About




My passion for making quilts is an extension of my love of sewing. From an early age I began with doll clothes and then making my own garments and often working on projects for neighbors. My early involvement in 4-H provided my first teaching experience to younger members.


While taking a road trip with my family across the country, a stop at a popular handicraft shop along the way inspired me to take my first quilting class - I knew she had found a lifelong interest. Shortly after the class ended, I learned of a new quilt shop opening near my home. Little did I know that walking through the doors of that quilt shop and meeting the owner, Diana McClun, would open so many doors in my quiltmaking career. 

My friendship with Diana, who's also the founder of the popular Empty
Spools Seminars at Asilomar, allowed me to take many classes and share my passion with other students. I soon became one of the shop’s leading teachers of quilting for beginners.
Diana and Laura

In 1986 while I was enjoying new motherhood with her first daughter, Diana approached me about co-authoring a how-to book for beginning quilters to use in the shop's classes. The book was then published by Michael Kile of The Quilt Digest Press and shortly thereafter, the first edition of Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! was born. 

The immediate success of this book encouraged us to keep writing together, which led to 7 best-selling books and a highly reputable text for beginning and intermediate quiltmaking. We continued working together for many years on TV and with study groups and seminars. We've given thousands of students across the country a start in the basics of quiltmaking. 

I am also the co-author of the best-selling quilt pattern company, From Me to You, featuring over 60 original designs presented in a booklet format with easy-to-follow instructions and color diagrams. 

Diana has since retired, but I continue to design and teach locally in shops, for quilt guilds, as well as at Empty Spools. I currently offer three classes with Craftsy, an online educational site that offers classes in everything from quilting to painting to baking.