Valentine's Star of the Month

I think it is wonderful to be introducing another Star of the Month on Valentine's Day. My star of the month is Anna McCurdy whose blog is

Quilt Mom's Journey. We have been friends, and I have enjoyed her blog now for years, and I am so happy that she agreed to fill out my interview and be my Star of the Month. I am posting it today, as Joe and I have plans for tomorrow.

Here are some of Anna's wonderful work. I know you will enjoy seeing all the stunning eye candy.

I just love your work Anna! It is all so stunning!

Here is Anna's interview. You will see she lives in Alberta Canada. I will always remember my train trip across Canada and the first time I saw Alberta. I was enamored with Lake Louse and Banff, and I loved the mountains and scenery so much.

Enjoy the interview and thanks so much Anna!

A Bit About Me;

I am a prairie girl, a fourth generation Albertan, from Alberta which is one of the Western Provinces in Canada. I have been married to Bruce( 30 years) and together ,we have one adult son ,Kevin ,a schnoodle dog named Dusty and a cat named Mars. We live in an older home near the center of a large city named Edmonton. In my professional life, I am a full day kindergarten teacher. I have many interests but most of them revolve around creating ( quilting, beading, knitting, making candles and family genealogy). I also love books and have a wonderful collection of both children and adult books. When I am not creating, I enjoy spending time with close friends sharing conversation and playing card games, dominoes and board games. I love old movies, comedies and dramas. Over our married life, Bruce and I have enjoyed a favorite television series ( current one is “The Good Wife”) going to the art gallery or a folk concert or just hanging out together. We both have a blog( he is a huge hockey fan and co writes a blog with David Staples called “ The Cult of Hockey”.

My quilting journey has had a few bends in the road- I guess that is why I call it a journey.. I have always loved quilts – I am told my father’s mother was a quilter but I never knew her as she died before I was born. Unfortunately we have none of the quilts that she made.

I first played with quilting around 1985- and made one quilt in 1987 the summer before Kevin was born. It was a Log Cabin quilt in a day that took considerably more time than that. I put a double layer of polyester batting in that queen sized quilt. It was like wrestling with a bear to try and quilt it on my Kenmore domestic machine. Then Kevin came along and life got kind of busy – working full time and raising our son. It was not until 1996 that I started quilting again. I haven’t stopped since then- though some years are not as productive as others. I have made over 50 large bedsized quilts ( double, queen and the occasional king) as well as numerous baby wraps, a few wall hangings and other quilty sort of things. I machine piece and quilt all my own quilts – even my kingsized ones on a Babylock quilting sewing machine.

What Inspires Me: I am often inspired by the many beautiful quilts I see on the blogs. I love touching fabric and imagining how it would look in a quilt. I have built up a sizeable collection of quilt books and enjoy reading the current quilt magazines for new ideas for my quilts. I am especially fond of the Australian magazines ( Patchwork and Quilting) because of the the rich colors and different designs.

I am also inspired by the generosity and caring of quilters from around the globe- so many quilters working tirelessly to make this world a better place by their generosity.

What I Love to Do the Most Creatively: I love making quilts and creating beaded items. Perhaps someday I might use both beads and fabric and create a quilt. I like making functional quilts that I know people will use. It is my way of expressing my caring for them. Don’t you think

My Favorite Fabric and Designer: My current favorite designer is Kaffe Fassett and I love the bright colors of his fabrics. I have always loved color and the vivid florals really appeal to me. I remember a quilting friend saying to me that she could always tell which of the quilts in our class were made by me because of my color choices.

UFO I Intend to Finish First: Well, I have a few UFO’s ( though not a huge list of them). I don’t like having more than about a half dozen projects that are unfinished because I find it unsettling. Having said that, I am pretty close to my limit now and need to start a quilt that is not on the UFO list as it a special gift for a family member who is celebrating a special birthday this spring. This animal panel quilt is in my head and is currently a collection of fabrics so I need to get busy and make it.

What's on the Design Wall Now: I have yet to figure out how to have a fabric design wall in my house- My sewing area is in the gables of the house and there is just no wall where I can have distance from it. I have thought about creating a folding one. Perhaps some year..

Who Would I Love to Meet: I would love to meet some of my blogging friends from different parts of the world- there are so many great blogs out there and I feel like we have become friends through our love of quilting. I have the good fortune to see Paula Nadelstern and Kaffe Fassett speak at local guild meetings.

I would enjoy meeting Ricky Timms and the women of Gee Bend- I also am a big fan of Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston. They all express themselves using color and pattern in innovative ways.

If I Had One Wish: I feel really privileged that I have the opportunity to quilt and have been supported by quilting mentors along the way. I would hope that new quilters who are just starting out experience that same support on their quilting journey. The process of quilting can be such a healing and reasonably inexpensive therapy. There is much fun to be had along the way.

Plans for the Future: This year I hope to create 11 quilts – I am not sure what form they will take or how I will count them. Do baby quilts count? I hope to quilt for many years to come- As long as I have a stash of fabric I will have fun playing and making quilts. Sometimes I dream of going to a big quilt show like Sisters Oregon or Houston but the internet has made it possible to visit them.

Thanks so much Anna. I so enjoyed reading about you. It was such a great interview, and you have always been such an inspiration to me!