 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Laura Martell |
I grew up in Wethersfield, CT a beautiful quaint New England town in a wonderful 100 year old
home. My interest in sewing started at a very early age. I used to hand sew clothes for my Barbie
dolls until my grandmothers taught me how to sew on their machines. One grandmother had a Singer
treadle machine and the other grandmother had a Kenmore electric. I made most of my clothes
while I was in school and took as many sewing classes that I could find.
After I got married, I always did something creative. I have made baskets, sewed Teddy Bears,
including a mink one from my grandmothers fur muff. During the Cabbage Patch craze, I made lots
and lots of dolls and doll clothes. I started quilting in 1980, during my first pregnancy. Eleanor Burns
was teaching her new log cabin, fabric-ripping technique and I took one of her classes in Newington,
CT. I have been quilting ever since.
I have always loved handbags and tote bags and along with my quilting, I would always be trying the
newest bag/purse pattern.
In 1990, I saw a picture of a tote bag in a very expensive catalog using decorator fabrics. I couldn’t
afford the tote bag in the catalog, but decided to try to make a bag using decorator fabrics. The rest
is history. I was hooked. I started making tote bags and zippered handbags to sell at local craft
shows. By this time, I was living in Poughkeepsie, New York and had 2 children. It was great to be
able to work at home and take care of the children. I was doing very well selling my bags at the
crafts shows and my family would come with me and enjoy the travel and shows with me.
In 1993, my husband was transferred to Raleigh, NC with his job at IBM. In order to meet new
people, I took a few quilting classes at Bernina World of Sewing in Raleigh. I decided that I might
like to work outside the home part-time, so I started working at Bernina in February of 1994. By
the first week of March that same year, I was teaching Bernina Club attendees how to make my tote
bags. They were so popular that I decided to write it up and make a pattern for sale. I have been
selling and teaching Laura’s tote pattern and Laura’s zippered tote patterns ever since.
I have had the good fortune of attending several Bernina Universities (Berninas’ yearly conference)
and attending Houston Quilt Markets to do some buying for Bernina World of Sewing in Raleigh. I
continue to teach many classes at the shop including some quilting classes, too.
In the fall of 2003, I decided to create 3 new patterns. The Raleigh Purse (guess where I got that
name?) The Professional Tote, a great tote for all your professional needs, and Janet’s Jewelry
Case. The Jewelry case is named in honor of my mother who never had any grandchildren named
after her, so I named my “3rd child” after her.
Now that my children are adults (my, how time flies), I hope to do some traveling and teaching. So if
you would like to have me teach in your shop, or at a sewing group, please contact me at
Laura@thecreativethimble.com
home. My interest in sewing started at a very early age. I used to hand sew clothes for my Barbie
dolls until my grandmothers taught me how to sew on their machines. One grandmother had a Singer
treadle machine and the other grandmother had a Kenmore electric. I made most of my clothes
while I was in school and took as many sewing classes that I could find.
After I got married, I always did something creative. I have made baskets, sewed Teddy Bears,
including a mink one from my grandmothers fur muff. During the Cabbage Patch craze, I made lots
and lots of dolls and doll clothes. I started quilting in 1980, during my first pregnancy. Eleanor Burns
was teaching her new log cabin, fabric-ripping technique and I took one of her classes in Newington,
CT. I have been quilting ever since.
I have always loved handbags and tote bags and along with my quilting, I would always be trying the
newest bag/purse pattern.
In 1990, I saw a picture of a tote bag in a very expensive catalog using decorator fabrics. I couldn’t
afford the tote bag in the catalog, but decided to try to make a bag using decorator fabrics. The rest
is history. I was hooked. I started making tote bags and zippered handbags to sell at local craft
shows. By this time, I was living in Poughkeepsie, New York and had 2 children. It was great to be
able to work at home and take care of the children. I was doing very well selling my bags at the
crafts shows and my family would come with me and enjoy the travel and shows with me.
In 1993, my husband was transferred to Raleigh, NC with his job at IBM. In order to meet new
people, I took a few quilting classes at Bernina World of Sewing in Raleigh. I decided that I might
like to work outside the home part-time, so I started working at Bernina in February of 1994. By
the first week of March that same year, I was teaching Bernina Club attendees how to make my tote
bags. They were so popular that I decided to write it up and make a pattern for sale. I have been
selling and teaching Laura’s tote pattern and Laura’s zippered tote patterns ever since.
I have had the good fortune of attending several Bernina Universities (Berninas’ yearly conference)
and attending Houston Quilt Markets to do some buying for Bernina World of Sewing in Raleigh. I
continue to teach many classes at the shop including some quilting classes, too.
In the fall of 2003, I decided to create 3 new patterns. The Raleigh Purse (guess where I got that
name?) The Professional Tote, a great tote for all your professional needs, and Janet’s Jewelry
Case. The Jewelry case is named in honor of my mother who never had any grandchildren named
after her, so I named my “3rd child” after her.
Now that my children are adults (my, how time flies), I hope to do some traveling and teaching. So if
you would like to have me teach in your shop, or at a sewing group, please contact me at
Laura@thecreativethimble.com