Lisa Coulombe can be contacted via email at quilts2wear@hotmail.com.

Be sure to visit my blog!

Artist's Statement

I have always loved color and line. After experimenting with a wide variety of crafts involving those qualities (needlepoint, macramé, bargello, counted cross stitch, crewel embroidery) I decided it was time to learn quilting. After all, I was 8 months pregnant with my first child and I needed a baby quilt, right?

Need I say more? I no longer participate in any of my prior crafts, but I am a full-time card carrying quilting addict! What could be more fun than to take beautiful fabrics, slice and dice them, rearrange them and put them back together into quilts!? Well, making them into jackets of course!

Why do I make jackets?

• There are only so many beds and walls in my house.
• It’s easier to quilt a jacket than a bed quilt because of the size.
• It’s unusual (I’ve always been a bit of a rebel at heart)
• I enjoy the challenge of creating art on a specified scale that involves 3 dimensions and must look good from every side
• And most importantly: more people will see them and enjoy my artistry when I wear them

And I do! I wear one of my 65 jackets (and counting!) when volunteering at my kids’ school, while grocery shopping, running errands and of course to quilt guilds and quilt shows. It is great fun to have strangers approach me and admire my work, much more fun than “hiding” my work on the beds or walls at home.

I’ve been quilting for over 17 years and enjoying every minute of it. Quilting has opened many doors for me as a military spouse. There’s nothing like walking into a quilt guild in your new hometown and making instant friends. Quilters are just the nicest people.

I currently team-teach 5 classes per week for a local community college as well as presenting guild fashion shows and teaching quilt shop classes. That and being the mom of 2 teenaged kids who seem to be involved in way too many activities keeps me very busy.

We currently live in the San Diego area and love it. Pierre, my husband, is currently a commander in the U.S. Navy and goes on periodic deployments, but the kids and I manage. Thank goodness they drive now. The life of a military spouse is not always easy!

Awards
Bernina Fashion Show 2005, Circles of Influence
Bernina Fashion Show 2004, Soleil Olé
3rd place Sulky Challenge Professional Category, 2000 Copper Stars
Curator’s Choice Hoffman Challenge Wearable Art category, 2000 Pastel Sunrise

Featured Articles
McCalls’ Quilting April 2001, Springtime in Paris
McCall’s Quilting November, 1996 Ribbon Candy Vest
McCall’s Quilting August, 1996 Mother-Daughter Woven Vests
McCall’s Quilting February, 1996 Morning Glory Vest

Some of my favorite links
Mary Tabar
Peggy Martin
Jan Krentz