My name is Melanie Peterson and I am a longarm quilter for hire. I have been quilting since I was a teenager. To be honest, I have always been a hand-quilter and actually inherited my mother’s very nice hand-quilting frame. However, once I started using an APQS Millennium long-arm machine, I fell in love and will never go back. I’ve worked at Quilted Joy for over a year now and have just purchased my own Millie to start my business. I look forward to helping you finish your projects.
Why Wild Petunia? When I was young, I lived in Southern California. There was a Blue Jacaranda tree in our backyard and it bloomed every spring. For those unfamiliar with Jacaranda trees, they bloom before their leaves come back. So once a year they are covered in purple blossoms which then fall the ground, covering the lawn. It was an enchanting childhood, but California has lost its shine for me over the years. I was ready to leave it behind, but I didn’t want to live too far from my parents.
By the summer of 2015, Alzheimer’s Disease had stolen my mother’s mind, and Kidney and Heart Disease was stealing my father’s mobility. So I quit my job teaching elementary school, sold my home, and moved in with my parents to help take care of Mom. Within six months, my father had died, and in another 10 months, I lost my mom. I buried them in California under a Jacaranda Tree at a cemetery not far from the home I grew up in. With nothing keeping me in a very expensive California, I left and have not looked back.
I now live in Kentucky, just east of Louisville, and am loving it. This state is so beautiful, and the people I have met here are wonderful.
One day last spring (2018), I was missing my parents deeply. I had just gotten a new dog and was still keeping her on a leash to walk outside the home as she was unfamiliar with the neighborhood. This was my second year in the house but I had rarely walked outside on the lawn. I looked around myself and saw countless little purple flowers all around me. For a split second, I thought they were jacaranda blossoms.
Jacaranda trees are warm weather trees and cannot survive frosts. They do not grow in these parts. I honestly thought I was witnessing a miracle. For just a moment, I was home with my Mom and Dad. I realized that although I believe God was capable of such a miracle, it was unlikely to be the case. A little research revealed that they were, in fact, Carolina Wild Petunias. Can you blame me for the momentary confusion? When this lonely orphan needed a little encouragement, God sent me flowers. As silly as it was, it was important to me, so the Wild Petunia will forever be my personal miracle and close to my heart.