Chris Hurni

About Me

I have been quilting for over 40 years, which means I have seen a lot of quilt shops come and go (sadly.) I also love visiting quilt shops while road tripping. My new job at Quilters Quest is giving me an entirely different view!

I recently catalogued over 100 quilts, many baby and small bed quilts for my four children and seven grandchildren, as well as gifts for friends and family. My opus magnum was an Alaskan quilt adapted from a pattern to incorporate the unique novelty fabrics collected on several trips. We lived in Alaska from 1980-82.

Genealogy has also been a lifelong interest. I combined two of my passions into designing tartan quilts. I had so much fun collecting fabric and figuring out an efficient way to replicate the tartan designs with quilt fabric. I made several Christie, Bruce and Marshall tartans, including a special Marshall Fields design for my Dad. I even learned to weave to further understand tartans. I’m also working on a Swedish quilt to represent the other half of my lineage.

Another love is writing which I mixed with quilting by naming my blog “Piecing Life.” Quilting is the metaphor by which I grapple with the deep questions I’ve faced in dealing with special needs (my daughter,) mental illness (my son,) and cancer (me.)  I also have the joy/sorrow of my youngest daughter living in New Zealand with three of my grandkids. So sometimes I write travelogues :-) Btw, quilt fabric currently costs $39 a meter in NZ! Fat quarters were $15.

I’m enjoying my new job at Quilters Quest. The people. The fabric. The quilts you bring to us for longarming. The conversations and the collaborations. Surrounded by color and creativity—what could be better?