APQS longarm giveaway winner check-in: Cindy

Cindy K. won a new Millie longarm quilting machine in the spring 2016. We caught up with her to see what’s she’s been up to since the big win.

For Cindy, quilting is a family affair. She learned to quilt when her mother-in-law taught her, and now she shares it with two of her daughters and some of her grandchildren.

As a result, winning a brand new Millie longarm quilting machine from APQS in 2016 was a big deal for the entire family. In fact, since welcoming Millie into her home, Cindy has spent more time quilting for her family and others rather than for herself.

“This has been such a blessing to me, and so many people around me have seen the blessing that it is,” Cindy said. “I’ve been able to use it for others more than I have myself.”

Based in Springfield, Missouri, Cindy works as a legal secretary at a prosecuting attorney’s office. She was at work when she received the call from APQS Customer Service & Education Director Dawn Cavanaugh that she had won a brand new Millie quilting machine complete with a Bliss Track system, Quilt Glide stitch mode feature, Automatic Quilt Advance System, an overhead lighting bar and a Hydraulic table lift valued at $24,495.

“I will never forget the day I received the phone call,” Cindy said. “I was sitting at my desk at work, and I was just totally blown away. I was speechless. I didn’t know what to think, what to say. All I could think was, ‘what a blessing.’”

When she won the Millie, it was as if she came full-circle. Her mother-in-law had used a friend’s machine when Cindy was first learning how to quilt, and Cindy had always imagined having one. It was those memories that came flooding back when she won.

Now, Cindy shares the joy of quilting with her family. She has three daughters and 12 grandchildren ranging in age from one to 16. Two of her daughters often use Millie, and some of her older granddaughters are even starting to use it.

Since winning, Cindy has worked on a variety of quilts including one for her husband’s cousin, one for a family friend with cancer and others for members of her church.

Of the quilts she has been able to work on, she is most proud of the ones she has made for her grandchildren. Her four-year-old grandson always carries the dinosaur quilt she made him, and she’s proud of a Missouri star quilt she made for her granddaughter.

Cindy has been extremely impressed with the Millie machine.

“APQS has been a wonderful company for all of this,” Cindy said. “The way they brought it in, set it up and everything has been such a positive situation. I’m very impressed.”

After retirement, she hopes to use Millie more for herself. Cindy, who has always loved sewing and even made her own wedding dress, has nearly 20 tops that she has started. Her goal is to complete them.

Now she can do that with the help of Millie.