Threads & Ewe is the fulfillment of Shelly Martella’s lifelong dream to own a combination yarn and fabric store. Her goal is to provide a wide variety of exceptionally made fabrics and yarns, from around the globe, that will support the creative needs of sewing enthusiasts and fiber artists. Shelly is thrilled to finally be working in a career that lets her indulge her passion for beautiful fabrics and fibers. Shelly created the Threads & Ewe website not just as a yarn and fabric shop...but as a friendly online destination where quilters and knitters come to create!

Here is Shelly receiving the Best Customer Service award!

Just look at how wonderful Shelly's booth is!

And here is Shelly enjoying what she does.

Shelly at the International Quilt Festival

Contact Shelly

Website: Threads & Ewe

Facebook: Threads & Ewe

Instagram: threadsandewe

Pinterest: Threads & Ewe

X: https://twitter.com/ThreadsandEwe

The work on Kim Brownell’s quilts gravitate towards animals, nature scenes, and bright colors.  Her techniques include and blend: fabric collage, free form art quilts, raw-edge applique, as well as many others.  Kim has a passion for entering quilt challenges which spark her imagination and inspire her.  She says her dream is to also inspire you to have fun and to help you learn what you can create. 

Here are a couple of Kim's quilts

Connect with Kim:

Website: The Wacky Doddle Quilter

Facebook: Kim Brownell

Instagram: the.wackydoodle.quilter

 

And Thanks to Mel Beach for sending Kim to A Quilter’s Life

Connect with Mel –

Website: Mel Beach Quilts

Facebook: Mel Beach Quilts

Instagram: melbeachquilts

Pinterest: Mel Beach

YouTube: Mel Beach Quilts      Don't forget to subscribe to her YouTube channel

And Mel’s episode on A Quilter’s Life: Mel Beach

 

This remarkable interview with Dana Jones is a little longer than the average episode of A Quilter’s Life, but you know how it is when you get chatting with quilters.  Dana loves teaching quilting from beginning classes to advanced techniques, from teaching her own designs to teaching quilts designed by others.  And she shared with us many of her wonderful insights.

We talked about Dana's Peace Cranes Over Hiroshima

Here are her Warp Speed and Don't Call Me Girl quilts

Connect with Dana

Website: Dana Jones Quilts

Facebook: Dana Jones Quilts

 

And Thanks to Mel Beach for sending Dana to A Quilter's Life!

Mel's episode on A Quilter's Life: Mel Beach

Website: Mel Beach Quilts

Facebook: Mel Beach Quilts

Instagram: melbeachquilts

Pinterest: Mel Beach

YouTube: Mel Beach Quilts

Christa Watson is passionate about all things that have to do with domestic machine quilting.  She is an award-winning quilter, pattern designer, author, and digital educator!  After the interview I remembered I should have asked Christa about the sewing cabinet that she co-designed with Arrow.  I’ve seen it demonstrated and it looks fabulous.  Then a little later I received an email from her and she shared that her Colorful Chaos quilt that we talked about was juried into the quilt show in Paducah.  I’m so happy for her!  So if you’re able to get to that show make sure to look for it.

Here's Christa's Colorful Chaos quilt

I had the privilege to meet Christa in person at QuiltCon 2024

Connect with Christa

Website: Christa Quilts

Facebook: Christa Watson

Instagram: christaquilts

Pinterest: Christa Quilts

YouTube: Christa Quilts       Don't forget to subscribe to her YouTube channel

Bea Byrne is a quilter, artist and entrepreneur living in Oakland, California.  She has a love of anything to do with textiles but her real passion is quilting. After a career in tech and events Bea realized that organizing and hosting an online conference would be the perfect way to merge the two worlds.  She has created the Quilt n Learn events which include teachers from all over the world.  And if you’ve been listening to A Quilter’s Life for a while you may even recognize some of the teachers at this event.

Here's Bea's quilt Self Portrait Triptych

To connect with Bea for the Quilt n Learn events

Website: Quilt n Learn

Facebook: Quilt n Learn

Instagram: quiltnlearn

YouTube: QuiltnLearn

 

To Connect with Bea about her teaching and lectures

Website: Bea Byrne

Facebook: Bea Byrne

Instagram: beabyrneartist

 

And Thanks to Mel Beach for sending Bea to A Quilter's Life

Connect with Mel –

Website: Mel Beach Quilts

Facebook: Mel Beach Quilts

Instagram: melbeachquilts

Pinterest: Mel Beach

YouTube: Mel Beach Quilts

And Mel's episode on A Quilter's Life: Mel Beach

You'll probably noticed before you start listening, this episode with Theresa Benson is about twice as long as our average episode.  Theresa has so much to offer!  Her workshops are a fusion of art and technology, where quilters of all levels discover that color theory and AI can go hand in hand.  Whether she’s unraveling the mysteries of tech for the quilting community or sharing her passion for fabrics and patterns, Theresa’s enthusiasm is infectious.  It won’t take long for you to join in her enthusiasm on this episode too!

Theresa's portrait quilts

And some of her animal quilt designs

I just love Theresa's smile!

Connect with Theresa

Website: The AI Quilter

Facebook: The AI Quilter 

Facebook Group: The AI Quilt Guild

Instagram: theaiquilter

YouTube: The AI Quilter

If you want to connect on her professional level

Linkedin: Theresa Benson

Website: Radiant Meatball

The podcast that Thresa and her friend, Amy Redbird host on the importance of laughter and strength in personal development and mental wellness:  Healarious

Sondrasa has found quilting to be the perfect pallet for her creativity. Playing with the mediums of fabric and thread to create her own unique brand of fabric art for international quilt shows and also creating her own quilt patterns which are designed to help even a confident beginner create beautiful quilts. Sondrasa sees every quilt as a work of art knowing that the maker has made it out of a labor of love.

Here's Sondrasa's Desert Spring BOM

Connect with Sondrasa

Website: Art Quilts by Design

Facebook: Art Quilts by Design

Instagram: sondrasasews

YouTube: Art Quilts by Design

Twitch: Sondrasa

 

I knew when Mel Beach shared that at a young age she had memorized who the artist was of each sculpture in the museum near her, that she was going to be sharing some brilliant information with us and I wasn’t disappointed.  We can easily see how her life experiences molded her into an inspiring quilt teacher.  I loved the quote from her coach that “If you had fun, you won.”

This is Mel's Emerald Gardens quilt.  I still can't believe it's only 12" x 12".

  Connect with Mel -

Website: Mel Beach Quilts

Facebook: Mel Beach Quilts

Instagram: melbeachquilts

Pinterest: Mel Beach

YouTube: Mel Beach Quilts

 

Again my thanks to Carolina Moore for encouraging Mel to be interviewed.

Here’s where you can find Carolina:

Website:  Always Expect Moore.com

YouTube: Carolina Moore

Pinterest:  Carolina Moore

Instagram:  craftmoore

Facebook:  Always Expect Moore

Podcast: I Love Notions

 

Tonya Dunning started her business to get the word out about fidget quilts. Since then she has expanded her line with other fidget items. She learned how to write quilt patterns and realized that she loves editing and writing. So she not only writes her own patterns but is able to edit patterns for other quilt designers.

Examples of Tonya's fidget quilts.  The last picture is the marble fidget.

Connect with Tonya

Website:  Memory Barn Studio

Facebook: Memory Barn Studio

Instagram: memorybarnstudio

YouTube: Memory Barn Studio

 

I want to give a shout out to Danelle Howard for encouraging Tonya to share her story on A Quilter’s Life.

If you missed Danelle's interview on A Quilter's Life - Danelle Howard

Here’s Danelle's links:

Website:  Cottage Path Quilting

Instagram: cottagepathquilting

YouTube: Danelle Howard – My Gathering Basket

 

I’m excited to share the favorite quilting tools of my guests on A Quilter’s Life podcast from 2024.  I love how this list changes from year to year.  You’d think that they were sharing the new and improved tools that we all love to get our hands on.  But it seems we are all so thankful that we have some basic quilting tools that allow us to make our beautiful quilts.

 

Computer Software - Design quilts

Seam Guide - Seams So Easy by Lori Holt   You don’t have to draw the lines for half square triangles or flying geese.  It makes it easy.

Needle - Brand new sharp applique needle.  Hand needles get dull also and it stitches like butter when it’s brand new.

Oliso Iron 

Thimble - Handmade leather thimble

Seam Ripper - Seam Ripper to correct our mistakes

Quilting Hoop - A Norwood frame that sits on a pedestal with a ball joint swivel

Design Wall - Fons and Porter has grommets to hang it

Scissors

Karen Kay Buckley little red handed scissors 

Karen K Buckley scissors for collage 

small scissors to get in small places

Sewing Machine

Juki to sew fast

Quilting Machine

Digital dual foot on sewing machine.  Has special censors and keeps everything neat

Stiletto

Stiletto it makes tricky piecing go so much better

Stiletto helps grip fabric,  Been indispensable on art quilting.

African porcupine quill stiletto  Not going to harm your machine like a metal or wood one might.

Light box.

Helps make pet portraits to get the colors and shapes right.  

Also for paperpiecing.  

When drawing patterns when making mosaics.

Light desk to create nice applique patterns.

Rulers

Stripology Ruler -

 Easy to make squares.  For instance you can lay it on the fabric and cut the size you want your square.  Then turn the fabric a quarter of a turn and lay the ruler on again and cut the same length again and you have perfect squares.

Efficiency

 to cut lots of small pieces especially 1 in squares

Lock Bloc Ruler helps to make perfect half square triangles.

Basic ruler and rotary cutter - With this simple tool the possibilities are endless.

Cutting board - we compared that she used to use scissors and made templates from sandpaper

Quilter Select Rulers - These rulers don’t slip or slide when cutting. 

2.5x6in ruler.

4”x10” ¼ inch ruler to use on longarm.

Cricket that cuts fabric

I hope you have enjoyed another year of favorite tools.  I am looking forward to 2025 to hear more stories of the wonderful people behind all the beautiful quilts.  And I’m sure you are too!