Tuesday, December 2, 2014

You've Got to Meet Mandy Leins!

Last Friday, after the craziness and fun of Thanksgiving with friends and family I gave a sneak peek at the Bulls-Eye Rose quilt. I also mention Mandy Leins. She was the longarm quilter who used her magic to stitch wonder into the quilt.

I met Mandy on-line when she contacted me about Fast-Piece Applique. She had tried it out and found that it worked well for her and she wanted to share about it on her own blog. Of course I said yes, and our friendship grew from there, and I now I am grateful to be able to share with you a bit of Mandy's own quilting adventure.
In her own words:
How did you find quilting?
I first started quilting while I was with my grandparents for a week, and there wasn't much else to do.  My grandmother had a '47 in-cabinet Singer that everyone in the family had made something on (work clothes, outdoor gear, etc.), and I wanted to be part of that legacy.  My grandfathers were the ones who loved quilts, though, and they're the ones who I think of most.
Where you always drawn to the quilting?

In the biz, so to speak, everyone always says you need to pick what you love and focus on it.  My problem is I love every bit of it, from writing patterns to quilting something, to piecing, to... well, actually, binding is my least favorite part.  I guess I don't like it all.  As for longarm quilting for others, I love finding out the right "thing” that works on a quilt, that enhances the hard work put in by its owner.
What is my favorite thing, has it changed and am I at a fork in the road?

My favorite thing about this quilting adventure right now is figuring out how to get myself out there.  I think I have a lot to say; I think my work is very good; I think I can help people achieve what they want.  I'm not quite sure how to get that out there, but that's exciting for me.  My other favorite thing is that I have met some of the greatest people in this field, and I have made some of the greatest friends.  It's really humbling and wonderful, and I would be incredibly destitute without all of you.

I don't know if it's a fork in the road, but now that the longarm business is really starting to take off, I find myself more drawn to handwork for myself.  I need a hobby now that my hobby is a business, you know? I never thought that would be the case! 

Below are a few examples of Mandy's quilting work for others:
this is a Bee quilt quilted for a friend

this is detail from a quilt is by Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios
 this is one of Mandy's quilts and available soon as a pattern

this is a quilt by Jane Armstrong
this is the detail once again from the Bulls-Eye Rose quilt
and you can actually go to Mandy's site for an incredible
tutorial on the background design she created!
Isn't she amazing!





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