:::::: The Quilt Maker :::::

My name is Carmel O'Connell. I have been quilting for the past seventeen years.

My first class was a sampler quilt; every block created was to teach a new technique. Because my goal was to create a queen-size quilt, I made twenty-four unique blocks.

It was not always so. Like most girls, I took sewing in school. I made the apron and skirt like everyone else. But it was not until I discovered quilting that my sewing ability moved to the next level. I took to quilting like a duck going to water.

Fo me, quilting is not just sewing two pieces of fabric together... it's creating an heirloom that will pass from generation to generation.

I am a quilter without borders. If one is an artist of any kind - be it quilting, theater, or photography - you develop your own style. I believe I have a gift for quilting... and for not being limited in my designs, color and style.

Quilting is my passion - and an art and skill I have spent years perfecting through formal studies and experimentation.

From cutting the fabric to sewing the last stitch, I strive to create a visual and meaningful work of art.

My quilting is so much more than buying perfectly good fabric and sewing it back together again. My quilting is a reflection of my heart and soul. It is a gift I create with my hands and my heart.

A quilt is practical - a soft place to cuddle up - but it should also bring with it sweet memories and heartfelt inspiration.

Quilts have played a large part in history during war time, a code to having a safe house where the slaves could stop and have a warm meal and somewhere safe to sleep on their journey to freedom.

In the nineteen thirties during the depression they printed patterns of quilts in the newspaper.

The fabric companies took to making replica fabrics that looked back to the patterns and the colors of that time.

Some believed that if they kept a woman's hands creating they would be happier. It would trickle down to the home and country. I gained a new appreciation for quilting. I started making quilts that could have a thousand stories as if they had been made by my great great grandmother.

I have attended countless quilting classes - and I have been very lucky as I have had some great teachers. Over the years, many of my teachers became incredible friends.

My belief is that anyone can teach you how to sew a block - the basis for every quilt... but how to create a quilt is an art. I want to share myself as an artist not just a seamstress. Teaching fulfills that desire.

I have been a flight attendant since 1988. Amongst the airline personnel I am known as "The Quilt Maker". The first thing that I pack in my suitcase is always the quilt that I am working on. No day passes that I am not planning or creating a new quilt.