October/November 2010 Montanasaurus Rex photo by Rhonda Lee
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Great Falls Quilter Lisa Maki’s Stitches Take Less Time By Bernice Karnop Lisa Maki of Great Falls made her first quilt in April 2005. Two months later, she published her first quilt pattern. Today, she and her quilts appear on PBS television and at quilt shows around the nation. In addition to a dozen patterns, she sells an instructional DVD about her quick and easy technique and pre-cut kits for quilts, table runners, placemats, wall hangings, and more. How did she accomplish this? She began with
a technique that takes the ancient craft of quiltmaking into the future by making it quick and easy. “That’s what the world is coming to,” she says, “because we’re all running out of time.” Lisa’s simpler technique makes quilting accessible to a generation of folks who do not have time to quilt the old-fashioned way. Brand new quilters are drawn into the fold, and grandparents can sit down with youngsters and turn out a colorful project before the kids lose interest. “Instant gratification is the word I use in my explanation of the technique,” says Lisa. The Quilt-N-Go™ technique bypasses much of the measuring, lining up, and pinning on that goes with traditional quilt piecing. The quilter simply takes cut fabric squares, lines them up on the printed grid of an interfacing product, and irons them down using a pressing sheet. The fabric adheres to the interfacing. Then she sets sashing strips between the squares and irons them to the interfacing. Just like that, they are ready to sew. She folds the interfacing between
the squares and strips and stitches between the blocks with a sewing machine to produce a quilt top with perfectly lined up blocks. Unlike many quilters, Lisa did not learn to sew from her mother. However, her mom taught her something that may be even more important - to finish what you start. She provided her daughters with a sewing machine and bought enough fabric for one project. Only when that project was completed would she purchase more fabric. The lesson carries over decades later. “When I start something, I finish it,” Lisa states. You can read the story of how she made her first quilt on her web site, www.crookednickle.com. Looking back, she realizes that she entered the fabric store seeking solace over the loss of a close friend. She bought two packets of five by five inch squares and found out she could iron them on to Pellon® backing to make a quilt. When she finished that project, she went back for two more packets of squares and made the second quilt. “The comfort and warmth of the fabric helped me through the grieving for my best friend,” Lisa says. The Crooked Nickel name for her designs came from the five inch squares, which some call nickels. They are crooked because they are turned to make diamonds, set “on point” instead of being set square. (Continued on page 66)