Kathy Kuryla and Kay Roberts
Kay Roberts and Kathy Kuryla are a “quilting team”, business partners and longtime friends. Kay and Kathy both have a passion for quilting and that friendship evolved into a business. The Franklin Quilt Company became a reality when, after many years of owning a quilt shop, they felt a lack of quality patterns. They’ve developed a series of patterns for beginner quilters that utilize modern methods to make complex looking patterns but very do-able. They produce patterns that have multiple sizes; use panels, specialty fabrics, precuts, fat quarters, or scraps. After many years of watching beginners struggle with binding, Kay developed the Shortcut Binding Tool to help ease their pain. Putting binding on by machine and helping to put the binding tails together are just two things the tool does.
Teaching is another passion they share, having taught quilting on the national and local levels since 2004. AQS shows including Paducah, Lancaster, De Moines and Grand Rapids, in addition to NQA shows in Peoria and Columbus, and other smaller venues. Judging is another aspect they enjoy. Judging at national and local quilt shows rounds out their expertise.
Kay and Kathy love to travel! Workshops and lectures are their specialty, traveling to all parts of the country and enjoying the sights along the way.
As teachers, they create a fun environment for learning with their tips, tricks, stories, and lots of laughter. Students come away with skills they can use to make their sewing more enjoyable and effective.
Kay Roberts grew up in a household of sewing and quilting and it was always a part of her life. Her early career was in Home Economics and she ran a workroom for several interior designers. But quilting was a desire that just wouldn’t go away! Nowadays, besides keeping up with the quilting world, she plays with her three grandchildren and travels with her husband, Ned.
Kathy Kuryla started her love of quilting after taking a beginner quilt class in 1981. She worked in the medical field and quilted as a hobby until her partnership with Kay developed into their business in 2002. Currently teaching beginner quilt classes and machine quilting classes in the local quilt shop, she enjoys her kids, husband, Jeff and their dog, Barkley.
