Crystal Smythe

Crystal Smythe A lifelong love of sewing has led me in many directions since my early childhood, when my mother patiently shared with me her love of the art…

I made my first stuffed animal when I was about 5 years old, and have experimented with just about every sewing technique since; garment construction and tailoring, heirloom sewing, original machine embroidery, quilt piecing and free-motion quilting with my home machine, creating mohair teddy bears and now. . .

I work as a professional machine quilter with three APQS Millennium longarm machines each equipped with an IntelliQuilter computerized quilting system. With the addition of the Intelliquilter I have unlimited creative options and a thriving longarm quilting business.

Creating digital designs for computerized quilting systems was a natural result of getting my first IntelliQuilter. I always fashioned my own designs when I was a hand-guided free-motion quilter, so creating digital designs was a natural progression. I was one of the first designers to join Intelligent Quilting in 2007 and was delighted to have the opportunity to acquire it 5 years later, in late 2012. A few months later my son joined me and it has been exciting to experience the vibrancies of growing Intelligent Quilting together.

Over the years, I have been pleased to receive recognition for my sewing efforts: I had bears nominated for the 1998 and 1999 Golden Teddy Awards, original machine embroidery awards from Husqvarna Viking, numerous awards for machine quilting, and a couple of nominations for Machine Quilting Teacher of the Year. Additionally, I've been published in both Quilter's Newsletter Magazine and Machine Quilting Unlimited.

I am a Certified IntelliQuilter Trainer, and I teach around the country in private studios as well as at national and international conventions, such as the prestigious Machine Quilter's Exposition and AMQF. I continue to design as often as possible, as it is one of the aspects of the industry that I enjoy the most. I also manage the day-to-day operations of the company, not limited to but including email communications, newsletters and customer service.