Desire to Inspire October - Sharon Vrooman

Sharon Vrooman - Desire to Inspire October Challenger

Meet Sharon Vrooman! She had diligently signed up for Desire to Inspire Challenge...month after month for the last year. Finally, it was time to give Sharon a shot at the Challenge, and we picked the perfect collection for her! (Really amazing how that always seems to work out, right Challengers?).

We were so fascinated by Sharon when we learned that her address was ACTUALLY on Quilt Lane!

Life and History of Sharon and growing up in Schoharie, N.Y.

I live in a little rural town, Schoharie NY,that is steeped in history.  I live in one of the original homes in the valley and am a direct descendant of one of the founders of the valley - ColonelPeter Vrooman. 

I think this strong connection to family, history, and the valley has played a huge part of my crafting life - and now into my quilting.

  The wonderful selvedge of this Moose Lodge line just makes me think of our mountain and the plaid is such a reminder of my Dad. 

Fabric that makes a connection with my family, especially my Dad

My Dad was an avid outdoorsman and master of woodworking.  He had a bit of a run in with a moose once and his favorite expression was 'goose the moose' - so another connection to this fabric.  He was also an avid photographer and documented many of his hunting and camping adventures which is why I chose a variation of the 'polaroid' block for one of my quilts.   My Mom was a seamstress for many years and then with a Centennial Celebration, she studied and began quilting, becoming a teacher of her craft - she is still teaching at 88 years young.  My mother is an inductee in the Catskill Mountain Quilters Hall of Fame.  Both of my parents are featured in 'The Unbroken Thread' the history of quiltmaking in the Catskills- book by Steve Hoares  

Maybe that's why I use the leader/ender method - never to break or cut a thread, but carry on.

It started with Grandma and 4-H

I didn't start quilting until 2009, but had a sewing back ground.  My great grandmother taught me to sew buttons and I still treasure her button box.  I was in the 4-H program as a youth and participated in the Sewing With Wool contest for many years.  Of course, I did some sewing for my three children when they were young - mostly toys which led me to designing and making mohair bears and prim dolls.

Although I had the most excellent teacher right next door, I am a self taught quilter.  I was recovering from a serious car accident and the computer was my contact with the outside world for a long time - so I educated myself.  The internet!  So many great teachers, tutorials, films, blogs, history sites, articles.  I learned quilting from ground floor up so to speak.  I have a strong connection to the history and heritage of the art, but also love the expression of the modern.

Polaroid quilt using the panel - love those plaids, and the pinecones - such a connection to my Dad.  The little stool and chair were my dad's that my children gifted him on our last visit to the Adirondack Mts - his favorite hunting and camping areas.

Strip and patch quilt - that fabric print was too nice to cut up so I cut it into thirds and added the strips and patchwork.  We are lucky to live inbetween two NY mountain systems - Catskills and Adirondacks - and these fabrics just so represent where I live and have played.

Charity Projects and Guild Membership

I am a member of the Schoharie Valley Piecemakers quilt guild.  We do several charity projects thru the year to help local activities, our talented members teach and share, and we host a special class each year .  And I have to thank Stephanie who did all my wonderful outdoor photos for me, to Barbara who quilted the larger quilt the day I quilted the smaller, and to Kathy who took the few pieces of fabrics I had left over to play with. 

I am also the current term Secretary for the Catskill Mountain Quilters Hall of Fame.  We just sponsored a feature quilter exhibit (my Mom) with a 2 month show at the Catskill Mt Center in Arkville, NY and had a quilt show with our five county wide guilds in Roxbury, NY.

I donated the polaroid quilt and cardinal pillow to the local Schoharie Free Library (their 100th birthday) for a fund raiser. 

And the strip/patch quilt and patchwork pillow were donated to the Middleburgh Library for a fund raiser. 

Both of our local libraries were a large part of my childrens' lives, and sadly are still recovering from Storm Irene in 2011. 

Two baskets match Sharon's Moose Lodge decor!

Three pillows! 

Two wristlets using the salvedges

Shout out to my local quilt shops

I want to also give a shout out to my local (well close) quilt shops:

The Yard Stick - Cobleskill NY

The Patch Work Co. - Windham, NY

The Quilt Zoo - Worcester, NY

The Quilt Bug -Guilderland, NY

Thank you Henry Glass

Thank you Henry Glass for allowing me to design with some wonderful fabrics that were so connected to my home and family.