Kathleen Hmiel

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland. My family moved to Clearwater, Florida when I was 12. I now live in beautiful Tequesta with my husband Luke of 23 years and my 17 year old daughter Hallie is a senior at JHS. My 22-year-old son, Kasey, is out on his own working and in college.

At the moment, my biggest hobby is sewing. I also enjoy gardening. I joined an Orchid Society and I’m growing orchids. Everything in my yard was planted by me! I also love to read or watch a good movie as my downtime.

I am very involved in the community during the school year with fundraising and volunteering at the local schools.

I have two years of college; I have worked in the medical field for the majority of my life. I was a certified, pharmacy technician with certifications in IV Therapy, Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) and Chemo Therapy. Later, I became a Pharmacy Tech Coordinator.

Growing up, my mother always made sure we had something creative to do like sewing, crochet, cross-stitch, drawing, painting…arts and crafts. As an adult, I have always had the need to feed my creativity, and the one thing I have the most passion for is sewing. My very first job when I was 15, besides babysitting, was working at Cloth World. I was in fabric heaven!

I bought my first BERNINA, used, from Quilters’ Choice, now known as The Inspired Sewist, in 1992 and fell in love with quilting then!I learned how to handpiece and hand-quilt first My first BERNINA, that I still have today, is a 1090S and my second and current machine is an Artista 730.

In 2015, I wanted to get back into quilting after being a stay-at-home mom since 1996. As I became more involved with Quilters’ Choice I realized I had a lot to learn. I couldn’t believe what was going on in that store!!! It was like learning a new language! I was hired to help in the store in November 2015; it gave me the opportunity to immerse! I’ve been there just under 3 years, and I’ve learned a ton about all the new quilting tools and techniques. Now I’m the Go! Girl! Who would have thought?!

I just love my job at The Inspired Sewist! I love working with our wonderfully talented customers most! I also enjoy gardening. I joined an Orchid Society and I’m growing orchids. Everything in my yard was planted by me!