Quilters Days Out - Highlight Video
Hi! I am Jennifer Clara Means Clapp and I grew up in Boone County, Ky. I have lived as far away as Campbell County for a few years and currently reside in Kenton County with my husband Kevin (a transplant from Ohio) and our oldest daughter Mallory. Recently, our youngest daughter Courtney married Nathan, and we feel we finally have a son! I am often teased about knowing EVERYONE. Well, that’s because I have lived in Boone, Campbell, or Kenton County my entire life much like my mother who has lived in Boone County her entire life. A few years after my grandmother Espy passed away, my grandfather, married Betsy Eddins Maurer. Bet you can’t guess where she was from! She owned the farm with the infamous smiley face barn on East Bend Road in Burlington. I’m going somewhere with this history lesson, I promise. You see, it was Betsy who introduced me to quilts and attempted to teach me how to quilt, but that didn’t work out so well in the beginning. Not only did I choose to make Grandmothers Flower Garden, a pattern far too advanced for my abilities, it was also to be hand pieced and quilted. WHAT?!? Hats off to those of you who hand piece and quilt! After a few years of piddling with my pink and green hexagons at a snails’ pace, I stumbled upon a Quilt-In-A-Day show on TV of a Pineapple Quilt...all done on a machine... Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! I was off and running and so was my Singer! While running out of bobbin thread was a new issue, it meant progress was finally being made! I must have turned out half a dozen Pineapple quilts and was so excited to show them to Betsy each time I completed one. To say I became addicted to quilting would be an understatement. Having given the gift of a quilt for nearly every occasion: Bridesmaids gift, Wedding, Baby Shower or Birth, Retirement, Flag Day, Earth Day, Thanksgiving. Okay – maybe not those last few! But I can tell you, quilts are a universal gift and appropriate for nearly every occasion!
I love a wide variety of quilt types from traditional to modern and everything in between and have dabbled a bit with applique, finally tackled a Cathedral Window with a lot of hand work and consider myself blessed to have several antique quilts made by my great-grandmother Clara Hensley, who I am named after, which forced me to learn to repair those tattered treasures. I have made quilts from my Dad’s flannel shirts after his passing, my Husband’s old work jeans and shirts, as well as his old softball uniforms. Imagine his surprise when he returned home from that golf trip! All those #22’s had taken on a new form. Besides, they didn’t fit any longer so why not! I especially enjoy making T-shirt quilts on request and was recently commissioned to make a quilt from Hockey Jerseys by a mom for her son’s graduation. Talk about fun!
A few fun facts: My husband proposed to me after a visit to a quilt store and I am happy to report that one of our daughters has made a few quilts of her own and I continue to pray our other daughter falls in love with quilting one day too (WINK! WINK!) Three years ago, an Innova longarm was added to the family which just fuels the addiction!
Somewhere between quilts I managed to have a 30-year career with AltaFiber (formerly Cincinnati Bell Telephone). I’ve served on the board of directors for Crush Volleyball Club since 2018 and am the current secretary. I meet with a small group of ladies at our church to teach quilting skills twice a month and most recently have furthered my work career as a full time Data Specialist.
Whatever happened to that Grandmothers Flower Garden of pink and green hexagons you ask? In 2020, I found the few completed blocks along with the fabric in a box in our basement. My best calculation is the box survived nine moves, two different storage units and one basement flood. So, I decided it must be completed and went on a mission to do just that. Additional shades of pinks and greens plus some grey fabrics were purchased, a combination of machine and hand sewing soon led to the top ready for quilting on a longarm. Wouldn’t you know I was fresh out of the best color to bind it in, so another 18 months passed while I searched for just the right fabric! It was roughly 35 years in the making but it’s finally complete and is one of my favorites.
Whether you have a Betsy in your life who is just introducing you to quilting, or you are “The Betsy”, I hope your journey is as rewarding as mine and I pray you never run out of fabric or bobbin thread! HAPPY QUILTING!
I am blessed to have had a grandmother and mother who both quilted. I have always loved sleeping underneath a homemade quilt. When my mom passed away, I knew that if I were to get any new ones, I would have to make the quilts myself. At first, I did only the piecing while others long arm quilted for me. Then I started quilting with my embroidery machine. After visiting a longarm shop with a friend to give moral support, I decided I wanted to have a longarm. I am blessed to also have 2 daughters that love sleeping underneath a quilt as well. So, I am kept busy. I joined Stringtown to share my joy and time quilting with new friends. Not only have I gained new friends, I’ve been learning a lot as well.
Hello, my name is Becca Humphrey and I have lived in the NKY area since 2020 but grew up in Southern Illinois just outside St. Louis, MO. I am currently employed as a public servant in the financial sector and hold an MBA from Lindenwood University. I've been married to my wife Megan since October 2021 and our family includes our two fur babies Minerva and Smudge, both tabby cats.
I have learned most to all of what I know about sewing and quilting from the guidance (and patience!) of my mom Tammy. Growing up I would often linger around her sewing room at which point she told me "if you're going to be in here I'm going to put you to work!" She certainly kept me busy with ironing and cutting fabrics until I was ready to begin my own projects. Admittedly reluctant to start sewing at first, my first quilt was a simple panel wall hanging made in May 2018 in honor of Memorial Day; but I didn't really start getting into sewing/quilting until 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. I joined Stringtown Quilter's Guild in 2022 and have enjoyed meeting new people, learning new skills, and seeing all the different types of projects, art, and quilts our members have made. I look forward to the future of the guild and what it has in store!
Bio coming soon!
Hello, my name is Karen Evans and I have lived in Union, KY for the past 23 years. Originally and proudly from eastern Kentucky, Ashland. Recently retired with 17 years of service to the Boone County School District as the Executive Coordinator to the Superintendent of Boone County Schools and the Board Secretary. I absolutely loved working in education. Celebrating 34 years of marriage to an awesome husband, Bobby, he totally supports my love of quilting and even drives me to quilt shops whenever we get the chance (he actually goes for the food along the way). We have a beautiful daughter, Faith and welcomed a son-n-law into the family 3 years ago, so we claim 2 children now. I have been a member of the Stringtown Guild for 7 years, I got back to quilting after Faith left for college. I actually started quilting when I purchased a McCall’s Quilting book at JoAnn’s and then took a class from my Sunday School teacher in 1991. I still have my first quilt top, it was supposed to be a triangle pattern, but as I cut out the patterns with cardboard templates everything seemed to take a different shape…... I keep it in my sewing room, so I can remember everything takes time in life. My second quilt I called “ the zoo quilt” the fabric had bright zoo animals that I stayed up all night making because Faith was off to preschool and needed a blanket – so I quilted one. I love all quilts, traditional or modern, hand or machine stitched! The guild has provided me with friendship and inspiration over these last years and I am delighted to be a member.
Hello, my name is Ruby Causey, and I have lived in Grant County for the past 40 years. I grew up in Cynthiana Kentucky on a tobacco farm and got married at a very early age of 19. My husband and I just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary this year (2024) and I also celebrated my 40th work anniversary this year with my current employer, American Modern Insurance Group. I see so many people around me retiring and I can’t wait until it is my turn! I learned how to sew from my mother and mam-maw at a very young age. I first started with embroidery with scraps of material that my mam-maw would give me and show me how to sew the various types of stitches. My mam-maw hand embroidered quilts and hand quilted to the sell them to have a little money on the side. I have a few of her quilts and they mean so much to me. My mother made a lot of my clothes growing up and although I tried my hand at making clothes, my true love was making quilt tops. My favorite quilts to make are baby quilts because they are small and don’t take as long to complete. I made a king size quilt for my bed several years ago, and I still need to quilt it. I have a longarm and consider myself as a beginner, but the frame is only a queen size and now I need to figure out how to quilt it. My husband and I have two boys, Ben, and Joshua. Ben is our oldest and is married to Shannon (originally from Germany) with two beautiful girls, Emma, and Nora. Joshua was blessed with a German Shepard dog Bailey, and mom is currently making her a quilt. I joined SQG in February of this year (2024) because I wanted to learn more from other quilters and WOW WEE, what I have learned so far is that this group of people are inspiring and very talented and I’m so glad to be part of the team.
I was a member of the guild in 1992, and then took 25 years off while raising 3 sons, Ted, Jack, and Sam. I rejoined in 2017 and started editing the newsletter in March 2019. My mother taught me to sew as a child, and after many years of arguments, I finished my first quilt, a Cathedral Window. I finally learned to free motion quilt in Sue Nichols's class with the guild and am trying to make up for the 25 year hiatus. I am a daylily gardener and a retired math teacher. My husband, Philip, and I have been married since 1987.
Kim Ryles, Retreat Chairperson
As a child growing up, I remember my Grandmother (Nanny) having some kind of needle work in her hands from crocheting, knitting to embroidery. It was common to have afghans and doilies lying around the house, as well as many other handmade items. Though I do not recall seeing Nanny sewing at the machine, there was a coveted cabinet with a Singer sewing machine in the dining room.
My Mom carried on the traditions, by age 11, I asked my mom to teach me how to sew. I was proud of my first tote bag project, by the time I was in High School I was making all of my own clothes. As an adult, I continued sewing cheerleader uniforms, costumes for my children and church Christmas plays.
I had always wanted to make a quilt, but didn’t know where to start. I took a quilting class at JoAnn Fabrics in 1990 piecing the top with a serger…..when it was time to sandwich the quilt, I was lost and the quilt became a UFO.
In 2015, I accepted an invitation to attend a Stringtown Quilters Guild meeting and became a member. My first retreat was at Blue Lick State Park, I was ecstatic of the talent that was in the sewing room. The members graciously helped sandwich and pin my 1990 quilt. So much to learn from so many and the willingness to teach is phenomenal!
Volunteers were needed in the guild so I teamed up with a friend who joined at the same time and we organized our first guild retreat. I thought, “Just this one time.” ….It’s been 6 years later and I am still organizing the retreats and earned the title Retreat Coordinator.
I truly love making quilts and have been doing so since I joined the guild.
I would like to extend an invitation to join us for a quilt retreat. I promised you will not regret going!