Meet Kelsey Bellmore, Events Assistant We’d love for you to get to know the MQG Staff! Every few weeks, we’ll highlight one of our eight staff members. We’re quilters too, and we each made a quilt using a pattern from the MQG Resource Library to share with you. Once the quilt is made, we will donate it to a local organization or raise money for a cause through the sale of the quilt. This week, Kelsey Bellmore, Events Assistant, shows us her version of the Modern Love quilt by Jo Avery. How long have you been quilting? I started quilting about 5 years ago. My mom has always been amazing at making garments (Thanks Mom for shortening all of my prom dresses!) but decided to venture into quilting when she retired. I saw what she was doing and decided I wanted to give it a try! She had my grandmother’s antique Singer restored for me as a birthday gift and I’ve never looked back! Do you have any quilting friends? (By quilting friends, we mean pets that like to hang out on your quilts!) I have a Boxer named Lilo and a French Bulldog named Stitch. We lived in Hawaii when we got them so their names were only fitting. Do you have a favorite block or technique? I took one of Violet Craft’s Foundation Paper Piecing workshops at QuiltCon last year and have loved it ever since! What about non-quilty hobbies? I am definitely a warm-weather gal so I try to spend as much time as I can outside in the warmer months in Michigan. My family enjoys camping, boating, and swimming any chance we get! Lots of times you can find me in our backyard with a good book by our pool. Tell us about your life before the MQG. For most of my career, I worked in Information Technology. My husband was in the military when we got married so I decided to take a break from working in IT while we lived in Hawaii. I tried out a few different roles during that time but nothing that was quite the right fit. Then I managed a large salon and spa before I started working for the MQG! I am so thankful for my role at the MQG, it came into my life at just the right time. Did you make any modifications or additions to the quilt pattern? I did not modify the pattern but this pattern did give me a few challenges! Make sure you print the templates on 11×14 paper, I found on 8.5×11 paper the template was too small. This was also my first time sewing curves so I did lengthen the outer concave template just a bit to give myself some wiggle room! Where are you donating your quilt? I will be raising funds for New Hope Pet Rescue with my quilt. They are an amazing rescue here in Michigan that works so hard to rescue as many dogs and cats as possible. They do not have a physical shelter so they rely on the many awesome fosters in the area to house each dog and cat while they wait for their forever families! NHPR takes in as many animals as they can and supports them all with vet care, food, toys, and love!
