Dara was born the third of six kids and discovered early on the advantages of being independent. Learning to sew meant that she could make whatever she wanted - liberation! From sewing her own pair of shorts at age 10 to countless dresses, skirts and pj pants, her sewing efforts evolved to quilting at age 19, and she has not stopped since.
Dara has recently moved from the Canadian prairies to Canada’s tropics, Vancouver Island, where she happily uses all of her saved time from shoveling snow to quilt. Dara, the aspiring coach had the perfect number of children (five!) to form her very own basketball team, with her husband as spare. Coaching others to be successful in their free motion quilting adventures brings her so much joy. Dara has translated her professional teaching career of almost 10 years in the public school system into a methodical, practical and uplifting method of learning free motion quilting skills.
Dara accidentally became a quilter for hire when she started teaching quilting at her local quilt shop. When her students finished their quilts using her designs, Dara would use her special skills to complete their samples in her style. After boxes of spray baste and many hours on her hands and knees basting, Dara finally took the plunge and invested in a Gammill long arm machine in 20. For the past 4 years fellow Canadians and neighbours to the south, sent their quilts to Dara either in person or by mail so she could put her finishing sewing touches on their beloved quilts.
When she isn’t teaching quilting, or quilting herself on her long arm or cheering her kids at their basketball games, Dara loves to collaborate with fabric companies such as Riley Blake and RJR. Dara also publishes designs in collaboration books, makes videos on her YouTube channel, and co-ordinates with local charity quilting efforts. Follow her creative pursuits on her social media or blog at www.StitchedQuiltingCo.com
By this author:
Walk, Jog, Run A Free-Motion Quilting Workout
Doodle School
Doodle Notebook for Free-Motion Quilting
