Marti Michell, a name renowned and cherished in the quilting world, has not left any stone unturned in her journey! A quilter extraordinaire, an international author, and an amazing teacher, she is a blazing inspiration for all!
Marti was taught to sew by her mother as a child and it quickly became a favorite pastime. Later, she decided to major in Textiles and Clothing and Home Ec Journalism at Iowa State University. But it wasn’t until the 1970s, when she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, that she got the quilting bug!
Richard’s (her husband) first job took the couple to Wisconsin and then to Wichita, KS. There Marti was a Home Economist for The Dairy Council. A few years later, a job transfer took the Michell family to Ohio where Marti did some part-time teaching along with volunteer work. Finally the Michell family relocated to Atlanta in 1969. As a homemaker and mother of two, she was bound to her commitments at home. Finally, with both her children in school, she started teaching sewing as a side gig, and ultimately the classes got immensely popular. She set out on this journey for the sheer enjoyment and solace of it, but as we all know, along the way it became so much more!
Marti found that though there was a huge demand among the folks for this art, not many people were teaching it. And it wasn’t long before that the students insisted on learning patchwork and quilting as well. People were not willing to pay much for hand quilting, but they wanted to learn the know-how of quilting and buy the needed resources. As the saying goes, ‘Nothing in life comes easy’. That era was one of polyester double knits and synthetic blend fabrics, so 100% cotton fabrics were extremely hard to find. Upon realising the shortcomings of the industry, she set out on a path that we quilters today cannot be grateful enough for!
To our wonderful readers, sorry, but we will have to leave you on a cliffhanger. We’ll be back soon to follow up on our marvellous Marti Michell and her journey which revolutionised the quilting world!