Joan Hodgeboom

Joan started sewing at a very young age but didn't start quilting until 1967.  Her college schooling started in Massachusetts where she was born and raised.  An Associated degree in Animal Husbandry was earned in the hopes of raising Musk Oxen for their quiva (long under hairs).  Realizing that wasn't going to happen, she went to Utah State University and received her degree in Food & Nutrition.  Not wanting to start a career in foods, she rode her motorcycle to Warland, Montana  North of Libby & now under Lake Koocanusa, to work on a forest fire look out for the summer.  Then taught 3-5th grades in Warland.  She cooked for the Forest Service the next summer.  Then off to Bozeman Montana to complete her MS degree in Home Ec. Ed. She married her forest service sweetheart, had 2 children and moved to Kalispell in 1980 where she took up quilting.  Started the Quilt Gallery in 1983 with the hope of having a quilt shop supplied with most everything a customer would need, plus a group of great employees eager to teach and help the customers.  Joan's favorite quote is "life is too short, just do it".  This applies to everything Joan does whether riding her 100th Anniversery Harley Davidson Ultra Classic to making a new quilt or trying a new quilting technique.  Her favorite aspect of owning the Quilt Gallery is always being inspired by what is new, the new ideas the employees come up with and how eager the customers are for more knowledge.  Your customers are your thermometer to success and you can see it in the faces and their works.

Brian Dykhuizen

Brian Dykhuizen made his first quilt, a queen size bed quilt, in 1984. This quilt served two purposes, the first being a project for a college fiber arts class. The second, serving as a wedding present to his wife.
That being said, he didn't make another quilt until fifteen years later, after taking a fabric dyeing workshop, held at a quilt shop. Since then Brian has made a couple of baby quilts and numerous bed  quilts. Now  he is focusing on art quilts and finds the change, both refreshing and challenging. Brian continues to hand-dye the fabrics which make up the majority of the fabric used in his art quilts. Even though his first quilt disintegrated a few years after being made, his marriage didn't. Brian lives with his wife and three children in Kalispell. Being a stay at home dad keeps him close to his studio and he quilts when he can find the time.

Connie Anderson

I made my first quilt in  early 1970 for my oldest son out of left over scraps of fabrics gleaned from a coulple of sheets, old clothes and bits and pieces purchased at yard sales and second hand stores.  I used a pattern I found in a bunch of craft books purchased a garage sale.  That quilt is now tucked away in my cedar chest along with a lot of other mementos,  but my interest in quilting is stronger than ever.  I have learned so much since that first self-taught foray into the quilting world and my machine has been replaced several times with newer and better ones as the years progressed. I love the creative aspect of the entire quilting process and have made many quilts, wallhangings, and gifts for friends and family. I have recently included machine embroidery to my list of things I love to do which include  gardening, cooking, reading,  card making, having fun with family and friends and spending time on my computer both at home and at work. I love living in Montana and never tire of the beauty that surrounds me here in my little corner of the world.

Katherine Johnson

Quilting became an addiction and passion for Katherine after she took her first quilting class from Judy Niemeyer in 1995.  She had always said she would never become a quilter because she was addicted to knitting.  The lesson learned here is never say never!  That goes along with the German Shorthair Pointer that was never going to be in the house --- he is now the resident couch potato!
Katherine lives with her husband and two German Shorthair Pointers on their Redboot Ranch west of Kalispell.