quilting neophyte

Patricia Belyea with Nicki

I’m a graphic design professional who has rediscovered my love of fabrics and sewing.

As a teenager, I spent all my free time at the helm of a Pfaff machine. At 13, I used a Vogue pattern and made a fully lined, cashmere coat with bound buttonholes. Through high school, I sewed my own clothes, including prom dresses.

When I turned 18, I attended a women’s college in Guelph, Canada to study Clothing Design. The professor, a high-strung fashion designer from Toronto, made all the students’ lives miserable. After five weeks I dropped the class and transferred to the hard sciences.

It was such a traumatic experience that I didn’t sew for 20 years. And then, I only made a few flannel nightgowns for my little daughters and curtains for their room.

In Spring 2007 my youngest bought fabric and a pattern for her Junior Prom dress. As she’d never made a dress before, I offered to help. That got me sewing again. Two months later I made my first quilt—for an Art Chix project. I was pricked by the passionate needle and I haven’t stopped quilting since.