January 2025 Guild Member Spotlight

We start off 2025 with a bang as we feature Marilyn Hurley in our January guild member spotlight!!  Marilyn joined the Cheshire Quilters Guild around the year 2011. She joined at the urging of her neighbor. They continue to attend meetings together. She began sewing in high school and at that time she did mostly garment construction making things for herself including several full length dresses for special occasions. Her techniques have changed as she learned from a variety of family, friends and professionals as well as working with a variety of different fabrics. Thank you for your interview Marilyn, I definitely learned a few new things about you!

Answer:  "Yes, my mother received a quilt for me when I was born. I still have the quilt and use it often. I received a memory quilt pieced and machine quilted using clothes belonging to my mother from my quilting buddy and neighbor Maurine Henry. My husband and I received a full size quilt for a wedding gift. It was pieced and hand quilted by a very special friend. We treasure both of these quilts.

Answer: " I am fortunate to have a very supportive husband who often does other household tasks while I sew. He enjoys visiting quilt shops, choosing fabric as well as cutting yardage and squaring up my finished blocks – very precisely I might add. Together we use our dining room table to layer the quilt. We enjoy camping in or motorhome. On one trip to Pennsylvania we visited twenty different shops and made a purchase as most of the shops. I also enjoy quilting in our motorhome."

Answer: " I enjoy the many friends I have made along my quilting journey. I enjoy visiting shops with these friends. They often help me choose patterns and the fabric needed for my projects while also answering my many questions and dilemmas along the way. Sometimes moral support is all that is needed to solve quilting issues. The saying, “…You can do this!” goes a long way. I appreciate their support greatly. I also enjoy shopping and collecting fabric to add to my quilting “stash. " 

Answer: "I usually do not use a quilt pattern more than once. Maybe I should because it takes me a very long time to choose a pattern and just the right fabric for a quilt."

Answer: "I have a fridge magnet that reads, “I consider myself a Beginner Quilter…I like to begin projects but I can’t seem to finish them! Many of my quilting friends will tell you this saying characterizes me as I am working on multiple projects. Many of my quilts are at the “needs to be quilted” stage. Some just need a border but I need to find the right fabric which should not be a problem but because I have a large collection of fabric. Having a large throat domestic quilting machine and a wonderful embroidery sewing machine should allow me to quilt many of my present projects. In other words I have all the ingredients I just need to put them together to complete my many U.F.O's. "