National Award winning machine quilter, Jill began making her first quilts at the age of 12.  Having been an art major, Jill has dabbled in many different art forms.  It was not until many years later that Jill was introduced to the art of machine quilting in 1997.  She fell in love with this method of quilting and has not stopped since first experiencing the thrill of completing each heirloom quilt.  Her first machine quilted quilt won the Best of Show at the Siskiyou County Fair in 1998 and went on to take Second Place in the State level competition.  This recognition started Jill’s journey into competitions and later, the inception of her quilting business, Quiltmaker to the Queen. Jill has taken classes across the country from Master Quilters and is working toward her own certification as a Master Machine Quilter. 

In 2003, her children encouraged her to retire from her full time job and teach the art of machine quilting to others.  Jill is now teaching Internationally and in several of the western states and sharing her techniques with others so that they too, will be able to enhance the beauty of their own quilts. She has students that have never machine quilted, but once they learn her easy techniques, they too, are creating their own masterpieces.  Jill  taught at Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California in 2009 and will be returning in 2011 to teach again.   

Jill has quilted more than 500 quilts over the past 12 years for both herself and customers and has won numerous awards including national awards at AQS in Paducah, Kentucky as well as Best Machine Quilting awards at NQA and Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, CA.  One of Jill’s award winning quilts was featured in Great American Quilts book 11 and the AQS 2003 calendar.  Jill’s Flower Girl Memories quilt also traveled to Japan with all of the AQS winners from 2001 and was displayed at their Japan Quilt Expo. 

Jill loves empowering students and shows them the easy way to gain confidence and build their skills so that they  too, will enjoy creating their own heirlooms and masterpieces. 

“It gives me great joy to empower my students and introduce them to the world of machine quilting.  I get a thrill in watching their faces light up when they complete their first feathered wreath”.