Mary M. Covey is the author of the popular Follow-the-Line Quilting Designs, which is now in three volumes, soon to be four. She recently gave us an inspiring interview, including a great way to machine quilt with a three-year-old!
How did you first get the quilting bug?
I had always wanted to learn, because I love antique quilts. When my children went to school, I had more free time, so I took a quilting class and was just hooked!
You’ve now published three volumes of your popular Follow-the-Line Quilting Designs. Why do you think so many quilters are snatching up these designs?
I think it often goes back to taking pride in doing a project from beginning to end. Also, a lot of times people buy the designs to have more of a say in how someone else quilts their quilt.
Inside each box of Follow-the-Line Quilting Designs I’ve included a booklet that explains from beginning to end how to use the designs for any method, whether quilting by hand, regular machine, or long-arm machine. That’s why I think so many people like them. Everyone can use these designs.
Which is your favorite quilting method and why?
Long-arm quilting is my favorite. For one thing, I have arthritis in my hands so I can’t hand quilt anymore. Also, long-arm quilting gives you a finished project in a shorter amount of time than any other method. Most quilters like to finish so they can move on to the next project, and this helps them get done quickly.
What would you say to quilters who aren’t sure if long-arm quilting is for them?
Recently some smaller long-arm machines have been developed. Several companies make frames that you can set your regular machine into and then quilt just like with a long-arm machine. The frames are in a nice price range, and they’re smaller so they don’t take up much space.
The only difference is that on a long-arm machine, you move the machine across the quilt. On a regular machine, the needle stays in the same spot but you move your quilt. Either way, the design is the same.
If you’re not sure that long-arm quilting is for you, try it on a smaller machine or on one of these frames.
What gave you the idea to publish these patterns?
Do you remember that song, “I Was Country Before Country Was Cool”? I’ve been a long-arm quilter since 1992, when machine quilting wasn’t widely accepted, so there weren’t many designs out there.
Lots of my customers were asking for designs they couldn’t find anywhere else, such as designs for kids or men. You can always find designs for feathers or flowers, but there weren’t that many designs for a masculine quilt. I would take inspiration from the fabric and draw a design to fit the quilt’s block or border or triangle. I found patterns that would give the design for only the block or border or triangle, but not all three. My patterns include all three.
Where do you get your ideas for such varied designs?
There are designs everywhere you look, in the grocery store checkout line, in the wallpaper at the movie theatre, in the backyard. It’s just a matter of training your eye and being aware of what’s around you.
What’s the best and worst part of the quiltmaking process?
The best part is seeing something finished. The worst part is undoing something. I hate it, but each time I rip something out I learn a different lesson.
What can you tell us about your workshops?
I teach mostly on a national level, presenting workshops for guilds and cruises. It’s so wonderful getting paid for what you enjoy doing! Depending on the workshop, I give a foundation for what we’re talking about. If we’re piecing, I make sure the participants understand every step of the process and can repeat it at home without a teacher. I always finish by showing some examples of what we’re doing. It’s fun! One of my most popular workshops is “Stash Busters.” I show 30 or 40 actual quilts that were made using just stash.
How can our website audience get in touch with you to find out more about your workshops?
They can contact me by visiting my website at www.marymcovey.com or www.thegoodlifedesigns.com.
What has been the most rewarding part of your quilting career?
I have a three-year-old granddaughter who now loves to sit at the machine and sew. Passing on my love of quilting to her would be the best reward. All the people at the quilt shop know her. She picks out precut 5″ squares or Jelly Rolls. At home she sits in my lap, puts her hands over mine, and controls the speed of the long-arm machine with her foot. We chain piece squares together until she ends up with a little quilt.
When I pick her up at school and ask, “What do you want to do today?” she’ll say,
“Let’s go to see the girls at the quilt store.”
What’s next—are you working on any new designs or book ideas now?
Martingale has asked me to do Follow-the-Line Quilting Designs Volume IV, so I’m working on that. I’m going to include a few more geometric designs than in my previous volumes, because there are so many geometric fabrics now. A lot of younger quilters want more of these designs.
What advice would you give to someone just learning to machine quilt?
If things don’t go smoothly the first time you try, don’t give up. Learn to use a seam ripper. And just have fun! If you have the opportunity, take a class or read some good books on the subject.
Speaking of good books, how about Follow-the-Line Quilting Designs?
Yes!
