatting tools.

I have a quilt that both my great grandmother and grandmother made for me. At the time, I was a Sr. in HS. Great grandmother was having eye trouble and my grandmother was hard of hearing. So, the quilt is not the "best" but it is the "best" for me. I treasure that quilt. It is over 30 years old, with some wear, but the overall effects are still there. It was done with scraps and the main color is yellow.

I have found over the years, that quilting has not been my "favorite" form of handwork. I believe I only quilted because I needed quilts on my bed and didn't want blankets. I knew my mother wouldn't make me a quilt, so I had to make it myself.

Now, I have gone back to my first love of hand work. Actually my second. My first love is needlepoint. Cross stitching is pretty close to needlepoint. I love working on a canvas and seeing the design develop. It's a lot faster than a quilt. I love how the design comes out and how it looking hanging on my wall. It's hard to really say why I love to work with my hands. I find it more enjoyable to sit in front of the T.V. with my hubby working on my craft. I have also gotten back into embroidery. Embroidery is what my grandmother taught me. I feel close to her when I work on my embroidery pieces. Grandma Wineland did both cross stitch and embroidery. She thought cross stitch would be too hard for me to learn. My mother-in-law, Judie, knew better. She's the one that got me back to loving embroidery when my children were younger.  I made a lot of the "Precious Moments" designs to hand on the wall. They actually hung on the walls, till my children moved out. They are now in a box downstairs. I think part of my returning to cross stitch is so I can be close to my grandmother and mother-in-law.  I truly miss my MIL. Judie was an awesome person, I couldn't have asked for a better MIL.

I've been lucky in life. I've had a great family history and having the knowledge (or as some would say - talent) to be able to make whatever my heart desires. I took art classes in school. I can draw, but not "patterns." As much as I would love to be able to draw a pattern for quilting, it just isn't there. I can see a pattern, but I can not put it down on paper the way I see it. So, I tend to go to my two children and get their help. I'm trying to get more into the design faze of quilting, and that has yet to come. I can design Hawaiian quilts, and in due time I may do that. My purple Hawaiian quilt is my first in designing. I am also hoping to be able to design patterns for embroidery. I can hope. What I see and what I do, are two different things when it comes to designing. I will continue to TRY and design and pray one day I can get there. In the meantime, I enjoy the crafts I do.

I tend to be "scattered" at times, as I have so much going on in my head, that I tend to go from one thing to another. This one can see when they read my blog. I have so much going on, I'm amazed at times I actually get stuff done.

I'm married and have 2 children. At this time it doesn't look like I will have grandchildren in my life.

This is my daughter, whom I'm very proud of! She's a kick! I'm also proud of my son and his wife. They live close by, but don't see much of them.

My son and DIL live about 5 mins away. I love them dearly but see them very little. Not by choice. They are my joy!

I'm very proud of both my children. They are doing what they like to do in life. They are hard workers and a joy to be around.

Blogging has been fun for me over the past couple years. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do writing it.