Judy Niemeyer runs her business from
her home on the shores of Flathead Lake in northwest Montana. She is the
backbone of the entire business, doing everything from designing, teaching,
and writing patterns, to sewing and quilting. As she says, "I do a little
bit of everything." Years ago, Judy never would have believed she would
be where she is today. As a child, quilting and sewing were everyday occurrences
around her home, just as were milking cows, changing sprinkler pipes,
and stacking hay. Helping tie mother's quilts was just another job the
children were expected to do, whether they wanted to or not. The problem
was, Judy didn't particularly want to, she'd have rather been out milking
the cows.
That all changed when she got married
and started having children. Judy and her husband Del decided she should
stay home and raise the children, so quilt making became the means to
do so. Judy started doing custom quilt work and hand quilting until finally
quilting was a second income for the family. In 1990, her children were
all old enough to tend to matters on their own, so she began working and
teaching classes at the Quilt Gallery in Kalispell, Montana. It was because
of teaching that Judy began to design patterns. Now, hardly a day goes
by when she isn't thinking about how to design a new pattern or quilting
process so that it will make it easier for her students.
Quilt making began as a way for Judy
to have more free time in her life, but the plan has backfired. It has
now become her life. At any point in the day you will either find her
sewing, creating new ideas, designing new patterns, or answering emails
to her students. If she ever has free time or goes on vacation she will
usually find a way to bring her quilting with her.
Besides Judy, there are many people
who have contributed to making the business what it is today. Most important
to the business's success has been her family. From the beginning, everyone
has contributed their own special talents to help the business grow, whether
it be writing, designing, or just stuffing patterns.
First of all, Judy would like to thank
her husband Del Niemeyer, who has been extremely supportive to her from
the very beginning. Del learned website design, AutoCAD, photography,
and graphic design, all so that the business could continue. Today he
is Judy Niemeyer Quilting's Technical Support. If anything goes wrong,
he is there to fix it. He also designs pattern and cover sheet layouts,
and is the photographer of all of Judy's quilts. And if Judy is out of
town, you can be sure Del will be there to return phone calls, answer
emails, and pretty much keep the business going.
Judy's son Bradley has been helping
her to design her patterns since he was a sophomore in high school. This
is when he started his studies in AutoCAD, which brought him to his career
in engineering today. Ever since then Judy comes to him whenever she has
a new idea, and won't leave him alone until he has put her vision onto
the computer. His mom has definitely influenced his AutoCAD work. Now,
in addition to his job as an Engineer, he also does part time quilt designing
for various quilters.
Judy's daughter Judel is the one who
runs the shipping for the entire business. If you order a pattern from
Judy, you can bet it will come from Judel. This is no easy task when you
consider she runs the shipping in her spare time, when she isn't busy
raising her two young sons, or working as an Engineer while her husband
attends medical school. Judel also helps with writing everything from
pattern instructions to Judy's lectures and speeches.
Judy's other son Billy was trained
by his Dad at a young age in the art of web design. He has since then
taken over the position as the company's webmaster and graphic designer.
The website you see today was crafted by Billy, and he has also designed
the graphics for Judy's patterns. Aside from designing and re-designing
his mom's website, he also runs his own web and graphic design company,
which can be found at www.hyperdesigned.com. Billy has also gotten his
girlfriend Ashley involved. She has done everything from packaging patterns
to responding to emails, and has even began learning to sew.
There are others outside of the family
who have played important roles in Judy Niemeyer Quilting. There are three
women in particular that need to be thanked. All three have played integral
parts in helping the business to flourish.
Sheryl Mycroft helps to sew new quilts
and samples. She has been a tremendous help with color ideas and design
layouts. Sometimes she will create an entirely new design just by arranging
colors in a fresh, new way.
Carolyn Kreps does all of Judy's machine
quilting. She is an excellent machine quilter, and has always taken time
to make sure Judy's samples are ready whenever she needs them.
The most recent addition to Judy Niemeyer
Quilting has been a young woman named Cindi McCracken. She is most likely
the one who will answer your phone calls, send you emails and schedule
your classes. Lately she has also started doing a fair amount of Judy's
piecing on her newest quilts. Cindi is a wonderful quilter and has given
an aire of quality to Judy Niemeyer Quilting that wasn't there before.
Finally Judy would like to thank Joan
Hodgeboom, owner of the Quilt Gallery, whose creativity, eye for color,
and drive for perfection have been one of the greatest influences in Judy's
life. The Quilt Gallery provided the environment needed for Judy to create
her own ideas and designs, allowing her to build a business based around
designing foundation paper pieced patterns.
Judy Niemeyer Quilting will
continue to produce and sell its foundation paper pieced patterns because
it strongly believes that foundation paper piecing is the easiest way
to achieve accuracy and precision in intricate quilt designs. These foundation
paper pieced patterns open doors to quilters of all experience levels,
to allow everyone to experience the joy of making their own quilt.
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