It all started because I needed kitchen curtains and decided to make them myself. But that’s a whole other story.

I have been quilting since the late 90’s (that’s1990’s) after my friend Amy Fitzpatrick taught me the basics of quilting. And I thank “Simply Quilts” for all of the information and instruction that Alex Anderson and her guests provided. It felt like I was going to quilting school, and I tried not to miss a class. 

There was one technique that I was immediately drawn to, and that was paper piecing. I thought it was so cool because of the intricate and accurate results you get. The only drawback was that it was really difficult to wrap my brain around, kinda like upside down and backwards. If you’ve ever tried it, you know what I mean. But once I got it, the results were quite exciting. Except, there were a couple of huge drawbacks…how to orient the next piece of fabric, and removing the paper. Regardless of the kind of paper I used, it still had to be removed at the end, which took as long or longer than the construction of the quilt! 

So, I started thinking about how to make paper piecing simpler and faster. And I’m proud to say that in 2004, I figured it out. My "Sirota No More Tears Paper Piecing”© method is easier to understand and takes half the time of the old way of paper piecing.

 

My goal was to take the anxiety out of paper piecing and replace it with the joy of the process.  Paper piecing is now fun, easy and quick.  

 

The method has been so successful that I'm now part of the Mancuso Show Management faculty teaching all over the country.  And...I've been a featured guest on "The Quilt Show" with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims (Show 2903).  Talk about coming full-circle.