Growing up, I remember my mom sitting at the sewing machine in the dining room, with the machine clacking away as she peered at the fabric feeding through the needle. I distinc tly remember that she made all our Halloween costumes for years, up until we stopped trick or treating. She also made all our clothes until second or third grade. Then she went back to work, and the sewing machine lay pretty idle for a few years.

Then one day, mom decided we should make a new Christmas tree skirt. She LOVED all things Christmas, including fabric. I used to tease her for being a Christmas fabric hoarder. I started the project, using a 1/3" seam and my mom finished it up using a 1/4" seam, and, well, just look at the picture - those squares did not align. I was devastated that it wasn't perfect, because I'm a perfectionist. But my mom loved it. It was handmade and Christmas-y and that was all that mattered.

This began my foray into sewing. First, I made my bedspread, which reached the ripe old age of 19 before it was retired. Then I started making clothes. Mostly dresses. Mom taught me everything she knew. Her favorite saying was, "How about we read the directions?" as I had a tendency to just skip on past that important step. 

After high school, I went away to college, and then lived in a tiny studio apartment for many years. It was perfect for a single person, but sadly was not big enough for a proper sewing corner. 

I didn't take up quilting again for more than a decade, and, as it happens, it was a Christmas project! 

I worked with some amazingly creative people at the time, and each of us had our own hobby. My boss asked us to create a holiday-themed craft to be featured on the cover of the December issue of our publication. I knew RIGHT where to go....mom's Christmas stash!

My mom absolutely loved the final piece, and I hang it up every year.

In my 30s, I made gifts for friends who were buying houses, getting married, and having babies. I donated to charity events. But then, my friends grew older and my stash of fabric just kept growing. What to do with all this fabric and a hobby I loved? 

And then, 2020 happened. I was house-bound and out of Netflix options. I opened up the storage bin, dusted off the sewing machine and starting stitching. At 20+ years young, my mom's Janome machine hummed along, and helped me create a masterpiece. 

I donated that quilt to a charity raffle, and helped raise $900. Then I signed up for an outdoor craft fair. It was a pretty slow day, I didn't sell anything for 5 hours and 50 minutes. Just as I was getting ready to pack up for the day, someone driving past saw the quilts on display and screeched into the parking lot to buy his mom a birthday gift. My constant Facebook postings earned me a commission, followed closely by four more. 

And that was when Turtle Ink Stitchery really took off.