Feature Friday

I am sure some of you are already familiar with Geta of Geta's Quilting Studio. But that doesn't worry me because if you are familiar with her work, you certainly want to see more of it!

Geta lives in Romania where quilting is not a common craft. In fact, Geta says she only just learned of the quilting "world" by discovering it on the net 8 years ago and could not find books, patterns, material, or thread with which to learn. When she did get these things from America and the Internet, she had to decipher them herself. I find this an astounding revelation in so many ways! Geta's quilts look like work you would expect from an artist with many more years experience than Geta and tons of formal training. She talks of the confusion she felt when confronted with all of the "B" words of quilting; basting, backing, binding, and batting. Her comment made me realize many words used regularly in quilting would be unknown to non-quilters and how hard it must have been for her to learn a foreign craft in a foreign language with no mentor. Geta says, "I knew for sure that I was born to quilt from the very beginning" and I believe she was. How else could you explain her natural talent for the craft?

To top it off, Geta has learned and perfected many different types of quilting including kaleidoscope, patchwork, applique, and stained glass. She also does quilted postcards, bags, and pillows! But I believe Geta's greatest gift is seen in her Trapunto Quilts. According to Quilt.com, Trapunto originated in Itay in the early 16th century, while MuseumLink Illinois credits its origination to 14th century Sicily. Either way, Geta has mastered it for modern day and now offers instructions, patterns, and projects to help other quilters learn the technique, too.

Geta studied engineering for 6 years and worked with computers for 10 years before dropping it all to work on quilts full time. She uses the Electric Quilt software to create her quilts and was interviewed for their September 2009 Newsletter. It is clear her natural talent for quilting and her formal training have married well since Electric Quilt calls her an "an expert with the WreathMaker" a tool available in EQ6. I'd say that is a pretty good compliment coming from the software company itself!

I wholeheartedly encourage you to visit Geta's blog, Geta's Quilting Studio. She has some free tutorials and patterns available as well as the link to her Shadow Trapunto E-Book if you would like to learn this art, too. She currently has a quilt giveaway for anyone ordering the book (sure would help the learning curve to have her actual work in hand!).

And if you click on the More About Me Link, you'll find the link to a gallery of her work.


While your here, don't forget to sign up for my giveaway!!!