Lawana Marie Perez

Professional Longarm Quilter
Quilting Instructor
Designer
Fiber Artist

Lawana Marie Perez

Professional Longarm Quilter

Quilting Instructor

Designer

Fiber Artist

I will put my hands to basically any fiber art. I have done crochet, knitting, spinning, quilting, fabric dyeing, and fabric painting with several different mediums. I also do some actual painting as well. I love to draw, mostly mythical creatures.

My Story…

My mother introduced me to sewing and quilting by hand at the age of 3. I really did not pick it up until my first daughter in 1995 where as soon as I was able, I put it back down and went back to work.

I am a self-taught quilter…I have been quilting since 2001. It started with hand piecing and quilting. I quickly discovered that I did not like that as I am an impatient person and it was taking to long to see any results. So I was at the LA County Fair and bought my first quilting machine, A Phaff quilters expression in 2002. And yes I didn’t know what I was doing or buying or how to use it, but I was sure excited though. I taught myself how to use it and how to quilt with a quilt in a day book which I bought at a Joann’s store and watched Eleanor’s show on TV. I used that machine until I got my longarm, even quilted king size quilts with it. I have been a longarm quilter since I purchased my machine (online, so again no help) in November of 2014. It did not take me very long to discover that I absolutely loved it. I have been a Professional Longarm Quilter since 2015. I am a freehand or free-motion quilter so my machine is not computerized.

When I get the chance to quilt for myself I enjoy piecing on the longarm, a kind of quilt as you go method for longarmers. You can find pictures of some of these under the My Quilts page. This is a class that I teach “Piecing on the longarm”. In teaching this class I discovered that I love teaching quilting. Take a look at my classes offered to see a list of classes I offer.

Besides quilting for customers, I enjoy quilting for charity. I try to keep a cap on these as customers quilts come first and I would rather not have any quilt (besides mine) sitting in the studio for a couple of months.

I am also a volunteer longarm quilter for the Quilts of Valor Foundation. All quilts are donated for the men and women who have served our country. If you haven’t heard of them yet please check out their website by clicking on the hyperlink above to find more information and see pictures of the beautiful quilts that people are making for our veterans.

Designing quilting pathways is my newest passion. I am working on some block designs and secondary design ideas that may be available soon.