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Hi, quilters! We have another installment of the Behind the Seams series, which features the quilting background and journey of TekBrands team member Leslie.
About Leslie G.
Leslie joined TekBrands almost three years ago and became one of the friendly faces on our Human Resources team. As the HR Specialist, Leslie is a recruiter for the company, assists with general HR-related tasks, such as providing detailed guides for TekBrands’s employee portal and being a trustworthy and supportive confidant. She also manages employee engagement by planning activities for the TekBrands team to create and strengthen professional relationships with one another. Along with crafting new and stronger connections within TekBrands, Leslie has enjoyed creating as a hobby as well.
From Embroidery to Quilting
Leslie’s quilting journey began when she was in middle school when her grandmother taught her how to cross stitch. Years later, Leslie began quilting soon after joining TekBrands.
“I started quilting the summer of 2020 during quarantine,” Leslie said. “I sat in a lot of AccuQuilt virtual retailer classes while [AccuQuilt Cutting Expert] Pam Heller was teaching and decided that I could probably actually quilt. So, I bought a sewing machine (which were hard to find at that time) and embarked on my first quilt. I started with a quilt for my nephew, the GO! Elephant Cuddles Throw Quilt, and immediately regretted starting with cuddle fabric. I then switched and did a cat quilt, and once I was more confident in what I was doing, I finished the elephant quilt.”
It turns out that her first finished quilt, the cat quilt using Halloween fabric prints, is Leslie’s favorite because she learned that, after going back to the elephant quilt, “You have to be patient, and you will get better as you go. Also, mistakes happen. You don’t have to have everything perfect!”
An Established Quilter
Leslie mostly makes lap sized quilts, as she finds it's easier to create those with a sewing machine, but prefers long arm quilting when she has access to a long arm machine. Even though she is more “traditional” by using a sewing machine, Leslie does not think of herself as a traditional quilter.
“I would say that I am a modern quilter when I am doing a quilt pattern,” Leslie said. “I’m also scrappy since I always have leftovers from my projects.” Further proving she is a modern quilter, Leslie revealed that she is not a fan of rotary cutting and enjoys using GO! Dies.
“I love how easy the dies make cutting fabric,” Leslie explained. “I have done a few patterns that there was not a die for, and I will never do that again."
So far, Leslie has created several quilts, with a lot more on her bucket list.
“I have a lot of quilts that I want to make for my nieces and nephews,” Leslie said. She added that she also wants to make:
- The GO! Touchdown Throw Quilt
- The GO! Take Me Out to the Ball Game Throw Quilt
- A spiderweb quilt with a Spiderman panel
- Maypole by Suzy Quilts
- Polar Peekaboo by AccuQuilt GO! Getter Kelli Fannin
It seems like Leslie will definitely make these quilts since her “favorite part of quilting is the amazement on people’s faces when they see what you have created.”
Leslie concluded our conversation by offering a solid piece of advice to those new to creating or quilting: “Just start! If you have ever been interested in creating, what are you waiting for?”
