MEET OUR GO! GETTERS

Samantha is a first grade teacher, in January 2020 she spent the tail end of her winter break making her first quilt and then never stopped. When summer break rolled around she decided to "make something everyday" and vowed to post each project on TikTok to share with her friends and family. She made 8 baby quilts that summer and thanks to a few viral videos her following grew to include way more than just her siblings.  She always has a quilt project going and her next three planned which leaves little time for anything else. The newest member of the Handiquilter Moxie Inspiration squad, Samantha's favorite step in the quilting process is trying new free motion and ruler quilting techniques on her longarm. You can find her on TikTok and Instagram.

Emily Bailey is a scrap quilter, designer and teacher. She grew up in a family of artists and makers, where she was encouraged to create and develop her talents. She thought she would be a fashion designer but after the birth of her three sons discovered quilting was more her style. She loves being a part of the quilting community. She knows wherever she goes to teach and mingle with quilters she will have instant friends.

She has been designing for 20 years. She has been published in Love of Quilting, McCall’s Quilting and Simply Quilts. She teaches through her website, YouTube, and at live events.

Jen lives outside of NYC with her husband and six kids. With a large family and a husband who works a lot of hours, she found quilting to be a creative outlet. Sewing is her sanity! There is something about the hum of her sewing machine that is so therapeutic. She loves the design process and enjoys creating new patterns. She also loves the amazing creative people she has met along this journey. She is currently an Aurifil Artisan, on the Thermoweb Design Team, Riley Blake Designs Project.

Contributor and a blogger for the Fat Quarter Shop. When she is not sewing, she can be found planning her next family trip or adventure! Her family motto is “make beautiful memories.” And they try to do just that! You can follow her creative journey by stopping by her blog The Smitten Chicken.

Kimberly is an avid modern quilter and bag maker, although only having started about 5 years ago.  She began this journey in part to explore a new creative outlet, but quickly found a community of supportive and talented quilters, as she found her way to a local Modern Quilt Guild chapter.

In 2018, Kimberly was elected to served as President of Portland’s Modern Quilt Guild, when it reached a record almost 400 members, and she continues to this day, to actively volunteer within guild leadership. You can follow her quilting over on Instagram at @NWPepper. 

Eliane Bergmann is the pattern designer and modern quilter behind Patchwork & Poodles. Eliane’s love for quilting has propelled her into a passion for helping others to learn how to quilt. Her goal is to create patterns and tutorials that are easy to follow and execute, so everyone can create beautiful quilts they are proud of! She shares her current projects and progress on her Instagram at @patchworkandpoodles. She is an ambassador for Janome America, Riley Blake Designs, and Paintbrush Studio Fabrics. Eliane lives in Wisconsin with her husband Jason and miniature poodle Riley.

Her website, Patchwork & Poodles, is full of tutorials, free patterns, tips, tricks, and lots of quilty inspiration! 

Kristina Brinkerhoff had her first venture into quilting when she asked her mom to help her make a quilt one summer as a teenager. Her love of math quickly propelled her into sketching out and planning her own quilt designs. In her years of quilting, she’s also picked up a love of free motion quilting and foundation paper piecing. Her pattern company, Center Street Quilts, has a variety of both traditionally pieced and foundation paper pieced patterns. When she’s not at her sewing machine you can probably find her spending time with her husband and four kids, organizing something in her house, or napping.

Marjorie has been a lifelong stitcher and quilter and retired in 2009 from a 25 year clinical research career to quilt full-time. She was one of the first to adopt the AccuQuilt system and has been a devoted fan since, even serving on the 2009-2010 AccuQuilt Consumer Advisory Board. Computer-loving Marjorie is fascinated by and avidly explores digital quilting and embroidery techniques. She is a Certified Art and Stitch Instructor and has created a line of machine embroidery designed specifically for AccuQuilt. When she is not designing/stitching, she's spending time with her husband, children and 10 grandchildren. Read more from Marjorie on Blue Feather Quilt Studio.

Melanie began sewing about 14 years ago and immediately got hooked on creating! Fabric is her relaxing, creative outlet, so she’s excited to share fun and fabulous projects using the AccuQuilt fabric cutter and dies! She’s a Fat Quarter Shop Blogger Friend, Riley Blake Designs Fabric Blog Project Maker, Clothworks/American Made Brand Project Maker, Moda Bake Shop Chef, and Maxie Makes Subscription Box Affiliate. She was also the Art Gallery Fabrics Maker of the Month for February 2018. Read more from Melanie and check out her original quilt patterns on her website, A Bit of Scrap Stuff.

Chip is a quilter and content creator living in the PNW Greater Seattle area. Over 5 years ago, after delving into garment sewing, he discovered his “authentic sewing-self” within the world of quilting. Although Chip was able to competently construct dress shirts, jackets and jeans, he discovered that, “quilting liberates people by providing a canvas to explore colors, shapes, and forms without having to explain what you’re wearing! :)” While Chip is an enthusiastic quilter, his partner, Aaron shares that same level of excitement for knitting. Together they host FIBER HUSTLE, a popular and inspirational knitting and sewing channel on YouTube that provides rich content with a touch of humor. In addition, Chip is in the process of launching THE QUILT STREAM, a dedicated quilting channel spotlighting the intersection between his passion for quilting & his love of community.

Melissa began quilting as a hobby in 2005 but her hobby turned into a passion after starting her blog in 2010. That passion for quilting powers her original designs that she shares as tutorials, published works, a pattern line and even her own books! Melissa loves designing and finds inspiration in just about everything and anything. Her favorite quilts to create with the AccuQuilt Dies are Scrappy BOB quilts and Curved Piecing quilts!!! Her husband and their five little children live in Cedar City, Utah. Keep up with her daily quilting adventures on her blog, Happy Quilting.

Porfiria is a sewing enthusiast, self-proclaimed designer and blogger. She is a dreamer and lover of family life and has a passion to create beautiful things. These days you will find her on her sewing machine creating one of my many loves either a quilt or a beautiful piece of lingerie. Her love of sewing began as a child. In 2007, she began blogging about her life as a mother and wife. In 2014, she decided to share her passion with others - so she began providing Sewing 101 classes. Today, she continues to train and learn as much as she can about the beautiful world of sewing, cooking blogging and living her best life as a maker! You can follow her more on her blog.

I have been sewing since the first time my grandma let me sit at her machine and make my first pillow, which was probably around the age of 8. A few years later I made my first quilt and then around the end of my time in college I entered the world of quilt designing and was hooked. While I am passionate about my patterns and teaching others how to sew and quilt, I also have a marketing background and love being able to share my experience when it comes to marketing my patterns and business to create a community of quilters. I love being able to share things I have learned on both the sewing and business side of things in case it is helpful to someone! Follow me on my quilting journey on Instagram  @thehomebodycompany

Stephanie learned to sew from her mom on a now-vintage Kenmore Zig Zag sewing machine. She has been a member of the Omaha Modern Quilt Guild since its 2012 beginning, is currently an Island Batik Ambassador, has been a member of do. Good Stitches since 2012, longarms for the Quilts of Valor Omaha chapter, leads a local 4-H Happy Hands Quilters and was a 2019 collaborating artist for Girl Scouts artVenture. Stephanie opened her studio, Happy Little Stitches, in March 2019 for others to socialize, share, learn and teach. Stephanie lives in Omaha, Nebraska with husband, Craig, and 12-year-old son, Logan. Follow her quilting adventures on Steph Jacobson Designs.

Andrew Lee is a relative newcomer to quilting. A comment by his wife, Kristy, that they should do more together resulted in the two of them taking a table runner class at their local fabric store. That was three years ago. And as history will record, that was the beginning of Andrew’s love affair with quilting. Andrew served in the Army for 10 years his active duty including two deployments to Iraq. Like many other soldiers, he sustained injuries, experienced the death of fellow soldiers, and came home with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His introduction to quilting made Andrew realize it was good therapy for his PTSD. It helped to keep his mind engaged and gave him a purpose. He also began making Quilts of Valor for soldiers touched by war. Andrew now serves his country in the TN Army National Guard and has started his own business, Combat Quilter. You can follow along with his quilting journey on his Facebook and Instagram page.

Bea has been quilting since 2004 and long arming since 2008. She won her first international quilt show ribbon in 2009 and was first published in McCall's in September 2012. Originally from Denmark, Bea lives in North Carolina where she is a stay at home/work at home mom of four great kids, ages 16, 14, 6 and 3. See more of her quilting collaborations and projects on her blog, Beaquilter.

Jennifer has been creating artistically her whole life! Throughout her schooling years, she trained full-time to be a professional ballet dancer. During all those years of training in the Ballet world, she also dreamed of designing costumes! Everyday she would walk by and peek into the Ballet Costume Wardrobe – what a MAGICAL space! She learned to sew from her mother and grandmother (who owned a fabric and knitting store) and often made ballet skirts, costumes and knitted legwarmers for herself and other dancers. This journey has inspired her to make a positive difference by designing dolls and quilt patterns for others to be EMPOWERED to sew themselves! She studied embroidery digitizing in order to take her doll drawings and create In-the-Hoop patterns to reproduce a doll design. What Jennifer LOVES the most about creativity is finding INSPIRATION everywhere and in turn, INSPIRING others to do the same! Join Jennifer on her journey by following her on her Instagram and Facebook page.

Denise lives in a small southern Illinois town with Steve, her husband of 28 years. She made her first hand pieced quilt at age 17 but didn't discover her love for quilting until Steve taught her to use a sewing machine in 1995. She is self taught and since that first quilt, she has evolved her skills over the years. Denise now makes everything from quilted appliqué jackets and handbags to paper pieced quilt designing. Currently she is a 2019 Island Batik Ambassador and has a goal to continuing growing in the industry and becoming more proficient in longarm quilting. See more from Denise on her blog, For the Love of Geese.

Sarah Maxwell of Designs by Sarah J is a fabric designer for Marcus Fabrics, Aurifil Thread designer and Grace Quilting Company ambassador. More than 150 of her original designs have been published over the last twenty years. Her original quilts have also been juried into QuiltCon and various AQS and IQA shows. Sarah is the author of Morse Code Quilts and Fresh Modern Quilts from Traditional Blocks.  Sarah’s focus is on helping quilters develop confidence in using color and fabrics in quilts. Her classes focus on piecing tips and tricks to improve speed and accuracy. She also loves to teach quilters how to use templates to conquer any shape. Many of her classes are available as either rotary cut & machine pieced projects or hand piecing projects. You can follow Sarah's quilting on her Instagram and Blog

Sherri began sewing at 10 years-old, inspired by a rich family heritage of women who sew and create. She took up quilting in the early 1990s after encouragement from her grandmother - and hasn't stopped since. She met the amazing online quilting community after starting her blog in 2008. She published her first book, A Quilting Life: Creating a Handmade Home in 2013 and has since published another book in 2014 and will release a third, co-authored book in June 2019. Sherri lives in Nevada with her husband, four children and five children. Check out her sewing, writing and creative life on her blog, A Quilting Life.

Lori is a Quilter, Pattern Designer, Educator from Oxford, Michigan. She enjoys the design process and one of her favorite tools is EQ8 Quilt Design software. She teaches EQ8 classes around the country and contributes to EQ8 Lessons with Lori on the doyoueq.com blog. As an AccuQuilt GO! Getter, she shares tutorials and patterns of her designs on the AccuQuilt blog. Combining these two products, Lori is the creator of Add-on EQ8 Block Libraries that work with AccuQuilt dies. Lori’s original Quilt Designs have been featured in American Patchwork and Quilting, Fons and Porter Love of Quilting, American Quilter and many other quilt publications. She enjoys being a member of the Modern Quilt Guild and the Stitching Sisters Quilts of Valor group. See Lori's one-of-a-kind style on her blog, Lori Miller Designs.

Vicki has been sewing and quilting since she was a teen, learning rom her mom along with being self taught. She has sold quilts and table runners at local craft shows almost as long. Machine knitting, beading, crochet and stamping are some of her favorite crafts, but quilting is her first love. From picking fabrics to piecing to longarming, Vicki enjoys each step in the process. One of her favorite feelings is seeing an entire quilt, table runner or wall hanging. Her love and talent has allowed her to be an Island Batik Ambassador for four years now and build an Etsy shop, Vickiscraftden. Follow her projects at Vicki's Crafts and Quilting.

Jennifer was bitten by the quilting bug in 1999 and began watching Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson. Like the TV show, Jennifer explores various techniques and styles, falling for the art of quilting more and more every day. Her passion and talent have won national and local awards as well as earned her publication in many magazines. She is an active member of Rebecca's Reel Quilters, American Quilter's Society, The New England Quilt Museum and Quilts of Valor. Jennifer lives with her spouse, two sons and their two dogs in New Jersey. Follow Jennifer’s love for quilting on her blog, Dizzy Quilter.

Katy is a prolific quilter, embracing everything from traditional to modern to art quilts. She began quilting when her children were small, as it was the only thing that ever seemed to stay done. Now she delights in making quilts for the sheer joy of it and blogging as a way of sharing with other quilters. She has been blogging at KatyQuilts for over eleven years. Katy is a former contributor to QUILT Magazine and Quilt Almanac. She is involved in the Quilts of Valor Foundation, both piecing and long arming. 

Emily has been sewing since middle school but learned to quilt in college from her grandmother. Now at 25, she is extremely passionate about quilting and teaching others how to quilt with confidence. She is an ambassador for Husqvarna Viking and partners with many different fabric companies. She loves being able to use her skills and passion for quilting to build a community where she can share the highest quality products with followers and readers. Check out more of her work on her blog, Home Made Emily Jane.

Terri is a designer, quilt maker and longarmer whose creative journey started in the 5th grade with the creation of a pair of PJs made with antique feed sacks from her great grandmother. Decades later, the sewing machine is still her best friend, assisting in the pursuit of new techniques while perfecting the old. In her "spare time", Terri works with her husband on their farm in Iowa. When she isn't helping him, planning the next motorcycle adventure or spoiling their grandchildren, she's in her quilting studio working on a customer's quilt or designing the next best pattern. Keep up with her quilting adventures on her blog, Lizard Creek Quilting. 

Suzy Webster has been a quilter since age eight when she arranged some scrap triangles and told her mother, “You should sew it like this.” She’s been designing quilts from a young age and enjoys being creative. One of the things Suzy loves about quilting is that the possibilities are endless and enjoys sharing her love of quilting with her students. She has been entering competitions since college and has many national quilt show ribbons to her credit including four for best machine quilting. Suzy has also been an Island Batik Ambassador since 2016. She loves appliqué, machine quilting, and paper piecing. Follow her work on Webster Quilts.