Meet Sharon Parcel, the challenger who accepted the August Desire to Inspire Challenge of using fabric from the Quilt Camp collection by Barbara Jones of Quilt Soup.
Here is her story, and photos of the projects she created for this challenge:
The Henry Glass Company has chosen me to be a part of the
Desire to Inspire Challenge for August, and I am delighted to accept the
mission for August. The featured fabric
that I got to play with is Quilt Camp by Barbara Jones. Loved it at first sight! The simple dots and checks made it easy and
fun to design some neat accessories for our RV! Now my hubby and I are ready for some camping fun next week!
In order for you to get to know me a bit, let me tell you
just a bit about myself. I was born in
Kansas…you might know it as that state that is often passed through to get
somewhere else! We moved to northwest
Missouri where I grew up in a sleepy farming community nestled among acres of
corn and soybeans, and of course the usual farm animals. I married my high school sweetheart and we
had 2 wonderful children who graduated from the same high school that we
did. In 2000, our Y2K turned out to be
the swift cancer that took my husband from me.
I stayed in the rural community for a couple of years, but my children
had already moved to the big city of Jefferson City and Kansas City. So I decided what the heck…it’s time to move
on. And this country girl loves living
in the city! I live in the same
subdivision as my daughter and her family, so I get plenty of access to my
grandsons…would not have it any other way.
If I had not moved to the city, I would not have met Jim. We have been married 8 years and could not be
happier. God does provide…just be
patient. Sometimes I wonder about the
paths I have taken, and looking back I know His hand has been on me all the
time.
My husband has always loved camping…me not so sure about
it. My idea of a vacation is a cruise
and someone taking care of the housekeeping and cooking chores. So we bought a small RV and I said I would
give it a chance.
And I love it! I love taking the roads less traveled and
taking the time to see what is around the next corner. Both of us do a lot of volunteering, and have
had to “clear our calendar” in order to travel this fall. I told Jim he needed to retire again! I am doing better at saying no. My volunteer work is mainly with CASA, QOV
and Project Linus and various church activities like Art Camp.
I started sewing when I was 9. Why?
When I think about it, I am not sure what the answer is…I just wanted
to! I have always loved to make things
and to create! There were no seamstresses
in my family, not my mom, my grandma or any aunts. My mom did have an old Singer sewing machine
at the back of a closet and I found it one day and started begging to learn to
use it. It was a calamity! My poor mom was so frustrated, I think she
had only mended with it. So she passed
me off to someone else and had me join 4-H.
I was in heaven! I learned to
make garments on a treadle sewing machine and never looked back. My quilting journey started in the 80’s. I had leftover scraps from sewing for my children
and thought they needed to be used. After
my first attempt, I was smitten with the idea of cutting up little pieces of
fabric and sewing them back together. My
need to create was satisfied!
My favorite quilts are scrappy, but I love to learn new techniques. Lately I have enjoyed paper-piecing and
English paper piecing. Sometimes in my
impatience to try something new, to test a new design, a new technique, I start
many projects and have many un-finished projects. I don’t think I am alone!
I am fortunate to
belong to the Lees Summit Quilt Guild, a wonderful quilt guild that continually
inspires me with show and tell, and of course classes with amazing
instructors! We in the Kansas City area
have a huge quilting community and wonderful quilt shops to tempt us with all
the latest fabrics. About an hour away,
is where James Cash “J.C” Penny launched his empire in Hamilton, Missouri. Now Jenny Doan of Missouri Star has launched
another empire…a quilting mecca! If you
have not been there, you must go at least once!
She has done an amazing job of revitalizing a sleepy little farming
town. I remember my first visit, when
she was in a corner gas station with mainly pre-cuts for sale. Her story and her beginning are amazing, and
it just shows what we can do if we believe in ourselves.
Playing with Quilt Camp has been great fun! I hope you enjoy the projects I have made and
will try some for yourself. Most of my
inspiration came from Pinterest, so I will do a blog post with links to a
couple of the projects and a pattern for you to try.
Please come visit my blog:
www.yellowcatquiltdesigns.com. I have enjoyed being a part of the Desire to Inspire Challenge, and thank you so much for having me take part, Henry Glass and Company!
