Laurie has been a seamstress most of her life. She was working embroidery and sewing 'makeshift' clothes for her younger sister by the time she was 8 years old. Sewing had always came natural to her. Her Mother was not a seamstress, but her Grandmother was. Laurie had never spent much time around her Grandmother (and no time at all when her Grandmother was sewing) but she had inherited the talent none-the-less.

By the time Laurie was 16 years old, she was being paid to make clothes for family and friends. She was married when she was 17 and had a daughter a few months after she turned 18.

When her daughter was only 18 months old, she needed a pair of shoes so she could play in the yard (there was no grass in the yard of the house they had rented). Laurie wanted to get her a pair of jelly-sandals but did not have the $2.97 that they cost in 1969. So she put an ad in the paper and made her first dress as a professional seamstress for the $2.97 she needed to buy the sandals. She continued to do seamstress work from home, as this allowed her to make the extra money the children needed without leaving them with a babysitter to do so.

Laurie's son was born when she was 21. This was the first year Laurie ever made a quilt. She designed her own pattern and used the scrap material from her sewing to make a quilt for her parents. She finished the quilt within a few weeks. It must be noted here that Laurie did not hand quilt most of the quilts she made, but used tied yarn or embroidery thread to secure them. The quilts were made with 16 oz. batting and a flannel sheet for backing. She once needed a piece of furniture, and traded a store-keeper a quilt for a recliner. She made about 24 quilts that first 2 years, one for almost every member of the family, from both sides. Her brother, who lived in California, came to visit and picked out the pattern he wanted for a quilt. He was killed in a car accident shortly after his return to California and Laurie did not make another quilt for over 21 years.

In 1996 Laurie became interested in putting quilt patterns up on a web site. Her son and his wife hosted the site and authored the web pages. Laurie was again enamoured with the idea of making quilts. She made a wedding quilt for a friend and his new wife, a quilt for another friend, and a quilt for the man she married a year later.

When the web site was completed, she realized that she needed to make a quilt to demonstrate the patterns she had to offer - and since she had intended to make a quilt for their 1st Anniversary - this resulted in the completion of the Satin Sampler Anniversary Quilt ( 100" X 100") that is pictured on the Home page. The quilt was entered in the Tillamook County Fair and won not only first place in its category, but also Best of Show in the entire textile division.

Laurie was widowed three months later, after 21 months of marriage. She abandoned the website and relocated to Alaska. The quilt was entered in the 1999 Fur Rendezvous and won People's Choice that year. A year later she returned to college at University of Alaska - Anchorage (UAA) and earned a Bachelor's of Business Administration - Management Information Systems degree (BBA - MIS). She has since developed this site and maintains it herself.

The quilt has been renamed "Katie's Quilt" as it has been given to her only granddaughter (who is now {January 2011} 5 years old ).

Laurie is still working on developing a seamstress / sewing / quilting business in Wasilla, Alaska
It's Sew Easy! - Alaska - to teach the art of sewing and the joy of making quilts.

On a more recent note - Laurie Jean met and fell in love with a wonderful man and is now making plans to spend the rest of her life with him.

Ernest Wade and Laurie Jean were married in Wasilla, Alaska on August 8th, 2010. We are still finishing up some construction projects - and the 'Sunbonnet Sue in Alaska' KITS will be the next project after that! I am looking at a time frame of early-to-mid Fall. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

I have been able to get started on the Kits   for Sunbonnet Sue in Alaska and I have the detailed step-by-step instructions for 4 of the kits online here and I will be working to get the rest of them completed.