Welcome!

I am Cindy Hopper, the creator of the Committed Quilter. 

First Quilt - I began my quilting journey roughly 15 years ago when my Mom asked, "Do you want to take a beginning quilting class with Judy and I?"  I was reluctant.  I had gotten tired of sewing garments that didn't fit, and had not sewn in a long time.  I thought quilting was just old folks sewing vintage patterns over and over again.  But then again, it was only once a week for a few weeks. I "borrowed" some leftover cotton fabrics and decided to give it a try.  The quilt I started in that class will never be finished! My journey into quilt making had begun, I GOT THE BUG!

Second Quilt - I found a foundation miniature (4" x 4") of a pineapple log cabin.  I printed the foundation on muslin and began to sew the tiny pieces together.  The old hand me down cast iron Kenmore, did not make piecing easy!  I had yet to discover what a quarter inch foot was. To get a quarter inch on the old Kenmore, the fabric only went over one of the feed dogs.  Keeping seams straight was challenging.  I was determined, but after four completed pineapple blocks, I knew I had to adjust my thoughts on the end result!  I couldn't fathom all those little corners over and over again. My first design challenge!  I sat down with pencil and paper and sketched out a design I could do without losing my mind. Not all blocks would be full pineapple, and some would be just plain log cabin. Well, it took a year or so to actually complete the quilt, but it turned out great!  I entered it into the first APNQ show in Seattle. I was so excited I was juried in - remember it was the first show, competition wasn't as fierce as it is now! I didn't win any prizes, but I did make the film footage of the show by the local public TV station. One of my quilts was on TV!

A lot has changed since those first quilts.

• I now happily piece and quilt on a 10 year old machine.
• I have a whole room dedicated to storing my fabric stash.
• I store an old ping pong table in my garage just for pinning quilts.
• I like designing patterns and buying fabric more than actually sewing and quilting.
• I now have two children, currently 8 & 9, to keep me from becoming a hermit in my quilt room.

Somethings have changed only slightly.

• I still have a hard time following a pattern without making "adjustments". 
• I still "borrow" fabric, but now I "loan" fabric also.
• I had a second quilt appear on TV! This was a quilt I did as a Challenge Quilt in my local quilt guild.  All the winners were interviewed for Alex Anderson's show. I have yet to catch the episode - I hear I came across as fairly nervous!
• Mom and I still quilt together -It is hard to say who gets "the bigger stash" award. Mom has made many more bed quilts and I have made many more wall quilts. It is great to have someone who can help you recover from a design or color fiasco or who you can visit at odd hours to "borrow" that perfect fabric to complete your quilt.

 The best part of being a quilter.

• I have made many many friends through quilting.
• I have "places" to visit on every vacation - the local quilt shops.
• I get to create the color visions dancing in my head.
• There is no end to the design possibilities in quilting!

My journey is far from complete. I have many goals I would like to accomplish yet with my quilting.

 One is to share my love of quilting and sell my patterns. Of course a simple idea of selling patterns has expanded to include creating this website.  While lots of work, I am excited about growing and interacting with quilters from everywhere. My desire is to enable other quilters to continue to learn along their quilt journey.

 Two is to continue to develop my designs and move more and more into art quilts. What exactly do I mean by "art quilts"? That is a question I have been pondering and will have to answer as my journey progresses.  I will keep you posted as I work on my definition. As I bring classes and instructors to quilters through this site, I too will learn and begin to better define the direction I want my quilts to take.

Let's merge our quilt journeys and explore what we can learn from each other!

Yes, The quilts pictured on this site are of quilts I have made over the years.

Cindy Hopper                            9805 228th Pl. S.W.  Edmonds, WA 98020            425-879-9977