Meet Rene' Martinez

Hey, I am Rene', wife, mother of three, and grandmother to one!  I have been quilting for about fourteen years now, though it doesn't seem that long.  When my youngest started preschool, I took a beginning quilting class, made two or three quilts, but then lost interest.  Fast forward a few years to 2009 when I discovered quilting blogs; a whole new world opened to me!  I pulled out my sewing machine again, started a blog, dedicated a small space in my house for quilting, and have been obsessed ever since!

Rail Fence lap quilt - first quilt made in class

The blogging community enabled me to "meet" and connect with other quilters which provided a platform to discuss this obsession of mine that my family and friends (try as they might) just did not understand.  In March, 2010 I was encouraged to start the Orlando branch of the Modern Quilt Guild.  Convincing my one sewing friend (Hope Sherman) and my one blogging friend that I knew to be local but had not met (Michele Lancaster) to join me, I arranged and attended my very first guild meeting ever!  

First ever Orlando MQG meeting - March, 2010

Taking this step was completely out of my comfort zone, but I have to say it changed my life.  I now have many "in real life" quilty friends in addition to my online (though still very real) quilty friends. Our guild has grown from 16 in attendance at our very first meeting to 100 OrlandoMQG members, 260 newsletter subscribers, and over 600 Facebook members.  We have brought in some amazing teachers, participated in QuiltCon, donated back to our community, and shared our love of quilting with each other.  I have learned so much from the awesome teachers our guild brought in as well as from our talented members.  Our guild really does rock!

OrlandoMQG quilt retreat November 2015

As far as quilting styles go, I love them (well almost) all and my wish list of projects is longer than I can ever make in one lifetime.  I enjoy the process more than the finished product which probably accounts for my high number of WIPs. 

Artist Palette quilt made for oldest son in 2010; first time working with all solids

Bubble bee quilt made with the help of my MCM Bee friends; quilted by Frank Palmer; made during my scrappy low-volume stage

 

Another scrappy low volume bee quilt...think I will always love scrappy and low volume

It seems I am drawn to long term projects; some of those include a Dear Jane, a king sized scrappy patchwork cowboy quilt, and an EPP quilt that I plan to hand quilt once the blocks are finished.

Some of my Dear Jane blocks on the design wall

A sampling of my EPP Happy Flower Blocks

If you've read all the way to the end, thank you for putting up with my rambling!  I can talk quilting and the OrlandoMQG all day long.  My blog Rene' Creates is hit and miss at best; you can also find me on Instagram @ReneCreates.

I was told I had to include a picture of my new puppy Loki. I guess I won't be an empty nester after all when my youngest goes to college in August.  He even has is own Instagram account @loki.mylifeinpictures.