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Meet Our Staff
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Nan Baker
Marketing Director
As a designer, teacher, speaker, consultant
and owner of her company, PURRFECT SPOTS, Nan
Baker strives to create unique and beautiful designs for quilting
and needlework enthusiasts.
Her designs have appeared in numerous
needlework catalogs, plus the Quilting Professional,
Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, The Quilt Pattern
Magazine, QuiltsandCreativity.com and
on QNNtv.com.
As an animal advocate, Nan promotes
animal disaster preparedness. As a former member of the Disaster
Animal Response Team for The Humane Society
of the United States, she created The CASEY
Plan (Caring for Animals Safely in Emergencies
during the Year) which is a nationwide program. She
has received several awards because of her efforts. A portion
of her sales is donated to animal disaster relief education.
With a degree in Health Care Marketing,
Nan establishes new and innovative programs for our readers.
One example is the TQPM Small Kennel Quilt Team.
Nan says her position with TQPM
is "purrfect" as quilting is good therapy, therefore
good for your health!
www.purrfectspots.com
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Diane Christensen
Technical Editor
Diane's
love of quilting started a little less than 30 years ago when
she was overwhelmed and blown away by the quilts displayed
at the Ohio State Fair that year. A great class on the basics
of quilting got her set up well to fly into this obsession!
She has especially enjoyed going to retreats and quilt cruises
over the years with family and friends. Have machine, will
travel - anywhere and often!
She splits her quilting time between
charity projects (Bed Brigade quilts, Lutheran World Relief
quilts, Days for Girls) and fun, although usually challenging,
"just because" projects. She has never seen a new
technique or tool that she isn't willing to try.
Diane lives in central Ohio and is
a recently retired public school librarian. She was also a
public school choir director in the distant past, and she
still directs her church choir. She lives with a very much
loved half corgi, quarter beagle, (the last quarter is anybody's
guess) dog and is down to only two sweet old cats.
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Michele Duffy
Grammar Editor
Michele Duffy is a new memberof our
team, signing on as one of two grammar editors at TQPM.
As the former editor-in-chief of American Quilter
magazine, she's excited to keep honing her skills in editing
and quilting while making new friends within our online community
of quilters. She has been quilting for over 30 years and enjoys
piecing traditional as well as modern designs. When she's
not working on a handcraft, Michele teaches critical reading,
writing, and grammar at the local university.
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Maria Hrabovsky
Co-Founder
Maria's fascination with quilts started
in first grade with stories about pioneers and their quilts.
She began quilting in 1985. In 2001, inspired by her husband's
art work, they became a design team: Maria Michaels
Designs.
Their quilts have appeared in The
Quilt Pattern Magazine, Quiltmaker,
The Canadian Quilter, and Miniature Quilt
Ideas. They were interviewed for the article Couples
in the Quilt Business for The Professional Quilter.
Maria later wrote a two-part article for the magazine. Her
quilts have been shown at three International Quilt
Markets. She was invited to submit a quilt to the
juried show, Kindred Spaces as part of the celebration
of 100 Years of Anne of Green Gables in Charlottetown, Prince
Edward Island,Canada. Her quilt won third place. She is a
former elementary school and quilting teacher.
In 2005, realizing how difficult it
can be for quilters to find a venue to sell their work, she
created the website Quilts for Sale for that purpose. At last
count, it represents over 140 quilters.
www.quiltsforsale.ca
www.mariamichaelsdesigns.com/blog/
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Helene Knot
Corel Formatter
I was
born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula in central California,
a beautiful area that served as an inspiration to set me onto
a creative path for life. Art – drawing, painting, and
crafts in other mediums have been the passion of my life.
In the early '70s, I turned my attention to fiber and fabrics
with a focus on quilting and embroidery.
In 1991, we moved to the Pacific Northwest,
and soon after, I began teaching fiber/quilting classes and
designing quilt patterns. My work has won awards at local,
regional, and national shows. In 2006, I was a finalist for
"Teacher of the Year" by Professional Quilter
magazine. My quilts have appeared in various publications,
including the cover of Quilter's Newsletter
magazine in 1998. I have written articles for various magazines,
have designed fabrics for Northcott Fabrics, and continue
to design quilt patterns.
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Cindy Mccoy
CEO
Cindy Mccoy, known to many as MsDesigns,
discovered the world of quilting in 1993. She created the
company CD Designs for the purpose of selling her own appliqué
patterns. In 1997, she fell in love with English Paper Piecing.
Her first finished project was a gift to her mother - a king-sized
Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. Cindy traveled around the
USA as a vendor at quilt shows. She also taught Freezer Paper
Appliqué and English Paper Piecing at the shows. After
about five years of traveling, Cindy moved her company to
the internet. As an experienced, professional web designer,
she has created all of her websites.
www.cddesigns.com
www.needlespot.com
www.kennelquilts.com
www.quiltpatternmagazine.com
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Judy Morin
Technical Editor
As a
chemistry major, I asked for (and received) a sewing machine
as a graduation present. After several years of sewing for
my family of boys, I celebrated the Bicentennial by learning
an authentic American craft – Patchwork Quilting.
After I gifted the original quilt
to the youngest boy, the other two said, "When are you
going to make me one, Mom?" I felt I had found my calling,
so I studied, sewed, and quilted for the next 46 years. My
favorite quilts to make are stained glass quilted banners
for my church, along with the quilts made for family members
and friends as they celebrate special moments in their lives.
As a follower of Judy Martin, I learned
early about fabric grain and the importance of accurate cutting
and sewing in creating quilts to be used, not just displayed.
Several of my quilts have been accepted
into the AQS shows. I felt that the acceptance was a "win"
for me, and I did receive several nice compliments when I
visited the show.
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Cynthia Passaretti
Grammar Editor
My first sewing experience was my
apron for 4-H. My grandmother taught me garment sewing, and
my mom taught me how to sew my vast collection of doll clothes
and how to quilt. My hobbies include baking, writing, researching
my ancestral roots, reading, and taking pictures in the historic
areas around my house. I like to do small quilted projects
and lap quilts but give most away as gifts. I make kennel
quilts for the fur babies and charity pillowcases for Ryan's
Case for Smiles through my local coordinator.
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Cheryl Quigley
Corel Formatter
I have been quilting for over 30 years
and collecting fabric for even longer. I started learning
needle arts in 4-H when I was very young. Back then, we did
a lot of different crafts, not just needle arts, although
they were the main focus. Sewing was never a strong point
for me, so I didn’t get into it much, but I did acquire
a love of fabric. My stash started long before I started quilting.
I now have EQ 8 for designing quilts. I write patterns for
my local quilt shop when needed. I teach classes in many different
fiber arts. I enjoy knitting, tatting, embroidery, crochet,
and some spinning and weaving, along with my quilting. I also
foster kittens for our local Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) rescue
group.
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