Joanne - Sales/Teacher/Long Arm Specialist

I started sewing when I was five years old. I wasn't allowed to use the sewing machine so I had to hand sew my Barbie clothes. My first job was in a large fabric store with the same name as me. I sewed garments for years and made my first quilt after my daughter was born. Twenty years later I'm still making quilt tops. I love the challenge of a new pattern or technique but get bored with the quilt once I know what it will look like finished. I have so many quilt tops. I am called the Queen of Acrylic because of my love of any new ruler or template. I love to teach quilting classes and work hard doing all your cutting and pressing in class so you will really miss me when you go home.

 
Barb - Sales

MY name is Barb and I have lived in Australia most of my life.

 My love of sewing started when I was young but being one of six children and the baby at that my Mum didn’t get to help me sew till I was a teenager. Only started to quilt a few years ago and just love to make them.

 I live in South Carolina on a little farm with my kids big and small. My grandchildren are my world and have starting to teach my granddaughter to sew - a little bit of a hard task.

 I am looking forward to learning   more about the different sewing machines as well as embroidery machines and hope in the future to be able to teach classes.

 So happy to part of the staff at Sew Much Fun!

Susan Scott- Sales/AccuQuilt

 I am originally from Cary, NC and have lived all over NC, some in SC, VA, and MD.  I grew up with various handmade pieces of clothing from my mom as a kid, so I’m sure she has a lot to do with my creative mind. My mom signed me up for a sewing class one summer at G Street Fabrics in MD when I was eleven.  I wasn’t the happiest about it, but after was so excited that I signed up for every class after that from pattern making to various apparel making classes. I was hooked and got my first Bernina 1001 not long after that. Sewing has continued to be in my life through working and growing up in a bridal and formal wear shop, taking high school fashion design classes, sewing costumes for family and friends, and most recently quilting with my mom and sewing various items for charity through a sewing ministry at church.  One thing not everyone knows about me is that I was a professional photographer for many years taking pictures at weddings, special events and even running multiples portrait studios.  

 My husband Luke and I have two fur babies named Blue and Beulah. 

Nancy - Sales

My love for all things handmade began when I was in third grade. That’s also when I attempted to learn how to sew. I graduated with a BA in Art from the University of Nevada in Reno in the early 70s. I love anything colorful and/or textiles. I tried decorative painting for a few years including painting on textiles. I started quilting in my early twenties using scissors and templates. That didn’t last long. I have needlepointed, cross stitched and made my clothes. But while living in Missouri two wonderful things happened that changed my approach to quilting. A wonderful friend, Mary Kay, and the rotary cutter. She taught me many things about quilting and I haven’t stopped since.

 I am a retired Federal Employee, my quilting and crafts kept me sane. But when I retired we moved to Hendersonville, NC and I had an opportunity to work at a quilt shop. There I was introduced to Bernina and the workings of a quilt shop and making quilts. Unfortunately it closed. But hearing about the impending birth of a grandchild we moved to Gastonia to be closer to family. I have a husband who is very supportive, two grown children and two grandchildren. I am very blessed.

 I love working with quilters and fabric and colors.

 
Mary Ann - Sales

I started sewing in middle school through home economics classes. I dabbled with sewing through adulthood but raising a family was my top priority. It didn’t leave much room to sew. When my youngest daughter went off to college I decided I needed a hobby and found how to make a quilt on the internet. I made my first quilt this way and my youngest still uses it. Halfway through making that first quilt I decided I need a better sewing machine. My oldest daughter worked with someone that had a Bernina. My daughter and I found Sew Much Fun and I bought my first Bernina that day. That was 12 years ago and one of the best investments I ever made. I have learned so much not only quilting but have added embroidery to my sewing skills. I am very excited about working at Sew Much Fun. There is so much to learn and many new friends to make. I have 3 daughters, 1 granddaughter and a very support husband that lets me live my dream every day.

 

Carolyn - Sales
I was born into a large Minnesota family of sewists.  My first quilting experience has been told to me hundreds of times - singing commercial jingles under Grandma's frame at age 3 as she and my great aunts stitched.  The love of fibers is in my DNA!

I started out using Mom's leftover fabrics, embroidery floss, and a needle or two by the time I was 6.  My Barbie dolls even had handmade shoes!  I spent many wonderful hours on crochet, felt applique, and crewel work.  I was in middle school before I began using a machine on a regular basis.  Mom taught me the basics as she created her own pieces.

As a young family, my husband and I relocated to the south.  For many years, there was little time to sew "for fun".  Making my nursing uniforms and a few dresses for our daughters filled my sewing hours.  I began making very simple quilts about 10 years ago.

Fast forward to the present.  I have more time to sew the things that make me smile.  I love, love, love sewing on my machine - a BERNINA 790Plus.  Quilts and bags are my favorites, with loads of color.  Each day is a new day to explore what can be done with fabric, thread, and imagination.  I still have many goals to reach when it comes to sewing, including sharing the joy of creating with our granddaughter!  I am sew happy to be able to share the joy of creating at Sew Much Fun!