Hello all,
When I meet a fellow sewer I always have a million questions I’d like to ask at once. What kinds of things do you sew? How long have you been sewing? Do you want to be friends and sew together???
I figured that other people are probably as curious/nosy as me, so I’m doing little interviews with other staff members and sharing it here for all of you.
First up–our store manager, Cheryl!
Quick Facts
Name: CherylBirthday: Feb 19
Birthplace: Antioch, CA
Favorite color: Multiple! Right now I'm in a pink mode.
Favorite dessert: homemade peanut butter cookies
How long have you been working at the Cotton Patch? How did you start?
It’s been almost 11 years. I fell into it! I was talking with a girl named Patty who worked at the store about how hard it was to find a job. I didn’t ask about working at the Cotton Patch because it never occurred to me that I could. I just assumed that everyone would want to work there. I’d never met Carolie (the owner) so I didn’t realize that she had been standing behind me the entire time I was talking to Patty and had heard everything I said. I didn’t know it, but Carolie and another woman who worked there at the time, Linda, told Patty what questions to ask me. Then Carolie decided she had heard enough and turned around to hand me a job application.
How did you learn how to sew?
I learned how to sew from my mother at a very early age, around kindergarten or first grade. I remember that when I was very young, she bought a fancy new machine, but the problem was that it was delivered the day my little sister was born. Since she had to be in the hospital, my brothers were entrusted with the job of accepting the delivery and directing the men where to set up the machine. My older sister learned the basics of how to use the machine from the delivery men so that she could teach my mom once she got home.
Do you remember the first quilt you ever made?
Yes, it was about 30 years ago. When I was young, my mother made quilts and I had a very different color sense from her and my sisters. They were all blonde and blue-eyed, but as a brunette none of the colors they liked ever worked well for me! Since I didn’t really like the quilts my mother made, I didn’t think to make one for myself until I was older. As a middle child I didn’t feel like I could pop out and assert anything about myself that was different from the other women in my family. Quilting had to wait until I had developed more confidence in myself.
The first quilt I made was a stack-and-whack quilt. You take 10” squares in about 12 different colors, stack them up and cut them. Then you take one out, stack, cut, and sew again and keep repeating the process. I was fascinated by the process and how the blocks kept changing with each cut.
What project is on your sewing table right now?
I'm working on a quilt from Zen Chic. And I always have a collage quilt in progress.
Name one notion you can’t live without.
My rotary cutter and a good ruler. I love a good ruler. Definitely a Creative Grid, and the specialty ones they make for log cabin and pineapple blocks are fabulous. They make a difficult quilt very easy. Whoever thought of those and designed them is so smart.
Describe your ideal sewing retreat (feel free to ignore money restraints!)
Definitely a house on a mountain…overlooking a lake with the biggest window ever.
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I hope you all enjoyed this chat with Cheryl! Not only is she the store manager, but she is also a Laura Heine certified collage instructor and teaches classes once a month. Check out her classes HERE.
Does her journey into quilting as a new hobby in adulthood resonate with you? Have you made a stack-and-whack quilt (or like me, is this the first time you’ve ever heard of it?) Does your fantasy sewing retreat also invite a lake, maybe with homemade peanut butter cookies?
I’m off to interview the rest of the Cotton Patch staff!
Happy sewing,
Vivian
I’m off to interview the rest of the Cotton Patch staff!
Happy sewing,
Vivian