It was May of 2010 when I got that devastating call, my diagnosis with stage 3 breast cancer. I began treatment immediately and closed my in-home daycare that I had operated for 13 years.

One year later my treatments were wrapping up and it was time to get back to work. Knowing I no longer had the energy to care for 10 kids at once, I set out in search of something that would still allow me the flexibility to be home with my 3 boys. Then one day I went with my mother in law to drop off a quilt at her long arm quilter's house. I had done some research on long arm quilting in advance and had an interest in learning. She invited me down to her quilt studio and I knew this could be a rewarding and enjoyable next step for me.

Shelly's Pins~n~Needles was born in the months following that fateful day and 2,500+ quilts later we are still stitching away!