About us

I have always been drawn to textiles! Before I was married, our family lived in Delaware. During the summer my mother and I would drive to Philadelphia to visit the textile mills. Anyone could shop them. The fabric was rolled onto long bolts. There were rows and rows of bolts in each building, and there were several buildings. You could purchase anything that you wanted, one yard minimum. There were cottons, wools, cordurorys, flannels, denims, etc. None of the buildings had air conditioning so that was the only thing that slowed us down (or sped us up). The fabric dyes weren't like today. They were very caustic! After a few minutes in a building your eyes would begin to burn, then run, then blur. How those salesmen stayed there all day we never could figure. Anyway it was always an adventure to see what we actually bought when we got home and our eyes cleared.

I have sewn all of my life. Nellie, my mother-in-law, used to tell me that I needed to quilt. When I began quilting, I soon noticed that I was changing the patterns to my taste. So I began designing my own patterns. I decided to name my pattern company after my mother-in-law, Nellie Bennett. She was a home ec teacher in a small town in eastern Utah for 33 years. Nellie had two passions, sewing/quilting and teaching. I too have developed a passion for quilting! I love the design process, the fabrics and the math.

Nellie made a quilt for each of her granddaughters when they turned 12. She lived until she was almost 98 so she was able to give each one personally. I have kept the same tradition, except I include my grandsons.

I hope you have enjoyed working with my patterns, and if you haven't tried one yet, it's about time.

Check out the pictures below...

Thanks for visiting!

Karen

This is Nellie with 3 of her great-grandchildren. She was 93 when this picture was taken. She lived 5 more years!.

This is the cellar. It is in the back yard just a few steps from the back door. Inside the cellar's top door, Nellie stored her flour. When you open the bottom door there are 4 steps that go down. Inside there are shelves around the 3 outside walls. She stored her fruit, potatoes, etc down there until she was ready to use them. The first time I went down I stepped on a snake then brushed into a giant spider web. I never went down again.

This is the granary. Nellie stored all of her grain in here until it was ground into flour. I found lots of antique treasures in this building, most of which are still there.

I have a favorite place I like to photograph my quilts. There are about a dozen geese there like this one. They don't like me. I am afraid of them. I have bruises to prove it.

This is her home as it stands today. My sister-in-law and her husband live in it now.

This was originally part of a chicken coop but by the time I came along it was being used as a tack shed. Inside is a great place to take quilt pictures.

OK, this picture is just for fun. These are a few of my favorite quilts.

I learned to sew on a machine like this. I still use it sometimes. It has a great straight stitch and buttonholer.

For Questions or Orders

email: karen.nelliesneedle@yahoo.com