About me:
I’ll start by telling you that my name is pronounced “Gay-shuh” and I spent my first
31 years in the Netherlands.
I discovered quilting in 1986 when I saw a Log Cabin Quilt in a Dutch magazine.
Having no experience with quilting whatsoever I dove straight in, asking friends
and family for leftover fabrics from their sewing projects.
Making cardboard templates, drawing around it and sewing on the pencil line was a
tedious task, but I was hooked nonetheless.
I took my first quilting class in 1989, and what an eye opener it was. We started
with a sampler, learning more techniques with each added block.
Like most quilters in those days I started off with making a traditional quilt. But
I soon discovered Dutch born artists: M.C. Escher and the like, and off I went in
a whole new direction making quilts that had 3D and impossible designs to it, like
Metropolitan, Imax, Exhibition and Knot in Flow Motion.
In 1995 my husband and I and our four sons immigrated to Manitoba, Canada to start
a dairy farm.
In that same year I co-founded the Morning Glory Quilters in Carman and in 1999 started
to teach quilting through the Golden Prairie Arts Council.
In addition to designing quilts for my own home, I have sold commissioned quilts
and quilt patterns.
In 2008 Esther Vermeer and I started writing the book: 3D Folded Blocks. It was then
published by the American Quilters Association in 2010. Projects from this book can
be found here.
For the last 10 years I have been teaching quilting classes at Carellan Sewing Centre
in Winnipeg. If you are interested in taking one of my classes you can check out
their website.
I also do custom machine quilting on my HQ-16 and domestic sewing machines.
Your welcome to have a look in my studio where I sell hand dyed and painted fabrics.
Although I’m still piecing and quilting, lately II find I'm more interested in free
motion embroidery and thread sketching.
I am also the proud grandmother of ten: two grandsons and eight granddaughters.
Thank you for listening,
Geesje.
Resume:
2017: Canadian Quilter, Autumn 2017: A Quilter’s Journey. An article as pattern designer
with instructions to make a Lace Yarn Scarf.
2015: Frosted Windowpane was juried in the HMQS show from May 7 - 9, 2015 - Salt
Lake City, UT, where it won an honourable mention ribbon.
2014: Frosted Windowpane was entered in the provincial juried art show in Holland
MB in May 2014 and was then chosen to travel for five months to various art exhibits
among them; Holland, Carman, Portage La Prairie, Morden and Winnipeg.
2010: Cubic Conundrum was juried in the Knoxville AQS Quilt Show, Knoxville, TN 2010.
2009: I entered Knot in Flow Motion, a Log Cabin quilt depicting a Celtic like design,
in the 2009 Canadian Quilters’ Association National Juried Show and it won an Honourable
Mention Rosette!
2006: I was honoured with a one-woman quilt show in Carman in November and December
of 2006.
2004: Three of my quilts were entered in a provincial juried art show for the first
time. Bless You My Homeland, Swirling Rapids and Spider’s Web in Morning Dew. Spider’s
Web in Morning Dew won for my category, and was then chosen to travel for four months
to various art exhibits among them; Holland, Carman, Portage La Prairie, Morden and
for a month went on to hang in the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg.
