Cyndi began quilting in the early 90s through a dear friend, Nancy Doan, who she would visit once a week for a day of sewing. Nancy’s home was never without soup on the stove, a warm fire, and homemade bread rising. This comforting atmosphere and Cyndi’s love of quilts fed her inspiration and love of the craft. Since Nancy was an advanced quilter, Cyndi was immersed in sophisticated quilting right from the beginning. Eventually Nancy moved to Idaho and their quilting days consisted of week-long marathons where Nancy gave Cyndi the encouragement to begin designing her own patterns.
She soon began attending quilting classes in Escondido taught by Cheri Saffiote Payne and hosted in a barn by her friend Helen. Twenty years later this same group of about 25 women have become the best of friends and continued to quilt along side one another. Cyndi notes that when 25 women all make the same quilt design, you get 25 very different looks.
In spite of a break for the corona virus quarantine, Dana Livingston Shockey still leads these classes, where Cyndi is known by her eye for color and fabrics. All her quilts are made from 100% top of the line cotton and machine stitched and quilted. This makes them extra sturdy despite repeated washing.
Cyndi draws inspiration from her fellow quilters and magazines. She estimates she has made well over 300 quilts in 30 years of her work. Her favorites are still the primitives, although she acknowledges that she makes a lot of brights and batiks for her clients. Some of her favorite fabrics include Judie Rothermel, Aunt Grace, and Jo Morton for her reproduction Civil War quilts. Spending time in New York with her daughter, Jessica, she discovered Amy Butler, who specializes in midwest modern fabrics. While in New York, she bought everything she could find of Butler’s fabrics. She is just now using up the last line. She also loves Alexander Henry’s whimsical, vintage fabrics and brights by Free Spirit.
After over 30 years of quilting, Cyndi continues to be inspired to create, to learn, and to grow her quilting business. The exquisite craftsmanship found in each quilt speak volumes to her passion for the craft.