About Barb Bolesta
I have been sewing for almost 40 years, beginning with Barbie clothes for my dolls when I was a child. My mother didn't sew, but my grandmother did and was an inspiration to me. She and her three sisters would gather around the huge quilting frame and spend entire days quilting together. I was in grade school at the time and couldn't imagine a more boring way to spend your time. I changed my mind the first day of sewing in Home-Ec in high school.
After 30 years of sewing every type of clothing from underwear to a winter coat, I needed a new direction. I discovered that quilting allowed me to play with more and different colors and patterns than one would wear, and that quilts didn't have zippers, collars, or set-in sleeves. I also discovered in 1990 that machine quilting did not always mean figure-8 loops over the entire quilt with bright white thread. A wallhanging heirloom machine quilted with matching thread, done in two hours instead of two months by hand, was quite a revelation.
In the spring of 1995, my first book, The Appliqué Pattern Book, Vol. I, and the Triangle Measurement Chart were published, along with my first two patterns. Two more patterns came out in 1996. Volume II of The Appliqué Pattern Book was published in the spring of 1997, along with a fifth pattern.
John, my husband of 30 years, and I moved from Florissant, north of St. Louis County, to O'Fallon, MO, 30 miles west of St. Louis, in 2000. His new dental office opened in April of 2001. Our only child, Laura, graduates from Truman State University, Kirksville, MO, in May of 2001 and will enter graduate school at Ohio State in Columbus for a master's degree in photography. We are so proud of her. She has received full scholarships from both of the schools and a teaching assistantship from Ohio State. Two dogs and a cat allow us to reside in the house with them.
My company name of Menagerie Publishing was suggested by Laura in 1994. At that time, I also had seven box turtles and three or four rabbits, plus the dogs and cat. I also did fostering for a rescue group for a while and would bring a different dog or puppy home on Sunday and keep it for a week. Several animals ago, my husband said that one more breathing non-human comes into the house, and he's gone. Well. he's still here and so are the animals, but I am down to just three pets. That's pretty good, for me. (The rabbits died one by one, and I turned the turtles loose in a wildlife reserve when we moved.)
I have given my trunk show for all the guilds in the St. Louis and surrounding areas, and guilds in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Texas. Locally, I've taught at many of the quilt shops and guilds in the St. Louis and Illinois area.
I am currently teaching classes at Karel Owens' Kalico Patch Quilt Shop, 412 Boone's Lick Rd., St. Charles, MO, phone 636-946-9520. My class schedule and supply lists will be posted soon.
Features & Recognition
Ca 1996 Chester Quilt Show, Chester, Illinois. Received a 2nd place ribbon in Bed Quilts, and a 1st place ribbon in Wall Quilts (or vice versa).
1997 AQS Quilt Show, Paducah, KY. A raffle quilt made by the Flower Valley Quilt Guild, Florissant, MO, was accepted into the AQS show in Paducah, April, 1997. It was a king size, offset log cabin quilt with a center floral medallion that I designed and hand appliquéd using some of my own hand-dyed and hand-painted fabrics.
Ca 1998 Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazine. The quilt on the cover was designed by an Australian quilter from the patterns in my books. The books and I were given credit in the first paragraph of the article, and the book review section did a very favorable piece on the books.
2001 The Applique Society newsletter. Featured designer in May issue. The article that I submitted includes four blocks, a designing lesson, and how to use the books for that purpose.
(I'm not listing all the ribbons I've won in my guild's quilt shows Frankly, I don't remember all of them, nor do I want to go through boxes of pictures for the info. I've never gotten Best of Show, but I have quite a few 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place ribbons in various categories over the past 12 years.)