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Quilts by Barb
Exquisite quilting. Beautiful & functional Purses & Wallets. Gorgeous Home Decor & Furniture.
Learn more about Barb Raisbeck of Quilts by Barb (click here)
Beautiful Creations. Creative & Eye-Opening Options.
Let me tell you how I started quilting...
- Around 1990, Mom made a quilt top for our son, Cory. I was very excited when I drove to Walmart and picked out black, purple, green, and yellow print fabric. Then I selected all these plain colored polyester fabrics for poor Mom to make a quilt. She didn't complain; thank goodness I selected the Rail Fence pattern, and she made Cory's quilt top.
- Now it was time to hand-quilt it. Mom would come to my home in Bloomington, Wisconsin, to get me started and teach me how to hand quilt. Before we did this, Mom suffered a massive heart attack and we lost our wonderful mother just ten days later.
- The quilt top sat in the closet for a few years until I saw a machine-finished quilt. I thought, now that is what I can do with Cory's quilt and it will get finished. I sent the quilt top out and had it quilted with polyester batting in the cloud pattern. I brought it home and put about 4-inch wide binding on the edge, all by machine. I think Cory still has the quilt.
- Our daughter, Katrina, wanted a quilt. I was already wiser. Katrina and I headed to a local quilt shop and selected four blue 100% cotton fabrics. I made her quilt top, a Sunshine and Shadows quilt, all in blue. I sent it off to the machine quilter and it was quilted in a pantograph pattern. I was hooked on quilting.
- I continued making quilt tops and sending them to a local machine quilter. She specialized in pantographs only and I was ready for more. It was time to purchase my own long-arm quilting machine. My husband was very skeptical as I threatened to put the machine in our living room unless we built a room onto our house. I talked about it for about a year and eventually, we built a two-story addition to our home for my new quilting studio.
- Fast forward a few years to 2001 and I decided this quilting stuff was alright. I quit my full-time job for the USDA and Quilts by Barb became my full-time passion. It has been uphill ever since.
- Quilts by Barb evolved to include Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekends and Hand Dyeing Workshops. We celebrated our 15th anniversary of fall retreats in 2017. I have taught over 300 Beginning Quilting 101 classes and a lot of other quilt classes at local quilt shops in the area and in my studio. In 2007, I taught at the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, and taught for about ten years.
- Around Christmas time in 2006, I decided to trade up my Gammill Classic with an IntelliStitch attachment for a Gammill Optimum with a Statler Stitcher. The Statler Stitcher is the top-of-the-line quilting system that helps me provide the highest quality for my quilting customers.
- Many days, as I worked on a quilt for myself or a custom quilt for a customer I thought about how much my mother would have enjoyed helping me quilt. Unfortunately, I didn't start quilting until after I lost her. However, I am guessing she is watching me from above. She is really glad I know better than to head to Walmart for polyester fabric as I continue to add to my quilting stash.
- Fast Forward to 2022: A lot has changed since I wrote my quilting story. I have added a new division to my business called Barbz.net. I started making bags and purses and the name Quilts by Barb just didn’t fit. Barbz.net was born.
- Now I have started doing upcycling of many items. You never know what I might be working on. I love furniture, wood items, and whatever I find on any given day.
- Fast Forward to 2023: I am now retired. Yes, it was time for me to do only what I want when I want. This includes making items to sell at Market on Blackhawk as well as other venues. I no longer do custom orders. Check out some of my creations at Market on Blackhawk in Prairie du Chein, Wisconsin, or on the web at www.Marketonblackhawk.com.
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