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Interview with long-arm quilter, Laura Lea Bailey - part 2
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Today I continue my interview with long-arm machine quilter Laura Lea Bailey of Grand Rapids, Michigan. You can read part one to see how she got started.
Do you like long-arm quilting better than piecing? Why or why not?
I will always find the piecing process the most joyful and stress-relieving for me! I LOVE to piece! I rarely get to piece anymore. My goal for 2009 is to piece some quilts and my motto is "2009 will be divine!"
It is amazing to me that I now NEED to quilt on the long-arm machine! It has always been stressful for me to do the quilting until the quilt is done (and I like the results!) The quilting part does not come easy for me. During the recent WMQG Show, Quilts on the Grand 2008, I was away from the machine for six days and I missed it! I wanted to get back to the basement and quilt something! I usually quilt seven days a week, working around my family's schedule.
What keeps you interested in quilting after all this time?
I love quilts!
I have quilts everywhere in my house, beds/walls/racks/furniture/table runners/closets full/etc. They make me feel good inside, I made them! Every person that I love has a quilt and they USE them. I love to see the people that I love using something that I made especially for them, and they appreciate all the love that went into it!
I love the whole process of quilting. It has helped me through the most difficult times in my life. I love to be alone in my sewing room and just piece quilts, it is my sanity.
Have the skills and temperament needed to be a quilter made other parts of your life easier to cope with?
I think my temperament was searching for something that would fit "it" and quilting was it. I have used my quilting to get through very stressful times and am vocal about if I don't get into my sewing room I will go "over the edge!"
When my daughter died it was all I could do, just be in my sewing room... I didn't accomplish much, but I needed to be in that room. When my youngest child was born he was HIGH MAINTENANCE and would have no part of me sewing. For Christmas that year my best friend gave me one day a week that I would go to her house and she would hold Lucas (screaming) while I made tiny log cabin blocks on her machine (it took her 2 days to recuperate every week! He weighed 30 lbs at a year old and was LOUD.) For months I did this. That small quilt is one of my most prized quilts! It is called "Cabins from Insanity" as I surely would have gone over the edge if it weren't for Joyce!
Lucas is now 12 years old and has more of my quilts than anyone! My biggest supporter! He has at least 10 quilts in/on his bed every night!
Stay tuned for more from my interview with The Surrogate Stitcher.
You can contact Laura at:
Laura Lea Bailey
The Surrogate Stitcher
Comstock Park, MI
616 560-2381
quilterllb@aol.com
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