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Biography
I was born in San Diego, California on the 9th of October 1953 the third of 5 girls in my family. While we had a brief year in Spokane Washington in my early years I really spent the majority of my childhood in San Jose, California or one of the surrounding cities. Three of my four sisters continue to live in the San Francisco Bay area and I float back and forth between Dunboyne, County Meath, Ireland and California once or twice a year usually for extended stays.
I began working straight out of high school at the phone company (something I decided on a field trip when I was a Brownie) which was to last for 28 years and allow me to travel both in the United States, Australia and Europe. While I thought I always wanted to be an operator that really didn't last more than a year and was also the time I started my first quilt. Of course, that quilt is still not finished but a subset will be done early in 2010. The pattern is called Grandmothers Garden and while it didn't remind me of either of my grandmothers gardens I am using fabric that my sisters and I used during high school to make clothes we wore either to school or for special occations. I ended up taking the original quilt apart as it was starting to fall apart even before quilting and the center block was made of velvet which I know know was a silly idea if in fact I wanted a washable quilt, which all of mine to date have been. Working on it has brought back many memories and hopefully will be treasured over the years.
In May 2001 I was politely asked to retire from telecommunciations after working for 3 years in Ireland. During that period I met my partner Patrick so decided to remain in Ireland, by a house, get a dog and go back to the quilting I'd dabbled with when I was younger. While I still have to finish the first two quilts I started, one in 1973 and one in 1996 I've gone on to complete many other sizes and styles of quilts over the years from 2005 to present. I have a hard time passing up Christmas fabric but also spend time trying to find fabric to be used in Stack-n-Wack type quilts.
In 2008 I was asked to join a group of Textile Artists from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland with the goal of bringing together many different types of mediums to a common theme. In 2009 we had the opportunity to display our pieces in venues both in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. For 2010 ther group has lost some members but gained others so we also are looking forward to continuing to create and show our work. As part of this group, we meet for 1 week once a year with all other communication through emails and a joint blog. The week away is spent discussing ideas for the next years theme and sharing techniques and experiences with different materials.
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