Quilters Through The Generations - Connie Mounsey

Today I introduce Connie Mounsey.  Here is what she has to say...

I was born in Lubbock Texas and now reside in NW Oklahoma. I am a longarm quilter now and have quilted for the public since 2012. I have 5 children, 4 are grown and I have a 12 year old still at home. I live in a 1907 Folk Victorian that was remodeled in the 30s and when I started quilting in 2008 the first quilt I made was a 1930s reproduction quilt. The prints are so happy. They remain my favorite fabrics to collect. 


Have you ever made a quilt? 

Yes.  My mother, Janet Bryant, taught me to sew.  I don't really remember how old I was when I started sewing. She was a home economics teacher and has always sewn. She made our dresses, even made prom dresses for my sister and I. 

In home economics we made aprons and a pair of shorts and I remember sewing a few garments at home. In the 80s my Mom and I made a bow tie quilt together. The bow tie block is my favorite block.  It was the Georgia Bonesteel quilt as you go method. I pieced it and she hand quilted it. This was her first quilt and she started making quilts after that.

She made this beautiful Leymone Star quilt my mother made. She hand quilted it. It’s one of my favorite quilts.  

Fast forward to 2008 when I fell on the ice on my front porch and had a compound fracture of my ankle. I was so bored and my mother brought me a featherweight and I made a modified nine patch out of 1930s prints. 

I was hooked. She had a longarm then and she did my quilting for me. 

I went to stay for a week during fall break and a friend and I brought quilt tops and used my mom's longarm and I was hooked again.

Did you have a grand-mother or Great-grandmother that quilted? 

Three of my great grandmothers were quilters. 

Left to right my mother's grandmothers - Esther Murray Wheeler, Willie Salome Detwiler Lockwood, and my dads grandmother Florence Warrick Armstrong McWilliams next to her is her second husband Lawson McWilliams. This photo was from my parents wedding in 1968.


I don't really remember much of my mom's two grandmothers that quilted . Mom has a quilt that both of her grandmothers contributed signature squares to. They both lived in a little town and the quilt was for my Mom's paternal grandmother Willie Salome Detwiler Lockwood. A lot of the squares are from cousins and other family members. My great grandmother Lockwood was moving to Lubbock, Texas and this quilt was made for her in the 40s I think. 

I have three quilts that my father's grandmother made. Florence Warrick Armstrong McWilliams. She liked to make difficult patterns. One of her quilts that I have I used on my bed growing up and it is so loved and worn out but I still treasure it. 

I recall that she had a quilt frame in her living room that always had a quilt on it. 


My Mom is shown here with the last quilt my great grandmother McWilliams made. The top was in my grandmother's things when she passed away and I found it. Much of the scraps are from clothes my mom made us. She had given the scraps to my great-grandmother. My mom added the red border and hand quilted it.

This quilt I inherited when my grandmother Bryant passed away. It was made by my great grandmother Florence Warrick Armstrong McWilliams.

Have you taught someone to quilt? 

I have taught my grand-daughters Tiffany Mounsey and Mary Jayne Mounsey, and my nieces, Sadie Bryant and Erin Shick.  Mary Jayne started really young... here she is on my lap and then at age 4, sewing on her own.

Here is my grand-daughter Tiffany and first quilt top.

Below is my niece Erin is proud of her quilt top...

This is the only picture of my niece Sadie’s quilt she made. She picked all the fabrics out. It was gorgeous. She already knew how to sew but hadn’t ever made a quilt before. 

Do you have a favorite quilt? 

I just love the log cabin. It is the first class I took at the local college and met a lot of real nice ladies. It was an Eleanor Burns Quilt In A Day class.  I gave that quilt to my Mom for Mothers Day. 

I had inherited my husband's grandmother's sewing room and used fabrics from her stash and my stash combined. She was a quilter up until her death at 90.  

I have made several log cabin quilts...

Do you participate in any quilt groups? 

I go to a sewing group on Tuesdays every week.  I go to my favorite quilt store and we have a group of ladies that get together and we sew. We walk next door to a Mexican food restaurant and have lunch together. Sometimes I have customers to meet. They drop off quilts and I pick them up or I can meet them there. 

Have you entered any quilt competitions? 

I entered the County fair and won 2 blue ribbons. One was a star sampler and the other was a quilt I made in a class I took.

This 1930s sampler quilt I quilted with free motion quilting. Each row I did a different pattern. It is one of my favorite quilts. 

Where do you get your inspiration from? 

I find inspiration on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook

What is your favorite part of quilting? 

Sewing - I like to sew with my vintage sewing machines. I have a featherweight and a Singer 15-91 that I like to sew bindings on with. My only modern sewing machine is my Gammill longarm. I am a long arm quilter now and I quilt for the public.

I have no idea of how many quilts I have made.  I haven't kept up a count and most of my quilts are given away.

In addition to a love for 1930's fabrics I also love civil war fabrics. In this quilt I combined broken dishes block and triple four patch blocks...





I also love vintage quilts. This quilt came to me in a Walmart sack. All the blocks were pieced but not sewn together. I love all the vintage fabrics in this one. I have quite a stash of vintage quilt tops to get quilted one day.

Connie's love for scrappy quilts is evident in her quilts featured here.  She stated "I think I have more pink and green in my stash than other colors.  My pink & Green log cabin was an attempt to use some of them up."  I love the log cabin for this very reason...  It is a pattern suitable for scrap busting!  

What is your favorite "scrap busting" pattern?

Leave a comment... We'd love to hear from you!

Sew Happy,
Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Quilters Through The Generations series

Are you from a family of quilters?  

I'd love to share your story in this series.  

Send me an email at MelvaLovesScraps@NolanQualityCustoms.com

letting me know that you are interested.