10 Questions - Peggy Ladner

If you've been a member for a long time you already know that Peggy Ladner is multi-talented. She's not just a quilter. She explores a lot of other crafts and is very skilled with a paintbrush too. She's the one who has made the beautiful decoupaged boxes that we use for our quilt raffles. Recently she shows us how she does it. Well, I wanted to see where she does all of this great creating so I asked her to be our featured member this month. 

1. If you live in Hanover (or the area), how many generations of your family have lived here and how did they come to settle here? If you moved here, where are you from and what brought you here?

I'm originally from Baltimore County, MD, but lived in the DC area for about 12 years before moving to Hanover County in 1989 for my hubby's job transfer.  We moved to Caroline county's Lake Caroline subdivision in 2012, in a house we custom built.  I'm hoping to not move again. 

2. When you were young what did you plan to be when you grew up and what happened with those plans?

I wasn't that focused on what I wanted to do, just what I didn't want to do.  I didn't want to stay home and keep house, I wanted to work.  I'm over that now and am looking forward to retiring in a few years.

3. What are your favorite things to do in the area?

I like going to estate and yard sales.  I have a running list of things I'm looking for, and it's amazing how often it's possible to find the things on the list in a fairly short timeframe. I love going going out to Syria in Madison county or Culpeper or Sperryville - I like the mountains. 

I also like going to Fredericksburg, both the old down town and the town center at Spotsylvania mall.

  

4. What hobbies or activities do you do other than quilting? Where do you do them? How did you get involved with them?

 I love painting stuff - like furniture, but there are limitations on how much furniture you really need. After Christmas I plan to paint a hutch that I've had for about 20 years.  It was unfinished originally, and I stained when I got it, but now I think painting is in order.  Time for a change.

I crochet some, have taken a couple classes in glass fusing and used to do some fabric dying (I learned from Joyce Hartley) but not for the last several years.  I made sure there was a utility sink installed in the garage when we were building our house, because I would need it for furniture painting or fabric dying, since I do both in the garage.

 5. What’s your favorite vacation spot? Where do you want to go next?

My favorite vacation spot is Hilton Head Island in the off season.  The weather is moderate, and there are no crowds.  I have my mom's very basic Kenmore sewing machine so I take it and work on piecing a quilt, read, or go outlet shopping while Eric plays golf, then we go out to eat - very relaxing! 

  

6. What saying best describes how you like to live your life?

"Always an adventure".  Approach every day with fresh eyes and an open mind.  Don't get bogged down in the negative.

7. Show us a photo (or photos) of where you create.

This is my sewing room, which is in the walk out basement.  I have good light here and lots of space.  I'm lucky to have a dedicated sewing storage room as well.

8. Show us a photo of the quilt that’s on your bed right now.

This quilt is made from shirting prints.  I have a book by Lesley Lindsley that has a quilt made from shirting prints.  I didn't follow the pattern, but I liked how the quilt looked with that type of fabric.

9. What quilt is your least favorite quilt. Not necessarily the ugliest but the one that you liked the least or struggled with the most or just plain hated making. Why did you choose this one? Do you have a photo of it?

I don't have a least favorite.  The most nerve wracking was making a quilt, bedskirt, bumper pads and pillows - all with machine appliques of dinosaurs - for my sister when she was pregnant with my nephew many years ago.  My sewing machine was acting up, so I bought a new one - it was awful so I returned it, then I bought another new machine - returned it as well, and finally found a repair shop for my machine.  I thought I'd never get everything done.  

  

10. What is your all time favorite quilt and why? Do you have a photo of it?

My favorite is a wall hanging quilt out of five different colorways of Kaffe Fassett's Lotus fabric.  I like the repetition of the fabric print in different colors.  I've made a couple other quilts where I've repeated a fabric print in different colorways.  

There is something about repeating the fabric print - not just a block pattern - that I'm drawn to.  I've made other quilts using a print in different colors.  Each has it's own personality, just one of the things that makes quilting so interesting.