About Us

Ever since I can remember I have felt the need to express myself artistically, so with encouragement and support from my family, I attended art school.

After graduation, I worked for American Greetings as an artist and project planner, then began a career in children's book illustration. But even as a child I had an affinity for fabric, so my passion for quilting came naturally. 

All through my childhood I made clothes for my dolls by hand since we didn't have a sewing machine.  In second grade, my friend Leslie Kaiser's mom let us use her machine to make costumes for a Brownie skit.  I was hooked.  I finally got a machine of my own, a Sears Kenmore, as a high school graduation present.  I began making my own clothes, but it wasn't until after graduating from college that I discovered the wonderful world of quilting. I chose to attempt a queen-size Lone Star as my first quilt project, making cardboard templates and cutting out  hundreds of diamond shapes with scissors. Sadly, my poor quilt project soon turned into a pillow.

Just for fun, I began designing quilts for myself and friends, and in 1994 a quilting friend and I started Brandywine Design.  Since then we've published more than 25 books and over 60 patterns.

Today I am lucky to have my husband as my business partner who takes care of what he calls the "left brain" side of the business so I can continue to play with fabric and "make stuff." Jack, my two grown children, and two young granddaughters provide me with the love, laughter, and happiness that is my source of inspiration and creativity.