It's hard to believe that only two years ago I was preparing to open my shop to the public. In those two short years, I've had hundreds of rentals and dozens of students come in for classes. If that's not enough, it seems like every week someone new is walking through the doors for the first time! And would you believe there was once a time when I would walk into the shop, look around, and wonder "how in the world am I going to fill up this huge space?" Now, I struggle to find room for all the great items I want to have available for my great customers! With a shop that's constantly growing, I need a little help from time to time. I'd like to introduce everyone to the incredible team at Quilted Joy: meet Liz and Amy, our rental coordinators, and Kelsey, our digital media whiz kid!

Amy

I'm Amy Larimer and the newest team member at Quilted Joy! I am both excited and honored to join Angela, Kelsey, and Liz in this creative studio. I began quilting when I was 4 years old. I kept pestering my mama to let me help with a quilt she was making. She wouldn't, of course. Instead, she handed me a piece of gray lining material and told me to hem it. I hemmed it perfectly with a blind stitch and handed it back to her. I had been closely watching her hem clothing for a long time and knew exactly what to do. I became very good at making clothing through my teen years. I made my first quilt top as a teenager and what a mess that was! None of the corners lined up but mama paid some quilter to tie it for me. I cherish that quilt still today. It shows me how far I've come and how much I've learned. I especially learned that quilting is a very different skill than sewing clothing. I attended East Tennessee State University and received the Bachelor of Fine Arts. I majored in textiles and traditional Appalachian weaving. I also did a second major in education. I taught art in the public school system in my beloved mountains of Tennessee for 3 years. I was then blessed with a bunch of children of my own and a move to a foreign land - Indiana! I continued to try to figure out a better way of quilting through this time but simply couldn't get the results I wanted. I didn't have much time to dedicate to it because of diapers to change and bellies to fill. Four years ago I joined a guild which gave me the encouragement and expertise to fine tune my art and craft. A friend from guild asked me some questions about my process and peicing skills after I explained that I was not pleased with my blocks. I told her how I was going about my work. She asked if she could come over to sew with me for a bit one afternoon. That afternoon was my intervention! She fixed all my problems with piecing and took me to the next level. I'm so thankful for her advice. I'm also thankful for the opportunity to expand my repertoire at Quilted Joy. When I began working for Quilted Joy, I knew nothing about longarm quilting. I had gotten fairly good at using my domestic machine to quilt my quilts. I also had been hoping to buy a longarm machine soon to speed up the t-shirt and memory quilts I make for customers. When Angela asked me to join her, I was ecstatic! I couldn't wait and I look forward to coming to work everyday. I often ask Angela for a hug because I'm so grateful to be given this amazing chance to learn from her. I love what I'm learning from Quilted Joy and I love teaching. Sewing and teaching others is my passion. I'm looking forward to continue learning all I can from Quilted Joy and each of you as I get to help teach you longarm quilting. When I'm not at Quilted Joy, I spend my days teaching groups of children sewing and making t-shirt quilts. I love hiking with my children, assisting my husband with his ministry, and playing with my two King Charles Cavaliers. I can't wait to assist you in your next quilting project!

Liz

When Angela opened Quilted Joy two years ago, I signed up for a rental certification in the first week. I rented for a year before buying Frankie, my Millennium which I named after my father. I enjoy teaching and I'm looking forward to helping others to achieve their dreams of longarm quilting. I have been quilting for nearly twenty-five years. I'm a member of the Log Cabin Quilters and a new member of the Happy Heart Quilters. Perhaps ironically for a longarm quilter, I've made numerous scale miniature quilts, some of which have won ribbons in local competitions! I've been living in Louisville for nearly nineteen years, but grew up in Idaho. When not quilting, I enjoy spending time on Lego projects with my husband and keeping our furry family entertained. I also do counted thread needlework, spin yarn, and knit my own wild and crazy socks!

Kelsey

Many of you may already recognize me (or at least my name). I started working at Quilted Joy back in early 2014. At the time, I was only coming in a few days a week to help Angela produce the APQS and IntelliQuilter videos and watch the shop when she needed to travel. Since then my job responsibilities have expanded to include product photography, graphic design, animation, promotions, social media, web maintenance… The list just goes on and on! My first love will always be the video and photo work. I graduated from Ball State University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in digital video production. While still a student I had the incredible opportunities to work on commercials for the Indiana Department of Tourism, a reality shoot, and a feature length film. After graduating I moved back to my wonderful hometown of Louisville where I balance my time between Quilted Joy and freelance video work. Although not a quilter ("Yet!!" yells Angela from the back of the room), I'm always amazed by the incredible talent and design skills of the ladies and gentlemen who come through the shop. After work you'll find me trying to catch the latest movies, hanging out with friends at trivia nights, or if it's a beautiful summer day, on the river desperately trying to stay on the jet ski while my crazy boyfriend drives. :)