Who is the Scrapdash quilter? It’s me, Kris Driessen! I started sewing when I was a young whippersnapper, learning from my mother and grandmother. I made my first quilt when I was 16 as a wedding gift for a friend. Looking back, it was AWFUL, but I was proud of it at the time. I’m too afraid to ask my friend if she still has it.
I began my love of antique quilts and vintage textiles at Hartwick College in Oneonta NY. There I was able to study women’s history and I quickly realized how much their lives were reflected in cloth. I started collecting old damaged and destroyed quilts so I could study the fabric and construction techniques. Later I did quilt restoration, using the fabric from those donor quilts.
I still believe that the best way to learn is by touching and examining. If you ever attended one of my workshops, you will find yourself handling items that are hundreds of years old.
I started traveling and teaching with the Quiltbus in 1996. My husband and daughter would work on the bus while I taught at the guild, museum, or historical society that had hired us.
If you would like to hear more of the Quiltbus story, visit A Quilters Life Podcast. You will get to hear my voice!
During that time I came up with a number of innovative piecing techniques – well, okay, maybe I figured them out from the quilts I took apart. I used them as the basis for the classes and talks I gave. Those were extremely creative days.
I have since retired from traveling and teaching but I am still blogging!
I started doing online quilt mysteries in 2004 and from that grew PhoebeMoon Quilt Designs. I named this line of patterns for the brightest and most inventive of all the goddesses in Greek mythology. These patterns are also available at Connecting Threads and Etsy. We do sell wholesale at PhoebeMoon Designs and distribute them through Brewer Sewing Supply and Faire. Ask for them at your Local Quilt Shop.
I do love doing the quilt mysteries and tutorials that you find on the blog. It’s a lot of fun to see what people do, and the progress they make with the tutorials. I really enjoy your pictures (hint, hint) and I have been known to send squishy thank-yous to people who include their home addresses.
Have another tip to offer? Send it to me or reply below and I will add it here.
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