Michele Rank – Huntington Beach

This seemed like the most appropriate photo of Michele – in her craft room with a quilt – places and things she loves! Have you checked out Michele’s classes at our Huntington Beach store?  We were loving what we saw in her class quilts – but we’re really loving seeing sew much more of her creativity! Read more about her – but you’ll have lots of pictures to ogle (and inspiration) along the way!

We each have things we love to sew most – for Michele it was an easy answer – “I am a quilt obsessed girl!” (lucky for us, our customers have much to learn from her obsession!).  In fact, she’s been known to make a quilt a week for months on end – no wonder there are so many beautiful pics to share –

The one she’s most proud of, for so many reasons, is her “Alaska Memorial” quilt, made as a gift for her husband Tim. One of their trips to Alaska is the highlight of all vacations after Tim surprised her with with a semi-private float plane bear excursion.  On return she asked what his favorite animals on the trip were – then she hand drafted each –

… rendered them in fabric, and turned them into this fabulous quilt, using the quilt-as-you-go style so she could do some free motion thread work –

Here it is being happily snuggled up in!

(We’re not sure who’s had more fun with it, Michele creating and making it, or Tim enjoying it!)

We’ve all had projects we remember because they didn’t turn out quite as expected… right?  But those are all learning opportunities!  Michele doesn’t have a “least favorite’ for that reason but there is one that comes to mind that was particularly frustrating —

“I will say that the one quilt that drove me nuts was most likely the 3rd or 4th quilt I ever made. I picked fabrics and got some graph paper out to design my own blocks. I am a self taught quilter as an adult. As a young child my grandmother taught me quilting and the love to sew that I used as a base for my quilting adventure. So, I made some block designs and then picked out fabrics that I fell in love with. Made each block and then started to assemble them only to lose my points because of my lack of knowledge. I was so frustrated and ripped out the seams and started over several times.  I asked a friend what was wrong and she very nicely pointed out that I did not allow for seams in my design so it would never line up right.”  You’re not alone Michele! Show of hands – who’s made the same or similar kinds of mistakes?!

Luckily she has a “lemons to lemonade” outlook –  “I was so frustrated and then realized I still loved the fabrics and colors and would finish the quilt. This quilt is not put away and forgotten it is displayed on a chair in house, and I still remember the process and emotion that went with it. I am not a perfect quilter, I think of myself as a free spirit with design and style. I like what I like, this quilt holds a special spot in my heart.”

No wonder she has so much to teach us – Michele admits to spending most of her time sewing and quilting. It’s evident from all the great photos she’s shared —

She has an enviable craft room!  She lists ” 7 sewing machines, tubs and tubs full of fabric, bins of threads, more tools that really are required, I think I have 6 rotary cutters, and endless supply of notions…” among her supplies!  Ok who can relate to that?? (And if you’re not sure why 7 sewing machine seems perfectly normal – come see us! Click for store locations and hours.)

Look at more of the beautiful work that comes out of that craft room – and her imagination and heart —

What challenges you?  For Michele it’s been zippers, buttonholes and curved/round piecing.  She now claims to love zippers – she’s obviously mastered them, look at these bags —

As for curved/round piecing – ” It only took time to jump in and start learning and playing around with these shapes.”  Jump in – those are important words.  We hear about all kinds of “sewing fears” in the stores, the best way to get over any of them is – as Michele said – just jump in!  Now that we know our own teachers have their own challenges, let’s make a plan to jump in and try something we’ve avoided, put off or feared – we’d love to hear your experience! You can reply here or share with us on Moore’s Facebook page – nothing inspires like seeing/learning what others are doing! (Michele – your assignment is – buttonholes!!!)

Every one of Moore’s teachers teaches because they love it.  Each loves it for different reasons.  Michele’s been sharing her love of creating for a long time –
“In my background I was a consultant for a rubber stamping and scrapbooking company where I taught customers how to use product and design papercrafts. I did this for over 20 years & enjoyed sharing my passions. This just spilled over into quilting. Sharing and seeing what others have finished is a treat for me. I think quilting is such a social craft that started out in quilt bees. It is a natural transition for me to delight in seeing what others have made. And in turn If I can help share my talent with anyone else I am more than happy to do so. I love meeting new people and the teaching element is a pleasure to me.”

Of course whenever we ask our teachers what they love to do “sew!” is always the first answer. Michele also loves wildlife photography, gardening and laughing….  We love the diversity of interests and passions and random trivia she shared when we asked her to share more about herself –” I love color and patterns and love to mix up fabrics… Favorite color is purple… I drink water like a fish… I have had many jobs in my life but my greatest is my 3 children…

(Check out these quilts she made for each of her boy’s birthdays! Lucky guys!)

Born and raised California girl… I have a 2 pets, a kitty that adopted us name “Chicken” and a rabbit named “Waffles”… If I hear music I most likely will start to sing… Laughter and friendship fill my sails… Asparagus is my favorite veggie & a pineapple is my favorite fruit…. Do not nap or watch TV during the day as a rule, unless I am sick… All time favorite vacation: Australian 2 month camping trip. But, put me in the mountains, dessert or beach & I will smile with glee….”

We love your upbeat attitude Michele!  We’re sure you’d like taking a class from her!  Please check Michele’s classes online!  We hope to see more offerings in the future!

Want more inspiration and help with finishing your beautiful quilts? Look at the upcoming Juki events at our Huntington Beach store —  just click the links below!

Juki Walk Before You Run Quilting Event!

Juki TL2200 Longarm Quilting Event!

Everyone at Michele’s house gets to wrap up in a quilt made with love and passion –

We think it should be the same at your home!   Oh – and did we mention Michele’s sense of humor? Well as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words…

Thanks Michele!