July 2026
Kathy Pritchard
Kathy joined the Cheshire Quilting Guild in spring of 2023. She learned of the group through Joanna Thyre a fellow guild member while they were coaching “Girls on the Run” together. The first time she visited a meeting it was the May auction in the upstairs room of the Episcopal church. She had such FUN that she joined the guild!!
1. Do you follow quilt patterns or design your own and why?
Response: “When I quilt, I usually follow a pattern. That is because I want thing to look the way that they “should” However, I had such a good time making a quilted book for my granddaughter for the “5 senses challenge”. It was fun to let my creative juices flow. So, now I’m looking forward to the “250th year USA Challenge”
2. What’s your favorite part of a quilting project?
Response: “My favorite part of the quilting project is either shopping for the fabric and figuring that part out or gifting the quilt to the recipient. I love the feeling of accomplishment when all is said and done. And I love giving presents.”
3. What challenges do you face while quilting and how/have do you overcome them?
Response: : “I have to say that my biggest challenge is occasionally getting overwhelmed by the “SIZE” of the project. When will I ever get it done? To overcome this, I often take a break and do something else till it passes. For the first king sixed log cabin quilt that I made a neighbor friend and experienced quilter coached me through all the steps. It really helped me to have it broken down into weekly chunks. When she moved away, I was afraid to try a different pattern. So, I made two more big log cabin quilts. One for each of my 3 children and their spouses. Finally in 2025 I made a big quilt for my husband and myself and it’s an Irish chain. I like it and I’m happy I did it for us!”
4. What was your worst quilting disaster and were you able to fix it and how?
Response: “Considering disasters... Recently I’ve been re-making a quilt that my sister-in-law made for my middle child. It was worn and all the stuffing had degraded. It degraded because the top, middle and bottom pieces were never quilted. It was more like a pillow case with batting instead of a pillow. The only quilted area was where she added my son’s name in applique. All this is totally understandable as she had a baby a few weeks after my son. She really was very good at quilting! Anyway, in rebuilding it, I’ve got some major snags. I have to keep reminding myself that it will be better and that it needn’t be perfect. That is really hard but I am looking forward to when it’s finished and it can used and appreciated again.
Kathy's work
