I reached out to Susanne Woods from Lucky Spool in October of 2019 to discuss my goals of growing as a technical editor within the quilting industry. I met Susanne through the Modern Quilt Guild and QuiltCon, and when I reached out to her last year, she was generous with her time and replies. Armed with new knowledge, I continued to forge my path as a technical editor.
Susanne (Left) and Jill (Right) – QuiltCon 2018 Pasadena
In late December, Susanne reached out to me and asked if I would consider taking on a quick turnaround technical editing job with Lucky Spool. Unfortunately, Susanne passed away in February 2020, so instead of getting to discuss the project with her in person at QuiltCon 2020 in Austin, the Lucky Spool team picked up the pieces and worked our best to navigate the path forward because this project was so close to being complete. And so, it is with deep gratitude that I can say I had a small part in helping make Quilting with Liberty come to fruition.
In Quilting with Liberty, author Jenni Smith celebrates the iconic designs that have made Liberty of London one of the world’s iconic fabric manufacturers, enjoying unparalleled success from 1875 to the present day. Here, 15 quilts celebrate Liberty’s history decade by decade, featuring these luxurious fabrics and reflecting changing fashion trends and major developments in both the store’s history and the history of design.
The US Launch for Quilting with Liberty will be via Zoom on Saturday, November 21 at 11am CT. Visit this link to register to be part of the launch party and to learn more details.
Giveaway
I have a copy of Quilting with Liberty that I will ship to the US. In memory of Susanne, all you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog post with a name or memory of a person who touched your life in a positive way. Comments left before Sunday, November 15th, at 9pm Eastern will be eligible. A winner will be randomly selected from the comments and the winner will have 48 hours to reply to a confirmation email to claim the prize.
The giveaway is over. Congratulations to Tina!
Your timing is perfect. Monday would be the birthday celebration of a friend who was really more of a sister to me–in fact, if you’d asked us how we were related, when she was still here, each of us would have just responded that we were sisters, because it felt so true and was so much easier than explaining how long we had been friends and how interwoven our lives had become. Even now that she has been gone 17 years, I still think of her every day and I wouldn’t change that. I have been blessed with strong and precious friendships in my life, but no one will ever replace her. Her strength and humor and support are still a part of my everyday life, which is a reflection of the force of character and personality. She was a force of nature.
My in-laws immediately came to mind. My husband’s parents welcomed me into their family with arms flung wide open. I felt humbled and grateful. They are both gone now, and I miss them.. However, I inherited 2 of my mother-in-law’s well-worn Liberty blouses, pieces to piece into a quilt.
My memory is one of my grandmother who taught me to crochet. As I was the youngest of her numerous grandchildren and a late in life baby I didn’t get to have her in my life for a long time. It was only later when I expressed an interest in quilting that my mother shared that my grandmother had made quilts. All of the quilts were gone as they were utility quilts made to use and were made with old clothes or leftover fabrics. I still think of my grandmother and how she shared her love of crochet with me and if only had I known she would have shared her quilting knowledge. Her crochet time was spent making floor rugs to be used.
i had a teacher in high school that taught me not to get caught up in red tape. She taught me that if i want to do something, go ahead and do it, you don’t have to get ready to get ready to begin to do.you can just start doing.
My husband, the kindest, most unselfish human being I will ever have the honor of knowing. From donating a kidney, to taking care of our family, and those that work with him, never losing sight that we are blessed beyond measure.
My second job I had a supervisor named Connie that became a good friend. She was a very easy person to talk to. When she retired we still kept in touch.
A friend who died much to young, but who I still think of daily.
What a remarkable project. One of my first blog supporters/cheerleaders was Merry Mary from Michigan. She commented on every single post and offered support and advice in a dozen ways. While we never met in person, the loss was real.
There are so many people who have touched my life in positive ways. Linda struggled for 6 years with cancer but she lived with grace and gratitude every day. She loved to connect with friends and taught me to look at ordinary days as exceptional days. Her network of friends coined the motto-WWLD- what would Linda do (or say). We had several outings where we just drove to explore the places around us- seeking to find the ocean and natural sites. These times stand out so vividly in my mind. Her strength and positive attitude with students, coworkers, parents, friends, and everyone she encounted were supportive and caring and her singing and positivity spread throughout the community. I was so blessed to be one of her friends- she felt that everyone she encountered was a friend or at least getting friendlier.
Congratulations on such a big step forward in your career! That’s so exciting.
I think of my grandma, Honey, all the time. She was always my biggest supporter. She would have been excited to see what I have been doing as a quilter.
So many I could list, but Grandma Eva came to mind first as I watched while she used a treadle Singer (she still make aprons with it into the 1970s.) I inherited her mother-in-love’s Minnesota D treadle machine (in its original cabinet restored by my uncle), and I plan to sew and quilt with it in 2021.
Congrats on the new book! My friend Joan taught me to be a giving person. Joan was always willing to share her skills and things. I miss her!
My grandma. She passed away when I was 12 but I think of her often. She taught me to knit which is what started me on my path of playing with yarn and fabric.
One person who touched my life in a very positive way was Goldie Olson. She was the first quilt instructor I took a class from and her constant smile made the class so much fun. I took several classes from her, but that first one was the best fun. I think of her often when quilting and remember her encouragement and positive vibes.
My dear teacher, Ola Goodman, who taught me to read and Follow Directions….”If you can follow directions, you can do anything”.
My friend Pam who generously shared her large quilting stash with our Art Quilt Guild upon her untimely death. We had a big sale and raised a good sum to keep our guild going!
My former boss, Stacie, saw strengths in me that I could not see. Her mentoring and guidance helped me to grow and accomplish things I never would have attempted on my own. She truly changed my life and it opened many doors for me on the future.
Thank you for such a beautiful post. Congratulations on being able to work on such a wonderful project. My very good friend Kayette, passed away at the beginning of the year. She was like a second mother to me and we quilted together for 20 years. She cheered me on when our artistic paths diverged and she was an example to me of how to deal with the harder things that come our way. I miss her every day.
This is a lovely post and such a wonderful way for all of us to “enter” the drawing for that beautiful book. I have enjoyed reading all the comments.
My Aunt Lu was an extraordinary influence on me. She never married or had children, but treated her nieces and nephews with such love and kindness, that we all got a second mom in life. She was a skilled seamstress who made lovely tailored clothes for herself and for me and my sisters. She also made so many intricate, tiny handmade Barbie dresses and outfits for my sisters and I. Her birthday is in October as is her date of death, now 10 years ago. I love her and will miss her forever.
This will be an amazing, awesome book. I deeply miss my fatherinlaw who passed away with Cancer almost 10 years ago now. He was a wonderful person and welcomed me in his family with open arms and was always a source of support and help when we needed him
What a lovely story and book. This time of year I am thinking of my dad who died the first week of November 12 years ago. I would visit him and my mom weekly for dinner and to play guitar with him.
My grandmother, who died many years ago, left me several handmade quilts from the thirties and was also a positive influence in my childhood.
Bobbi was a friend from whom I learned some great quilting tricks. She was a docent at the state history museum and specialized in studying the historical quilts and clothing on display. She passed way too suddenly. Some of her quilts were sold to help pay for her funeral.
My paternal grandmother, Edna Hampton, taught me my first simple embroidery stitches (outline, lazy daisy and back stitch) and my first foundation piecing (clothes making scraps onto newsprint). I loved sitting on the two step stool/chair near her wood stove and stitching while she made meals. I miss her often.
🙂 Linda
So many people come to mind but Dr Jeanne Kissner who let me know that I was good enough in the pursuit of my French language goals. I ultimately attended university in Switzerland with her encouragement.
My dad touched my heart. He passed away 10 years ago. ❤
Oh, wow, Yvonne, what a beautiful project to be involved in.
A high school counselor suggested I take Music Appreciation instead of Trigonometry in my senior year, “because you’ve taken all those difficult classes and deserve a rest.” I regretted it about a month into the semester, and asked to transfer. Miss Esther Steele, the math teacher, gave up her free period for several weeks to tutor me so I could catch up. I was started on my way to an advanced degree in math. I loved reading the other memories; at Thanksgiving time, this is a good idea.
My mom…..and she loved Liberty of London! She bought yardage when she visited friends in England. The dresses for my nieces were darling. Guess I love sewing, just like she did,,
My 86 year old friend inspires me because she still lives on her own and can do everything for herself still. She makes me want to keep up with her every day.
My father is and always been my most ardent supporter. He encourages me to get out of my cocoon to spread my wings and fly into new quilting realms and adventures. He bought my first sewing machine and has always admired my efforts, no matter the sometimes questionable color choice or pattern. He just turned 99 and is suffering from dementia so it brings such joy to me when his eyes light up when he looks at my quilts.
The influential person this reminds me of are the one who taught me to love all things English – and that was my mother-in-law, Mairi.
My sister has touched my life in a positive way. We didn’t get along when we were younger but are the best of friends now. She is the one I bounce all of my design and color ideas off of.
I think of my grandmother often when I quilt, because she was a big influence in teaching me how to sew and quilt.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friend, Beth, who inspires me through her love of science and nature.
Glad to hear that you are movin’ on up in the tech editing world. I have loved Liberty of London fabrics since about 1999, when I took a kaleidoscope (à la Paula Nadelstern) quilt class. I will have to recommend our library buy this book!