Like many women I know, I began my love of sewing at about age 8 when my mother taught me to use her treadle sewing machine. I got my own machine as a teenager and never stopped sewing. In 1988 in the San Francisco Bay Area I started a quilting “bee” with my friend Therese May (now a famous quilter and artist!) and discovered the fun of working on collaborative projects. After moving to the Sierra Foothills in 1990 I took my first official quilting class and was hooked. Since then I have belonged to a couple of smaller groups, most productive being Friends to Dye For, a group of 6 women who love sewing quilts & wearable art, making polymer jewelry, creating mosaics, and dyeing fabric.
I began my quilting business in the fall of 2010 to combine my love of illustration, lettering and quilting. I have been an illustrator and letterer for 27 years, and long arm quilting is really just doing what I’ve been doing all these years, but with a different tool. I love incorporating writing into my quilting, and “drawing” images that echo the motifs in the fabrics.
I hope that customers will enjoy having me do one-of-a-kind quilting on their quilts, making them special. I especially love working on art quilts and quilts that are contemporary. I look forward to expanding my repertoire as a quilt artist and discovering new and exciting ways to stitch! My Gammill 14’ long arm, named Dixie, is located in my quilting studio in a historic building in downtown Grass Valley, on West Main Street.
I live in Grass Valley, California with my partner of 28 years, illustrator Gary Pierazzi, and our 12 year old son Matteo. I belong to the Foothill Quilters Guild, Pine Tree Quilt Guild and Mountain Art Quilters.
