Michele Rank

This seemed like the most appropriate photo of Michele – in her craft room with a quilt – places and things she loves! We each have things we love to sew most – for Michele it was an easy answer – “I am a quilt obsessed girl!” She’s been known to make a quilt a week for months on end!

The one she’s most proud of is her “Alaska Memorial” quilt, made as a gift for her husband Tim. One of their trips to Alaska is the highlight of all vacations after Tim surprised her with with a semi-private float plane bear excursion.  On return she asked what his favorite animals on the trip were – then she hand drafted each to create the quilt … rendered them in fabric, and turned them into this fabulous quilt, using the quilt-as-you-go style so she could do some free motion thread work

We’ve all had projects we remember because they didn’t turn out quite as expected – Michele sees those as learning opportunities.

“I will say that the one quilt that drove me nuts was most likely the 3rd. or 4th quilt I ever made. I picked fabrics and got some graph paper out to design my own blocks. I am a self taught quilter as an adult. As a young child my grandmother taught me quilting and the love to sewing that I used a base for my quilting adventure. So, I made some block designs and then picked out fabrics that I feel in love with. Made each block and then started to assemble them only to lose my points because of my lack of knowledge. I was so frustrated and ripped out the seams and started over several times.  I asked a friend what was wrong and she very nicely pointed out that I did not allow for seams in my design so it would never line up right”

Luckily she has a “lemons to lemonade” outlook –  “I was so frustrated and then realized I still loved the fabrics and colors and would finish the quilt. This quilt is not put away and forgotten it is displayed on a chair in house, and I still remember the process and emotion that went with it. I am not a perfect quilter, I think of myself as a free spirit with design and style. I like what I like this quilt holds a special spot in my heart.”

No wonder she has so much to teach us – Michele admits to spending most of her time sewing and quilting. And has an enviable craft room!  She admits to having “seven sewing machines, tubs and tubs full of fabric, bins of threads, more tools that really are required, I think I have 6 rotary cutters, and endless supply of notions…”

Every one of Moore’s teachers teaches because they love it.  Each loves it for different reasons.  Michele’s been sharing her love of crafting for a long time –

“In my background I was a consultant for a rubber stamping and scrapbooking company where I taught customer how to use product and design papercrafts. I did this for over 20 years & enjoyed sharing my passions. This just spilled over into quilting. Sharing and seeing what others have finished is a treat for me. I think quilting is such a social craft that started out in  quilt bees. It is a natural transition for me to delight in seeing what others have made. And in turn If I can help share my talent with anyone else I am more than happy to do so. I love meeting new people and the teaching element is a pleasure to me. ”

Michele also loves wildlife photography, gardening and laughing….  some things about herself she shared – “I love color and patterns and love to mix up fabrics… favorite color is purple… I drink water like a fish.. I have had many jobs in my life but my greatest is my 3 children…”