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SHELLEY FOLKEDAHL

Hello,  my name is Shelley Folkedahl and for the past year I have been president of the Quilters’ Guild. I started my sewing career when I was just a kid sewing outfits for my Barbie.  I spent my high school years sewing in my mothers’ drapery shop where, to me, it was just a job.  I never understood her fascination with fabric textures, colors and patterns.  I do now. I have always been interested crafts in any form be it ceramics, paper, glass or fabric. I was introduced to quilting when my sister invited me to go to a quilt show with her.  It was amazing!  I had no idea that there were so many styles and techniques involved in making a quilt.  Needless to say, I fell in love at first sight. My quilting journey started when I joined the Quilters’ Guild in 2016 and it continues to grow with each passing year.

My mother taught me to sew as a ten-year old and my love of sewing began. One of my college majors is textiles and apparel, but that doesn’t necessarily mean skills cross over to quilting and fiber arts. Just call me “wannabe” in the world of quilting!!!  I am forever in awe of the creativity, innovation, and grit of quilters. I will admit to enjoying a more modern and practical approach to the art. As a retired educator, I thought I’d have more time for quilting. Truth be told, I’ve spent my time buying fabric and dreaming up projects. Gotta save time for those grandbabies!!!

I was born and raised to age 12 in Williston and then moved to Minot with my family. I graduated from Minot High then on to Fargo and NDSU where I majored in Home Ec. Education and Textiles & Clothing with emphases in Vocational Ed and Consumer Ed. I worked in retail department stores, a furniture store and paint stores. When Doug finished seminary and we were in our second parish I had the opportunity to work at a bank and a started a new career.Doug and I married mid-college and our 50th anniversary is next month (August). We have three adult children: one in Minneapolis and one in the suburbs; and the other near Tacoma. With blended families we have six grandchildren.I learned to sew in junior high Home Ec. and never looked back! In the mid-eighties I took quilting classes and did a queen-sized quilt with a huge batting – all on my domestic machine. I discovered a longarm resource after that. My sewing friends introduced me to Dakotah Quilts in Webster, SD. We’d get manufacturing “fall offs” (odd shaped pieces leftover from their cutting the stacks of fabric for large graphic designs .) At $.25 a pound we’d get ten to fifteen pounds of fabric and play to our heart’s content. And I’m still working on that stash – solid color poly cottons in a 1980’s collection. The fabric is durable and makes good mission quilts.

My love of fabric started when I wanted clothes for my Barbie doll and then the stylish clothes for myself when I was in High School. I sewed some clothes for my 2 boys when they were young and then in the mid 1980’s I started seeing quilts appear in craft magazines.

The first class I took in adult education was all handwork and templates out of cardboard so I am very thankful for the rotary cutter and strip cutting methods. I never finished the hand pieced blocks of that first quilt attempt. After retiring in 2016, I believed I would be able to finish all my UFO’s but it seems I have only added to mycollection.

I joined the Quilt Guild after I retired and I love seeing what everyone is making. I’m looking forward to many more Show and Tells and QGND quilt shows.