My Story
Meet Michelle
Hi Everyone! My name is Michelle, a mother, wife, veteran, quilter and longarmer. I live in Stonewall, Manitoba but originally from Newfoundland hence the name Upalongquilting. My father-in-law would always say if you don't live in Newfoundland, you are from upalong, meaning the rest of Canada.
I spent a lot of time with my grandmother as a young girl and ventured out with her to basement rummage sales to find material to make quilts. I helped her cut them and then watched her in awe as she sewed those colorful scraps into beautiful quilts. With the quilters in my family and my husbands family passing away, the quilts we took for granted would be no more, who would make quilts for my daughters and their future children? I have only known "homemade" quilts my whole life and never thought of buying one from a store.
How It Happend
I made my first quilt at a local quilt shop in Edmonton while being posted there and fell in love with the craft and the sample lap quilt I made during five weeks of classes. Even though our last class showed us how to complete the quilt on our domestic sewing machine doing free motion, I knew I was not going to enjoy it and took that lap quilt to a longarmer. I had spent so much time being precise with the quilt, and then having to have someone finish it for me was discouraging, but it was beyond the talent I had, I just wanted to make the quilt tops.
The classes gave me the confidence to want to make more, and the next two quilts I made were log cabin quilts for my two daughters. I was now getting bored and ventured further and took a class on how to make a bargello, now it is my favourite quilt to make.
I have lost track of how many quilts I have made, well over 50 to give away to family and friends, and at the end of each of them, I had to pay someone else to do the top quilting.
Dream Come True!
I dreamed of one daying owning a longarm machine, and in December 2021, my wish came true. My husband bought me a HandiQuilter Infinity with Pro-Stitcher as a gift for my 50th birthday, and the same week I retired from the military with 20 years of service. This past summer, I attended the HandiQuilter Academy in Salt Lake City, Utah, to expand my knowledge and to meet a couple of hundred quilters who hold the same passion as I do. I love my longarm and watching a design come to life, but I can only make so many quilts, so I decided to create Upalongquilting and share my knowledge and passion with others by completing their works of art. I have completed over 80 quilts on my longarm to date, and I am always waiting for the next quilt to come through the door. For now, I am doing edge-to-edge, but eventually, I will expand into custom designs.
I would appreciate the opportunity to finish your beautiful quilt and turn it into a masterpiece that you are proud to give to that special person or display on a bed in your house. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Happy Quilting!
