Brand Ambassador Intro - Christina Reeve

Our 11th Brand Ambassador is the creative and inspiring Christina Reeve. She rounds out our amazing Brand Ambassador team for 2020! Her use of color really make her quilts and crafts stand out. Follow her journey with Michael Miller Fabrics! @leeleequilts

Hi! I’m Christina, but my husband calls me Chris, my twin sister calls me Nina, and in the quilting community I’m known as LeeLee. 

I’m a twin. US Marine Wife. Mom to 3 Avery (20), Reagan (18) and Charlie (5). Maker of all things and pattern tester extraordinaire. 

I’ve been sewing/quilting for the last 20 years. I’m completely self-taught. I originally started hand sewing to help pass the time while my husband was deployed overseas, but, before I knew it, my hobby turned into a little online business in 2005.  

   

In 2014, I scaled down my business…. because sewing/quilting started to feel like a JOB and it was no longer enjoyable for me. I really missed interacting with others, so I started to become heavily involved in my local and online quilting community by teaching and attending workshops and joining the Modern Quilt Guild. 

 

I currently live in Pensacola, Florida…but, will be moving to North Carolina in June. I hope that we will only have one more move, before my husband retires in 2023…fingers crossed. 

1. Do you sew/quilt? YES!!! 
2. What other hobbies do you enjoy? Crocheting, cross-stitching, embroidery, up-cycling furniture…I’m also a Thrift Store Junkie. 
3. What was the biggest change in your life in 2019? Being separated, by choice, from my husband. My husband moved to North Carolina, August 1st. We decided as a family, that the kids and I would stay in Florida and ride out the school year, so that our middle son could graduate High School (Class of 2020) and our oldest son could finish his certification in welding.  
4. What is your favorite food? PIZZA 
5. Do you have any pets? NO 
6. What is your favorite color? Black…but, I rarely use it in my quilts. I’m definitely a #sewtherainbow kinda girl. 

Brand Ambassador Intro- Marie Segares

Our 10th Brand Ambassador is the fantastic Marie Segares. Her talents span across the entire crafting world. Get ready for all the Michael MIller fun she will be sharing.

Marie is the Proprietress of Underground Crafter. Marie shares sewing patterns and tutorials, crochet and knitting patterns, crafty tutorials, recipes, and more creative inspiration on her blog. She also hosts virtual make-a-longs throughout the year. Marie's favorite projects to sew are gifts for her family and friends and small quilted projects. You may be wondering about the Underground Crafter name. Marie isn't part of a secret society of crafters (though that would be pretty cool), but she enjoys crocheting and knitting underground while commuting on New York City's subway system. 

1) How long have you been sewing/quilting? 

I come from a family of excellent seamstresses, so I can’t say for sure if it was my maternal grandmother or my mom who first taught me to sew. I didn’t do much sewing until 2005, when I went to a quilting retreat with two of my best friends. We headed to a bed and breakfast for a long weekend to learn to quilt, guided by the owner and a copy of Quilt in a Day: Log Cabin Pattern by Eleanor Burns. That’s when I really started sewing with a machine, which I much prefer to hand sewing. I’ve been sewing regularly ever since, but I still prefer the piecework to actually finishing the quilt. Please don’t ask how many completed quilt tops are lurking in my fabric bins! 

2) What other hobbies do you enjoy? 

I love to crochet, knit, bake, and cook. I regularly geek out on science fiction novels, movies, and shows. I love to read, but these days I mostly listen to audiobooks so I can craft at the same time. 

3) What was the biggest change in your life in 2019? 

In 2019, I traveled much more than I usually do. I visited St. Louis for the first time to attend Baby Lock’s Machine Smart event. I used a serger for the first time and made this clutch. (Not bad for a serger newbie!) I also visited Houston for the first time to attend Quilt Market and met the wonderful folks from Michael Miller Fabrics! 

4) What is your favorite food? 

I come from two food-obsessed cultures (I’m Cuban and Italian-American) and I was born and raised in New York City, which is a real foodie city, so this is a very difficult question to answer! My favorite New York City quick bite is pizza, my favorite kitchen gadget is my slow cooker, and my favorite sweet treat to bake is banana bread. Sorry, can’t pick one favorite food! 

5) Do you have any pets? 

I have two rescued black cats. It’s fair to say that I’m a “cat person,” though I do love other people’s dogs (haha). My cats love everything handmade. Cappuccino loves my first log cabin quilt, made during that retreat I talked about, and James Bond loves my crocheted blankets. 

 Cat photographs courtesy of Matt Champagne. 

6) What is your favorite color?  

Purples and pinks are my favorites, but I also like blues and greens. I love colors (what quilter doesn’t?!?), but my favorites could best be described as “Caribbean colors.” Most things I sew or make end up as gifts, so I try to keep the recipient in mind when I’m choosing colors, which sometimes means working with colors that are outside of my comfort zone. When I make quilts for my own home, I tend to favor blues. 

Make sure to follow her! 
Website: https://undergroundcrafter.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UndergroundCrafter/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ucrafter/ 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ucrafter/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ucrafter 

You.ki: https://you.ki/p/ucrafter 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/+mariesegaresundergroundcrafter 

Brand Ambassador Intro- Stephanie Bertics

Our 9th Ambassador for 2020 is the incredibly talented Stephanie Bertics. Her quilts are stunning and we can't wait for you to see all the amazing projects she creates using Michael Miller fabrics!

Hello! I am Stephanie Bertics of Quilt’n Party. I live in the Metro Denver area where I have lived most of my life. I work full time as an Information Technology Business Analyst for a large Telecom company, my job is all about helping to improve business processes through automation; specifically, I document requirements to help the project team understand what the client is requesting to have built. It always strikes me how many technical people are also quilters. I think we like to play with the soft, cheery fabric to reduce the stress.

1. How long have you been sewing/quilting? My earliest memory of sewing is when I was about six. My grandmother taught me to do simple embroidery where the patterns are stamped on the fabric. Recently my mom found one of my first projects packed away in her basement. It is a baby-sized blanket with a deer on it. I turned it into a throw pillow so I can always see it. Mom and I were always doing something crafty over the years so creating has always been part of my life. There are no quilters in my family, but I was always fascinated by quilts, I started quilting around 1999 and I am self-taught. 

2. What other hobbies do you enjoy?  I really enjoy getting outside to take photos, and that typically involves hiking or walking. I’m lucky to live in a state with so much beauty and decent weather. I also love cooking and I enjoy hosting dinner parties for friends.

 

3. What was the biggest change in your life in 2019? 2019 was a year of change. After my dad passed away mom and I decided that it made sense for us to combine homes. It’s been a big change for both of us. The hardest part was figuring out where to store all my fabric. Before I moved in with her, I actually went through a bit of a fabric purge in order to reduce the size of my stash. After 6 months I think we have the fabric situation all figured out. 

4. What is your favorite food? I love Mexican food. I could eat it every day. I also love Hungarian food. My dad was Hungarian, and I learned to make all the wonderful Hungarian dishes from him.

5. Do you have any pets? No pets right now. But if you’re wondering, I prefer dogs. 

6. What is your favorite color? That’s so hard to answer plus it depends on the application. I love blue, like the color of the sky. But I wear a lot of black. I love to see red in a quilt, and green, I really like green.

I am so excited for the opportunity to be a Brand Ambassador for Michael Miller fabrics in 2020. I hope to come up with some great projects to showcase the fun, cheery fabrics.

Follow me!

Website: https://quiltnparty.com/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/quiltnparty/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quiltnparty