Toppers for Every Table

Topper for Every Table from designer, Elaine Waldschmitt of The Quilted Closet includes 7 seasonal table runners. Change them to fit any holiday or special occasion.

About the Designer

Elaine grew up watching her grandmother hand-appliquéing quilts during the cold Minnesota winter. All the piles of sorted shapes, colors and fabrics fascinated her even then. When she was 9, Elaine joined a 4-H group and signed up for a sewing class. Her leader allowed her to come over to practice sewing on her old treadle sewing machine every day during the summer and on Saturdays throughout the school year. Within a couple of years, Elaine was sewing her own clothes and had begun tackling tailoring. She received her first sewing machine as high-school graduation gift from her parents.

While pursuing her degree in clinical dietetics, there was little time to spare for sewing. However, Elaine did make her first quilt.

Early in her dietetics career, Elaine lived in Ardmore, Okla., where a new quilt shop was opening. She immediately signed up for classes and almost became a fixture in the store. She was hooked. Soon, she was teaching classes and learning all she could about piecing and quilting techniques and the latest tools.

Throughout the next 15 years, Elaine fell in love, married, was blessed with three active sons and kept advancing her dietetics career. By 1995 she was a full-time neonatal nutritionist at the local children's hospital and a busy wife and mother.

The seeds for The Quilted Closet were planted at Thanksgiving in 1995. Elaine and her sister Laurel were chatting about the possibilities of business ownership as Laurel was already established with one of her own. Elaine wanted a quilted, hooded jacket so she designed her first pattern, The Woodland Hooded Jacket, with hand-carved tree zipper pull.

The Quilted Closet has always been home-based, allowing Elaine to have flexibility with her family. The Sewing Studio, located upstairs, is where Elaine designs her patterns and fabrics. The offices and warehouse are on the lower level of her home, which is, at times, bursting at the seams.

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: House of White Birches (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592172369
• ISBN-13: 978-1592172368
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.2 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces