Week #23 Carrie Hanson

Hello everyone!  I'm thrilled and honored to be a part of 52 Quilters, so thank you for having me.  My name is Carrie Hanson, known around social media circles as Gotcha Covered Quilting. I'm a mom to 3 trying-to-grow-up-kids, ages 15, 19 and 24, and mom to fur baby, Sofie (who you will undoubtedly see pictures of on IG).  I live in Carlsbad (San Diego County) where the weather is almost always nice and the beach is very near by.

I started off quilting what feels like a life time ago when I moved to the San Francisco area to be with my then husband.  I knew no one  and figured joining the quilt guild was a great way to learn to quilt, something I had always wanted to learn, and a great way to meet friends.  Of course, the guild was held through the senior community center so I was the youngest by about 30 years.  It worked out ok though because they took me under their wing and taught me a thing or two.  Those women even threw a baby shower for me when I had Ally and made the sweetest Sunbonnet Sue baby quilt, which we still have.

I made my first quilt for my oldest daughter, Katelyn, when she was 8.  It was an appliqué tulip quilt.  I did my shopping at Joann's and came home with a full assortment of calicos.  My "then husband" was quite bothered, telling me I'd never finish the quilt and it would be a waste of money.  Have I mentioned how happy I've been the last 6 years since divorcing?  Ha!  Well, I finished that quilt for Katelyn and about 30 more over the course of the following 3 or 4 years.  I guess I showed him, didn't I?

Quilting became not only a passion but the glue that was holding together my sanity.  I was away from family, away from friends, living in a difficult marriage, had 4 little kids (including my step-daughter).  I lost myself in the cutting, rearranging, creating and sewing together of fabric.  My sewing machine became the anchor that kept me grounded and the local quilt shop was my haven.  I made quilts for friends and for family.  I made charity quilts and baby quilts.  I quilted for happy occasions and as a source of comfort for others.  Quilting is just what I did.  Period.

Very soon after completing my first few quilts I taught myself how to free motion quilt on my domestic machine.  It didn't take long before I was FMQ as a means of earning enough money to continue the process of hoarding fabric.  I quilted for almost everyone in my guild and I loved it.

And then I hurt my back...tore the disk in my L4-L5 not once but twice.  I was totally out of commission for quite some time and then time just marched on.  And it marched without my machine or my fabric or my creativity.

Life changed dramatically over the years and finally about 2 years ago I found myself back to quilting and boy had things changed.  What's this thing called modern quilting?  And who are all these amazing quilt designers?  And the fabric!   And what?  People sell and buy full fabric lines and they do so on Instagram?  My head was spinning.  Holy cow it was amazing and overwhelming all at the same time.

Gotcha Covered Quilting was born in November 2013 and has steadily grown since that time.  I sell modern quilt fabric in my online shop (or in my garage if you live locally) and I machine quilt on my Handiquilter Avante.  Sometimes I even have Instagram sales to help reduce inventory and make room on my shelves for new fabric coming in.  If you care to follow along there (I'm having a sale starting today, Monday) you can find me there at @gcqsale.

I have met some amazing people because of this shop of mine...face-to-face friends who started as customers and turned into friends and people who started as friends and have allowed me to enable their fabric obsession.  I have made deep and lasting friendships on Instagram, friendships with people I've never actually met but know for certain we'd be best friends if we lived near one another.  All of this because of the wonderful world of quilting and the world of Instagram that connects us.  I can't begin to describe how blessed I feel to have started quilting to begin with but then to have jumped back in when I did.  Wow!  I'm in awe regularly at the talent that exists around me and the good that gets done when we bind together for a common cause or to help a friend in need.  We are an amazing group, this group of quilters...a group I'm proud to be a part of.

Feel free to visit me at
Shop/Blog:  Gotcha Covered Quilting
Instagram:  @gotchacoveredquilting
Sale Instagram site:  @gcqsale
Facebook:  Gotcha Covered Quilting
Twitter:  @GCQuilting

Post by Carrie Hanson - Week #23: Carrie Hanson is owner of Gotcha Covered Quilting, online fabric shop and custom machine quilting. When she’s not cutting, packing and shipping orders, she can be found honing her skills on the Handiquilter. Visit her on instagram @gotchacoveredquilting or visit her website.