In 2002, as an honor for work in the organization and creation of Mississippi Quilt Association and serving as its first president and other volunteer positions, I was given 18 exquisitely hand-appliqued blocks made by former officers and dear friends. I had personally appliqued and hand-quilted my own Baltimore Album style quilt (This Is My Story, This Is My Song) several years before but was not up to hand-quilting this one. After I made two more blocks and assembled and bordered the quilt, my good friend Diann Loper taught me free-motion machine quilting and convinced me I could do it on a Handi Quilter Sweet 16 in 2010. This was the first of hundreds of free-motion quilting projects I have enjoyed. See story on my blog Oct. 28, 2010.
