Roxanne Hartwig

Clio,California

About Roxanne Hartwig...

I've been quilting since… I have been quilting for about 5 years.

I began quilting because… I used to sew clothes only and decided to try quilts and fell in love! Now, I rarely make any clothing except for a couple of quilted jackets.

I learned to quilt… A good friend of mine got me started with a Log Cabin Block quilt from Quilt in a Day.

My quilting style is… I really don't like modern styles and stay with traditional. The quilt I submitted in the Quilt Star Contest was the very first quilt I designed. I was in charge of my quilt guild's opportunity quilt and couldn't find a pattern that fit with the fabric I wanted to use, so I created one that would show off the fabric.

A person who inspired me…  I have so many “quilting sisters” that inspire me. We get together every Wednesday to sew, share and create beautiful things together. I don't know what I would do without them!

My imagination is sparked by… I love flowers and the outdoors and enjoy making quilts using nature as my inspiration. I love traditional blocks and really enjoy trying to use some of them in a new design.

My favorite techniques… I am really beginning to enjoy appliqué, but love piecing and really enjoy paper piecing. I created a wall hanging quilt 3 years ago that was entirely paper pieced. This was my first experience in paper piecing and the quilt won the first prize in our quilt show for meeting all of the challenge requirements.

Colors or fabrics I'm attracted to... Blue, yellow and white are my favorite colors and all my friends always tease me if I make a quilt using other colors! I usually use cotton fabrics and batiks. My daughter, who teaches English in Indonesia, has sent me some batik silks that I am anxious to try soon.

My fabric stash... My stash in not very large because I haven't been quilting very long, but it is growing! I have mostly cottons and all kinds of colors. Friends have given me most of my stash, which I greatly appreciate.

My quilting community…  I belong to the Portola Cain Fever Quilt Guild, Portola, California. We meet once a month and have about 50 members. As stated above, I also belong to a group of quilters who meet every Wednesday. We call ourselves the “Wednesday Girls”. We attend quilt shows, sewing expositions, classes, and go on quilt retreats together. We also all help the owner of our local Homestead Fabrics with Shop-Hops, and other special events. 
I also belong to a Block-of-the-Month Club that meets once a month. Currently we are doing a tabletop quilt per month that are themed for that particular month. We also are completing a block a month extra quilt that is from Bunny Hill Designs.

My additional hobbies/interests… I enjoy my vegetable garden but sometimes our weather does not permit a very long growing season. We live at 5,000 ft. elevation in the Sierra Nevada Mountains so our spring and summer are not very long. I also teach children in my church and sometimes help my other daughter in her second grade classroom. I love to cook and bake. I was in charge of organizing a recipe book from recipes submitted by members of my church. It was a big project but very successful.

I entered Quilt Design Star™ 2011 because... I didn't see the advertisement for the contest until just before the closing date, but thought “why not?” I have never entered this type of contest before and the members of my quilt guild were very excited when I told them that I had entered our opportunity quilt. I never thought I would even make the first round of finalists.

What you should know about me… I have a twin sister that is also a quilter. She began quilting about the same time as I began.

Spring Romance (below) is Roxannes's Quilt Design Star™ 2011 entry quilt.

Purple Mountain Splendor (below) is Roxannes's Quilt Design Star™ 2011 Challenge 1 quilt.