Behind the scraps of Pat O'Brien
I had just left my office manager job in NYC when I was pregnant with our son Christopher in the fall of 1988. My husband Bob and I visited the Allentown Harvest Festival and we walked into the Quilter's Barn to see their quilts. I'd never seen a quilt before and I was amazed how beautiful they were and how they were made. My husband, realizing that I needed a hobby (I was climbing the walls being home with nothing to do) said "Hey those quilts are all straight lines, you could do that". The owner, Jean, mentioned that they had a beginner hand quilting class starting the following week. I signed up and my quilt obsession began!

I quickly realized that doing quilts by hand was too slow for me. There were no classes for machine users, so I taught myself how to quilt by machine. Slowly, books came out exploring the uses of sewing machines in creating quilts. At that time, the rotary cutter had just came out and revolutionized machine quilting. More and more authors published books and patterns using the sewing machine as the primary method of making quilts. In 1993, I started my custom quilting business, Pat's Custom Crafts. I started teaching by giving classes in my small studio. I also was asked by the next owner of the Quilter's Barn, Mary, to teach at the Quilters Barn.

In the fall of 2003, Howard and Elizabeth Anderson approached me to come and teach at Stony Brook Sew and Vac. I've added to my classes, now teaching not only quilting, but the new owner's classes, kids summer camps and Girl Scout badge workshops. I've made many new friends and also "infected" many others into the obsession we call quilting!

I currently live in Hightstown, NJ with my husband Bob and our four kids, Christopher, Meaghan, Sabrina, Justin and our two cats, Fido and Echo.