People often ask me how I came to write about quilting. The answer is this: I simply wanted to tell quilters not be afraid to have fun!

I believe that quilters of today learn to quilt backwards. We learn the rules about quilting BEFORE we quilt. I think we should make some quilts first, then learn the rules later--and only if we want to. My message is a simple one, but I think people like to hear it over and over again: Have fun. Don't be afraid to be spontaneous. Laugh at your mistakes. Give yourself permission to love your work, even if it isn't perfect. Understand that if you give a quilt to someone you love, he/she will think of you and cherish it always, even if your points don't match.

As for myself, I experience the pure joy of quilting when I sit down with my scissors, some old clothing and a needle and thread. Yes, I do own many of the modern conveniences, but nothing brings me as much joy as sewing together a goofy traditional quilt made out of old dresses. I am proud of the fact that I am not an artist--I consider myself a craftsman. But I love to push the boundaries about what art really is! I happen to think that all quilts are art. Uh oh...does that make me an artist? Even though I write aricles about cranky fabric and quilted toilet paper? Go figure.

I started writing all these thoughts down one night in 1998, after I came home from a guild meeting in Petaluma, California. Joe Cunningham was the guest speaker that night, and he had brought with him a collection of the goofiest antique quilts you could imagine. One by one, he would hold up these poorly designed, pathetically engineered, and sorely executed quilts. What fun that was! He had us laughing so hard we could barely breathe. For me, something magical happened that night. A piece of the puzzle I had overlooked had fallen into place: quilting was supposed to be fun. And funny! So that night, I started writing five short essays and sent them off to various magazines. A few days later, Jack Braunstein from Quilting Today Magazine called me--to ask me if I had any more! Boy, was I thrilled. Chitra is a wonderful company and I am very lucky to be associated with them. I can also say that I have been very lucky with my book publisher! Good Books is fantastic to work with and I am proud to be included in their wonderful collection of titles.

So there's the short version. I have no mission statement or artistic vision to share; I just like to goof off.