Sharon Spingler, Quilter In the Spotlight

Home

In the Spotlight

Quilters

In the Spotlight - Quilters

Written by Suzanne Earley

Sharon Spingler

This week's quilter in the spotlight is Sharon Spingler.

Sharon is one of our best cheerleaders and we are lucky to have her as a part of MQResource.

If you would like to leave a comment or ask a question, you can head on over to the forum (you do have to have a forum account. A post can be found here for discussion about this article.

MQResource: First, tell us about your family!

My husband, John, is the Business Manager, Procurement Officer and Correctional Officer at one of our local prisons. He has been there since 1991.

My oldest daughter, 39 yr old Mari, is an RN for HealthSouth in Huntsville Ala but leaving for OCS in July. She has 2 daughters, Heather 18 and Jessica 13.
Nancy, 35, lives in Arizona.
My baby, Joe 29, is married and has 3 little ones, Jessica 9, April Rose 8 and John Patrick 3.
He is a plane refueler for MillionAir.

MQR: Where do you call home?

Home is Helendale, Calif.....3 hours southwest of Vegas and 1 1/2 hrs northeast of Los Angeles.

MQR: How long have you been quilting? How did you get into it?

How did I get into quilting? My dad's sisters, being from WVa, all quilted. In the late spring, we would go to my aunt Mary's, just ouside Spencer and shear her 6 sheep. It was the job for us kids to take the wool down to the creek and wash it out then lay it out on the lawn to dry. This is what she used for her batting. Our family's motto was "make do". There was a company not far from her that made men's wool suits and she would take their scraps and make crazy quilts out of them.

MQR: Do you still do much piecing, or are you all about the quilting?

I try to piece as much as I can. However, some new designs are given to my pattern tester in New Mexico if I'm backed up and don't have time.

MQR: Do you have a quilting business? If so, what is your favorite part of quilting for other people?

Yes, I own Desert Threads which encompasses both the quilting and the design part of my passion.

My favorite part of quilting is the end result.

MQR: What is the most challenging part of quilting for you?

Being original in the way I quilt......at least original in my area.

MQR: What are your favorite quilting tools?

Garden Trellis Ones that I've had cut for me from 3/8" acrylic cutting boards. I tend to run over the 1/4" ones.

MQR: What hobbies do you have (beyond quilting)?

Reading, crocheting, gardening, and fabric dyeing

I still have a lot to learn in this business. The only class I've ever taken was with Ronda Beyer. The only way I've learned what can and cannot be done, is from seeing other peoples work.

MQR: What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Rocky Road and Butter Pecan

MQR: Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks?

Salty

MQR: What is your favorite beverage?

Sweet Tea

MQR: What is your least favorite food?

I don't know that I have any least favorites but I'm strictly a meat and potato kind of gal.

MQR: What are your favorite books/authors?

Jean Auel

MQR: What are your favorite movies?

Clan of the Cave Bear, Dances with Wolves

MQR: What is your favorite quote?

"Do something nice everyday....but try not to get caught"

MQR: What is one of your goals for 2008?

To better market my patterns and try to sell some of the quilts I have made for sale.

All photographs were provided by Sharon.

sharonspingler @ yahoo.com

Don't forget, you can visit the forum here if you would like to comment.

Thanks for playing along, Sharon! Tune in next week to see who will be the next Quilter In the Spotlight!

Featured Quilt

Mermaid Quilt

Nancy Hughson

Quilt Blog Ads

Click Here for More Information about Quilt Blog Ads

Recent How-To Article

The "P" word

Our world is full of people wanting shortcuts. We want to have everything and we don't want to wait -- we want what we want and we want it right now. The situation with the US financial system is certainly indicative of that...but I'm not here to talk about such an unpleasant topic!!

As quilters we are no different -- we want to produce beautiful quilting and we want to do it yesterday. Now, I'll grant you that there are some prodigies in the machine quilting world, but those prodigies are pretty few and far between. The rest of us have to work at our craft, and what may look effortless is actually the result of many long years of hard work.

Practice might be spelled with 8 letters, but I'm sure many people consider it a "4-letter" word -- one that you'd rather not hear in your house and try to use as little as possible. I'm here to tell you, though, that this particular "P" word and several of its friends are not as horrible as you might think, and I'd like to give you some tips and ideas about how to effectively practice.