Both my quilting and Airedale experiences began in 1980. After moving to Brisbane, Australia, I joined a quilting group just to meet new people and discovered that I truly loved combining many patterned fabrics into one object called a quilt. I still do today, mostly stitching my own designs in a variety of styles and techniques. I am partial to paper foundation piecing and appliqué and am continually trying to improve my machine quilting skills.

After buying a house in Brisbane in 1980, we were ready for a dog and did a lot of research into different breeds. It seems totally incongruous now, but we narrowed our choices to a Rottweiler or an Airedale. Opting for the one which we thought would have a little more spunk, we sure did make the right choice! We got our first Airedale, Puggles, as a puppy. When we moved back to the States in 1984, she came with us as excess baggage!

She was a great loss to us when she wore herself out in December of 1990. After several years without a dog while our daughter was little, we went through Airedale Rescue to get 2 year old Bridgit. As soon as we saw her, we knew she was the one for us. We have had her for 4 years now and think she is starting to get some sense. And I thought it was about time I combined these two loves by joining the Airedale Quilting Bee.

 Both of the Airedales I have been owned by  had a love-hate relationship with water.  They hated baths and getting their feet wet  but loved drinking water from the hose and chasing the spray. They also loved chasing birds and if the bird bath happened to tip over during the pursuit, they wouldn't care at all!