MERRILY PARKER is the owner and mastermind behind Merrily We Quilt Along. Merrily first began quilting in 1995 when after seeing the movie, "How to Make an American Quilt", her daughter, Heather, asked her to make her one. At that time, Merrily only had her grandmother's sewing machine that was 30 years old. One thing led to another, and Merrily has not stopped quilting since! Her first 84 quilts were made in Vancouver, British Columbia that were all quilted on her home sewing machine. Sixty of these quilts were bedsize and 17 were king size.
Merrily enjoys teaching Beginner courses because she loves to see the "ah-ha" expression when a new quilter finishes a block. She also enjoys teaching Machine Quilting since this is her favorite topic of discussion. Merrily has won several awards including third place at MQS, Viewer's Choice in Liberal, KS, Best of Show at the Empire State Fair, and other numerous firsts, seconds, and thirds in various shows. Merrily has two daughters, both of whom work with her, and four grandchildren.
CHARLEY BENTON has quilted all of her life and often says that she is "as old as dirt". Her first quilt was made out of feed sacks (Sunbonnet Girls) when she was about 10 years old. Charley is well known for her dolls "with character" and extraordinary hand embellishments on quilts and clothing.
Charley has worked for MWQA since inception. She has two children, five grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. Charley is lovingly known as Willie Nelson's biggest fan. If you stop by the shop on any Tuesday, you can bet that Charley will be rocking out to Willie!
LINDA CLAXTON first began quilting in 1990. Her initial inspiration was a Great American Quilts book that had Flavin Glover's "Row Houses" quilt in it. Linda was determined to copy one row of her houses as well as a wall-hanging, and has been hooked on quilting ever since.
Linda's favorite class to teach is miniatures because she enjoys the challenge of precision piecing. In addition to teaching, Linda has won awards for her appliqué quilts at OPQS.
HEATHER PARKER-REECE is a behind-the-scenes employee at Merrily We Quilt Along. Heather first began working at MWQA in 2002 when she returned to Missouri from Colorado, then came back to work for MWQA during the spring of 2006. Heather is responsible for the website, newsletter production, and other shop databases.
Although, not an experienced quilter, Heather is proud of the king-size log cabin quilt she made of Aunt Gracie fabrics. Heather hopes to one day learn the tricks of the trade from her mother, Merrily. Heather and her husband are also the proud parents of a young daughter and son who show them the wonders of the world everyday.
JUDY GLOVER first began quilting in the 1970's. Judy was born and raised in our very own Springfield. Her mother and grandmother's beautiful scrap quilts were her initial inspiration for quilting. At one point in her life Judy owned a quilt shop in Arkansas and was Guild President in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
Judy first began employment with Merrily We Quilt Along in spring 2006, although she taught classes prior to her employment. Judy's favorite class to teach is Scrap Quilts form the techniques that she learned from Mary Ellen Hopkins.
LIZ JACKSON first began quilting in 1989. According to Liz, she always knew that she wanted to quilt. Her first class was a hand piecing class, which she did that and hand quilting until about 1996. In 1996 she took a machine quilting class and has been having fun with her creations since then.
Liz has been with Merrily We Quilt Along since inception, October 2001. Liz has made numerous shop samples and enjoys teaching one-on-one. Liz has won several awards including, second at the Empire Fair, second and third at OPQS 2004, and first place in the Duo Category at OPQS 2006.
HOLLY FLETCHER first began quilting in 2001 when she began employment with Merrily We Quilt Along. Her inspiration for quilting is her mother, Merrily. Holly's favorite part of the job is the customers. Holly's daughter is affectionately known as the quilt store mascot.
CAROL FELLIN first began quilting in 1996. Carol first became inspired by quilting when she had to take time off work for an illness and became hooked on the program Quilt-In-A-Day. Carol decided that quilting was for her, but never took any classes until she moved to Springfield and began taking classes from Merrily We Quilt Along in 2005.
Although Carol is officially retired, she began working for Merrily We Quilt Along this autumn. Carol has lived all over the United States including California, Texas, Nebraska, and Missouri. A fond quilting experience for Carol is a class that she took from the esteemed Eleanor Burns in Nebraska. Carol has three grown children and says that she loves retirement!
KAY TURNER first began quilting in 1999. Kay’s grandmother was her initial inspiration for quilting whom she admired for her excellent piecing. Prior to the quilting world, Kay led an exciting life as a realtor in Cincinnati, Ohio and upon retirement then moved to the Springfield area with her husband. Kay has two children and two grandchildren.
Kay has worked for Merrily We Quilt Along since 2002 and enjoys teaching Thimbleberries and Perfect Piecing. According to Kay, Thimbleberries is a learning class and Perfect Piecing is a great class to see the progress one can make if they have the will. Kay loves getting to know quilters in the area and appreciates all that she learns from them. Kay won a first place ribbon on her Cowboy Quilt at OPQS 2006.
DEE MANNING first began quilting around 1996. Dee's first project included a Christmas wall-hanging with Debbie Mumm patterns and fabric. Dee admits that she never did finish this project, but discovered that she preferred piecing to appliqué.
Dee first began working for Merrily We Quilt Along in 2005. Dee says that she loves to teach it all! Dee has lived all over the midwest including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and of course Missouri. She has two children and many great quilting experiences.