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Click here for
Karen's interview with Connecting Threads website
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- A native of Michigan, Karen Combs began quilting in 1973 while
still in high school. She has a degree in library science and has worked at many state,
city and school libraries before finding her calling as a professional quilting
instructor, writer and designer.
Her quilts are known for taking a traditional pattern and
giving it her own unique "twist." Karen is intrigued with quilts of illusions
and has been designing quilts with a 3-D look for several years.
Karen is the author of Optical Illusions for Quilters
(AQS), Combing Through
Your Scraps (AQS), Floral Illusions (AQS) ,
3 Quilters Celebrate the 4 Seasons (AQS) & 3-D Fun with Pandora’s Box, co-authored with Sharlene Jorgenson
of Quilting from the Heartland. Her newest book is
Celtic Pieced Illusions (AQS).
She has been a fabric designer for
over a decade, working with several
New York based fabric houses and now working with Troy's Riverwoods
Collections. Karen's current fabrics can be seen at
karencombs.com/newfabric.htm.
Look for them at your local quilt shop!
- Karen's work has appeared in the Silver Dollar
City Wallhanging Challenge, the Hoffman
Challenge and in many magazines such as Quilter's
Newsletter Magazine, Traditional Quilter,
Traditional Quiltworks, Sew Many Quilts, McCall’s
Quilting, and Lady's Circle Patchwork. She was the "Feature
Teacher" in the March 1997 issue of Traditional Quiltworks.
Nominated for Teacher of the year in 1995,
2000 and in 2005, by Professional
Quilter Journal, Karen travels nationwide to teach her techniques and
methods. In 2012, Karen was honored to be asked to judge
the IQA Quilt show.
- She has appeared on several TV quilting shows, among them Quilting
from the Heartland, Series 700, Quilt
Central, Quilt America and
Simply Quilts, Show 411.
Karen now lives in the rolling hills of
middle Tennessee with her husband Rick, and
their two
sweet Shih Tzus; Cocca and Benji. Their grown
children, Angela and Josh visit when they can!
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