patchpieces

About Me
Patti R. Anderson (a.k.a. "Patch")

I have been quiltmaking for 15+ years, but I have been sewing since I was nine years old. I come from a long line of seamstresses and crafters, and I treasure that heritage greatly! I am a native West Virginian and my husband is "WV'ian by choice". My husband, Robert, is a United Methodist pastor and we have two grown daughters. They are and have always been very supportive of my work (i.e. very patient). We have one very large 13 year old cat, Rascal, and a very active dog, Grommit (she's part Husky and part ???).

How did I come up with the name "patchpieces"?
I met my husband, Bob, at WV Wesleyan College, where I was majoring in Social Work and Minoring in Art. Bob began calling me "Patch" just after we began dating some 23+ years ago. I used to sew patches on my jeans when it was "cool" to do so. I think it was an omen of my career as a quilter. When I began searching for a name for my business I knew it had to have "patch" in it. I was making quite a variety of quilted pieces.... thus patchpieces was born.

My quilting history:
I have been making and selling my quilts and quilted items since 1993 and several years ago I channelled my energies into teaching others to make quilts. I have sold my quilted items (quilts, handbags, etc.) through Tamarack, West Virginia's ultimate craft retailer, Crafters in the Glen, Inc. in Glenville, WV and at Poplar Forest, a central WV craft cooperative, as well as making quilts on commission. It had gotten to the point where I was selling just about everything I made and I had nothing to show for all my hard work! When we moved to Rainelle, WV in 1998, I decided to switch to just teaching and designing patterns. We are now located in north central WV and hope to stay put for a long time.

Besides teaching quilt classes locally, I also teach classes at statewide and regional workshops and retreats. I consider myself a modern quiltmaker and use my computer extensively for designing my quilts and preparing for my classes. I am very active in my local guild and in WV Quilters, Inc. our statewide guild. I am also webmistress for their website. Take a look: http://www.wvquilters.org

My EQ history:
I purchased my first Electric Quilt (EQ2) program, back when they were just upgrading from EQ1. I had received a grant from a local Arts & Heritage organization and was able to buy EQ with the intention it would help me in my cottage industry of selling quilts and quilted items. I never dreamed where EQ would take me! Now I am teaching quilt classes on line for EQ as well as other quilt classes.