Member Feature- Meet Nicci!

My name is Nicci Pannell and my birthday is January 21. I am a single girl (should I make the quilt?) with no kiddos, but two pretty cute pups. I love travel, cooking, gardening, reading, camping, most anything outdoorsy, my yoga practice and volleyball (hoping to get back to that soon), hanging with friends, learning new things and having new experiences, long walks on the beach,  yadda, yadda, yadda.

                                     With my sis, Mindy, hanging with the balbals in Burana, Kyrgyzstan)

How many years have you been quilting?

I made my first quilt about 15 years ago.

What inspired you to start?

I was first inspired to start quilting by a sweet bundle of 1930’s fat quarters from Strawberry Patches. I had a nephew on the way and was trying to figure out what to do for a gift.

This seemed like a good thing. Here’s the finished product then….…

and now…

It’s a bit faded, but still used very regularly. Not bad for a tied quilt with the binding folded over from the back. Hey, it works!

What is your favorite part of quilting?

Planning the quilt is awfully fun. Picking the fabrics and visualizing the finished project really gets me inspired. But I would have to say that binding the quilt is my favorite part. I guess it is like frosting the cake….you know that you are close to getting to the good part. Enjoying it!

What is your least favorite part?

Oooh, if I could skip basting my quilt, and sometimes quilting it, I would be in heaven!

Do you have a specialty? (HST, appliqué, any specific technique?)

I don’t know if I am accomplished enough yet to claim a specialty. I will say that I am really enjoying expanding my skill sets at the present time. In the last week, I added the starch method of applique and foundation piecing to my list of skills (that need lots of practice).

Do you enjoy any non-quilty sewing? (garments, bags, etc.)

I used to be an avid counted cross-stitcher and sewed many of my own clothes. Now, the closest I get to that is an occasional apron, potholder, coaster or one of those great zipper pouches Suzanne at the Patch inspired me to try. Thanks Suzanne!

Have you ever entered a quilt show, etc?

 Nope. I read somewhere once that the author felt she could point out more mistakes in her quilts than any judge. She didn’t feel the need for someone else to do that for her. I kinda feel the same way. I sure do enjoy seeing others’ work, though. Maybe I should look at it differently and share the love!

Have you been featured, received recognition, or won any awards?

Nah, but my MQG friends sure are supportive, encouraging and say really nice things. That’s good enough for me.

How did you find out about the Modern Quilt Guild?

 I happened to be cruising online sometime around the end of the year and started to wonder where the closest MQG was. I thought, for sure L.A. and possibly Fresno. Much to my surprise, the BMQG popped up in my Google search and the blog had just been posted within the last couple of days. What luck! My life has been forever changed. J

What about modern quilting are you most drawn to? (What inspires you?  What would you like to try?)

The freedom of self-expression is the aspect of modern quilting that most appeals to me. If you view my flickr page, I don’t think that I have a particular style. I love trying new things and mq lets me do that. I would love to learn to long arm and when I upgrade my machine, I will move beyond straight-line quilting.

Is there anything else we should know about you?

We have some really talented people in our group, and I am so happy to have met such a great group and I truly appreciate their generous tutelage.