My Profile

I would definitely call myself a "quilter", but it didn't start out that way...I grew into it. As far back as I can remember, I had a needle in my hand. My mother sewed frequently, making clothes for herself and me: patching and repairing for my Dad and my brother. Clothes for the men in the family were pretty much limited to p.j.s and robes and perhaps a Halloween costume for my brother Billy. I used to get the leftovers and made a lot of doll clothes. I still have my first doll, cloth body and plastic face which today is dressed quite nicely in a silk blouse, plaid pleated skirt, even a matching plaid beret! All were made when I was 9 yrs. old and home from school with the measles. I look at that doll today and say, Wow! Such tiny little stitches. Although my mother, her sister and their mother all sewed well, none were quilters and I was never exposed to quilts. However, I do remember making some patchwork quilts (??) for my dolls. I must have seen pictures in the Ladies' Home Journal or such because I never saw a real quilt in my home. Like most of us I guess, I soon graduated to using my mother's old Singer for simple projects. After a time and the usual inherent poor results, I got better and better and by the age of 13 or so I was making quite a few clothes for myself. Luckily, I never got tired of it, and just kept going on to bigger and better things. With marriage, houses and babies, I did a lot of home dec sewing and made oodles of baby and toddler clothes. The first "real" quilt I made was for my third son, Chris who was born in 1972. I didn't do it the "right" way, but it was very nice regardless. My three sons kept me pretty busy and my sewing was limited to children's wear, and a few things for myself. Except for a single quilted project here and there; a wall hanging, a tree skirt for the holidays; I wasn't yet hooked on quilting. A divorce when my third son was 9 (1981) forced me back into the job market and I had little time for sewing of any kind. But there was a beautiful quilt shop near my place of work and also another quilt shop quite near the home of the man I started dating a few years later. Both drew me in, the two shops, that is! More and more I got interested in sewing again, particularly with the artistic challenges of quilting. I took a few classes, bought more and more fabric and was soon irreversibly addicted! What a way to go!! In 1990, I married that same man, Roger Sullivan, and exactly a year later when he decided to take an early retirement, I, too, left my job to "go out and play". From then on I was reborn as a true "quilter". Roger and I bought an RV and started traveling around the US. I have a lot of quilt shops "tagged" on my Quilters' Travel Companion manual and I have the stash to prove it! When asked about my favorite mode of quilting, I have to say I love every part of it, machine piecing, machine quilting, hand applique, and hand quilting. Teaching is a wonderful part and of course, can anything top shopping for fabric?!? I have quite a few quilts under my belt now, one taking a 3rd prize ribbon (Denali Sunrise); another, "Colours of St. Lucia", received a 2nd prize ribbon at the Arizona State Guild show and was then featured in a book as well as juried into an art gallery exhibit in Colorado. This quilt was lost in the mail (USPS) in August 2001 and has never been located. Now I often find myself "in front of the classroom" rather than as a student. I have taught classes in my "home" state of Massachusetts, in Florida during our winters there and now here in Arizona. I put a lot of work into my classes but the reward comes back doublefold! I also presently share the Presidency of the Sun Lakes Agave Quilters Guild. I have sold more than two dozen quilts, and if I weren't so "bonded" with them, more could have been. It was easier to let my kids leave the nest!! Of course, family and friends have been recipients for birthdays, Christmas, births, weddings, and even for no reason other than that they are my favorite people. I am not a "bed" quilt maker, but rather my projects are about 99% wall hangings. I have made some wearable art pieces and also the occasional Christmas tree skirt, table runner, and other novelty items. I find I have so many ideas in my head, and, with a tendency to get bored easily, the wall hanging size quilt is perfect for me. Each one is finished in a fairly short time and I can go on to something different. Like any true quilter, I have several things going at the same time....quite a pile of UFOs as well! I mostly do free motion machine quilting but I have gotten much better with my hand quilting and enjoy that as well. I like change! I am a native New Englander having been born in Boston, raised in Vermont and returning to the Boston area at 19 where I lived and married, and raised my sons. we have traveled the whole US in our motor home since 1991, and also done a fair amount of traveling out of the country.Since 2000, my husband and I have been living in Arizona in a new home we built south of Phoenix in an area called Sun Lakes. Our house is on the 17th fairway with the San Tan, Estrella, and South Mountains surrounding us. It is wonderful here most of the year; we tend to travel in the summertime now to avoid the desert heat. Hope you enjoy the rest of our web pages, the photos of my quilts, Roger's artwork and the places we've traveled. Dennie