A Quilter's Life – Details, episodes & analysis

We had to drive on back country roads in West Virginia to meet Reberta Hall.  Ginny Guthrie Caplinger had told me about Reberta a while back and I’m so glad it worked out for me to meet her.  Should I have been concerned when Ginny and her husband, Jim, climbed into the truck to take me and said to each other - Do you remember to get there?  And then at a fork in the road they again were - Which way? Oh well, we have all day to get there.  I just smiled and trusted them.  And I’m so thankful that we arrived, had a wonderful lunch, and of course the best part was getting to know Reberta! Throughout Reberta's story you’ll hear how she loved to sing and she loved poetry.  She shared several quilty poems, quilts, and pictures of her life which I'm sharing here below. This Flower Garden quilt was started for Reberta in 193o and finished for her daughter in 1951. Reberta loves Crazy Quilts.  Here she is with a special one that she keeps on her couch. Here are some other quilts that Reberta has made.  Her special cat, Sue Boy, used to enjoy them also. A couple of pictures of life.  Reberta and her cousin.  Then the second picture shows the car Rebeta learned to drive in.  Notice how deep the ruts in the road were.  This is the road that went past their front door.  You can see her house in the background.  It's now part of her driveway. Reberta painted this stool.  Doesn't the design look a bit like a quilt?  Isn't this collection of wooden spools amazing?

Jean Pickering Collins is one of my heroes.  Every time I have the opportunity to chat with her she’s been on a new adventure.  It astounds me that she accomplishes so much and she makes such beautiful quilts.  I don’t know how she has gotten it all done.  And then here locally whenever her name comes up people have such glowing remarks to share about her. If you didn’t listen to my first interview with Jean from July 12th of 2019, you’ll want to go back and listen to her story. It’s hard to believe that on July 12, 2019 I released my first three episodes of A Quilter’s Life.  I purposely chose Jean to do this second interview to celebrate 5 years of recording and sharing stories of quilters.  Life happens and I ended up in the hospital overnight with bad headaches and double vision.  I am still dealing with these symptoms, but as the doctors help me to figure out what’s going on I’m still able to share these stories with you even with a few delays. When I arrived at Jean’s for this interview it was a beautiful day, so we left the doors open.  While listening you’ll figure out why that became a problem. You’ve also probably noticed that the first interview her name was Jean Pickering and in this interview we’ve added Collins.  Again, this adventurous lady will explain all of that. This is the Trip Around the World Quilt Jean made for her husband, Bill Collins. This quilt Jean made for her college class reunion in 2005. After the interview Jean showed me several of her quilts.  This Dresden Plate covers her bed. We started talking about small piecing and she pulled out this tiny Clam Shell she had done. Here are the tableclothes that Jean picked up in France and Portugal. If you missed Jean's prior interview here's the link: Jean Pickering

When Jody Leonardo suggested that I interview Rochelle Rice, I was thrilled.  I’d been wanting to connect with Rochelle and her co-host, Leslie Bercher, for awhile, but hadn’t done it yet.  Rochelle and Leslie are the co-hosts of the Inappropriate Quilters Podcast and I guess I had them up on a bit of a pedestal.  So when Rochelle told me that she’s been listening to A Quilter’s Life I was in shock. It was so much fun to chat and realize we have such respect for each other.  Rochelle teases me at the end that we chatted for many hours.  I’m sure we could have, but my interviews don’t last that long. Here's a Mosaic Quilt that Rochelle made Connect with Rochelle Instagram: doughnutwarrior And listen to her podcast: Inappropriate Quilters Podcast  

I hope you enjoyed last week’s episode of Sandy Bailey’s first half of her interview.  I sure did.  Here’s the continuation of Sandy’s story and how she and her friend, Pam, became the Too Busy Bs.  I think they stay busy because their customers are so happy with what they have to offer that the word of mouth advertising has exploded. Sandy’s first commissioned quilt Here are some quilts that Sandy has gifted         She kept the Chickadee quilt Here are some samples of Sandy’s quilting    

Bonnie’s Quilt back

Carole J. Ellis’s Quilt. Dec. 2020

  If you want to connect with Sandy, send her an...

Sandy Bailey and I were enjoying our visit only to be surprised when we realized three hours had passed since we had started the interview.  Don’t worry I was able to trim it down some, but decided to split her story into two episodes.  It’s a good thing Sandy is retired because she doesn’t have time for work anymore. Sandy's first commissioned quilt Here are some quilts that Sandy has gifted She kept the Chickadee quilt Here are some samples of Sandy's quilting [caption id="attachment_2912" align="alignnone" width="185"] Bonnie’s Quilt back[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2904" align="alignnone" width="225"] Carole J. Ellis’s Quilt. Dec. 2020[/caption] If you want to connect with Sandy, send her an email:

When Rachael Logsdon’s friend told her she needed to learn to quilt, her response was, “Quilting is stupid!” Wow, to go from thinking she didn’t like quilts to making wonderful quilts for others is amazing. Quilting came into Rachael’s life at a time when she needed a new passion.  It’s incredible to hear of her transformation. Here are some of Rachael's beautiful quilts You may connect with Rachael on her Facebook page: Dragonfly Quilt Design  

Judy was raised by a woman that spent her life teaching people to sew using shortcuts and techniques that were designed by Judy’s mother to speed up the job, so the workers could make money. These techniques were not taught in any books and Judy loves passing the techniques on in her classes, because these wonderful shortcuts leave a professional finish. Her love of people and fabric has led Judy into having a shop of her own, Just Jude’s Creations. I love Judy’s motto of ‘The Shop Where Quilters become Long Lasting Friends!’ Here's one of Judy's quilts. Isn't this a great way to show off Judy's beautiful fabrics? Website: Just Judes Creations Facebook: Just Judes Creations

We’ve all run into at least one person that thinks we should do something with our quilting that isn’t what we want to do.  Corintha Russell explains this very well and has a great way to let them know that’s not what she does.  She also has one of the best stories of a wonderful reaction to giving a quilt away.  It’s wonderful when others show the well deserved appreciation of receiving a quilt.  I want to thank Sue Stafford of Serendipitee Quilt Shop for putting me in contact with Corintha. Corintha's first “Ocean Wave” quilt, made for a friend’s Mother. It was pieced by her using Edyta Sitar’s “Over the Rainbow” batik fabrics, quilted by a Longarmer, “Baptist Fan” pattern. She LOVED this quilt so much and is currently working on a duplicate version that she will keep for herself. In July, 2014 Corintha won the APQS (American Professional Quilting Systems) Great American Give Away! And Freddie came to live with her!!! Since Freddie (her automated APQS quilting machine) came to live with her in Marion, Ohio. The following pictures are some of Corintha's favorite quilts that she made and Freddie quilted. From APQS’ Website: When Corintha Russell found out she was the lucky winner of the brand new APQS Freddie longarm machine last year, her quilt guild had just taken on a challenge to make patriotic quilts for 90 veterans scheduled to take the Columbus, Ohio, Honor Flight this fall ... Hop over to the APQS blog to read about how Corintha and her new Freedom machine tackled more than 55 quilts in UNDER a year! We supported the Columbus, Ohio Honor Flight organization for three flights over a two year period. Lack of support prompted us to wish Honor Flight the very best and turn our quilting efforts to Snuggled In Hope Quilts. Thanks to Sue Stafford for connecting me with Corintha! Here’s Sue’s website: Serendipitee

Debra Berger likes to build things and has found that putting together quilts is a way to express that talent and fondness of building things.  It’s also something that she can do for others.  Out of all the quilts she has made she only has a few for herself which she says is an honor and blessing to give these quilts away. Debra's first quilt was a Dr. Seuss quilt Her favorites were ones she made for her son-in-law These Christmas ornaments were made with leftover military material from the quilts for her son-in-law Debra just finished making this Judy Niemeyer quilt called Valley Blossoms and the next picture is the Goldendoodle quilt where she used the neckties from the groomers Here are a few more of Judy's quilts She enjoys working on her longarm Judy did an amazing job refurbishing this Singer

DeeAnn Vigil joined the A Quilter’s Life Facebook group a while back and answered that she was willing to be a guest on this podcast.  It’s so great to get to know each other as we all have this wonderful hobby of quilting in common.  From wanting to do something special for her sister and then falling in love with quilting DeeAnn is making beautiful quilts! Here's DeeAnn's Wedding Ring Quilt DeeAnn's cousin's Quilt Shop: Quilter's Attic