My mother and my grandmother, Nanny, taught me to love sewing and fabrics. I made almost all of the clothes I wore in junior high and high school.

After I got married, I started sewing décor pieces for my home and I created many beautiful accents. Soon I was making baby quilts, and then I advanced to teaching quilting classes at our monthly church events for women for 13 years. Then I started getting more involved in painting.

I began painting in one form or another about 18 years ago, but it wasn't until the last 6 years that my painting evolved into anything similar to the One Stroke" technique that it is today.

My first surface was painting on tin ware from India, China and Turkey at a rate of approximately 500 to 1,000 pieces per week. Soon realizing the impossible task of filling all of these orders myself, I enlisted the help of faithful friends.

Quickly, I realized I not only needed to teach them how to paint, but I needed to make it profitable for them to paint as well. I must have redesigned my cabbage rose at least once a week until it was “easy to teach and paint” without sacrificing detail and appearance of the finished product.

Now, you need to remember; I taught myself to paint without the aide of manuals, guidelines or instructions, so it was a great challenge for me to put into words what now came to me so naturally. But, I had great friends who stuck with me and endured to the end of each project. I remember many late nights, and those awful deadlines. We painted thousands of pieces, and many a tear of friendship was born through those long nights.

And it is through painting that I was brought back to my love of fabric and designing fabrics for quilts and décor items for the home. I am very excited to be involved back in the sewing world.

Well, those memories hold a special place in my heart, and I recognize what an important part they have played in my success today. Whenever I lose sight of where I am and what's really important, and maybe get a little arrogant, I think back on those times and quickly I am humbled and grateful. If I share only one thing that will make a difference in your lives it would be this; “Don't ever forget who you are, where you came from, and what is really important.”

Cindy Casciato:

Cindy Casciato is a veteran quilter for more than 25 years, Cindy understands both the emotional appeal of quilts and the creative side of designing and making them.

She was first exposed to quilting as a little girl when her maternal grandmother presented a quilt to each of her 16 grandchildren. The pattern on Cindy's quilt was a Dutch Girl with a parasol, and she holds many fond memories of that special childhood gift and its creator, Madge May Plunk of Bruce, Mississippi. "I actually own the treadle sewing machine that my grandmother purchased in 1914 for $21.00," Cindy says. "She was a prolific quilter, making well over 250 quilts in her lifetime.

All her patterns were hand drawn on brown paper bags, and she only used the scraps left over from making clothes for her four children. I am very happy to be able to carry on this fine tradition, and I hope to pass on the love of sewing and quilting to my own two daughters, Tara and Virginia."

Today at her home in Ravenna, Ohio, Cindy pursues her love of quilting in a dramatically different fashion from that of her grandmother. Cindy's large studio features a 14-foot counter for cutting and sorting fabric, with storage bins underneath that are filled with brand new fabric divided into the 12 colors of the color wheel. A 12-foot design wall is covered in batting, and there are three sewing machines, two sewing stations where she alternates her sewing activities, and a wall unit for her computer, books, and file storage.

Cindy has been quilting regularly since the late 1970's, after her children were born. "I took a class and made a Log Cabin Quilt," she recalls. "I really enjoyed the whole process, from selecting fabrics to machine piecing and quilting."

An outgoing person who enjoys interaction with other quilters, Cindy founded the Calico Hearts Quilting Guild of Ravenna and served as chairperson of the North East Ohio Quilt Council. She also became a member of the National Quilting Association, the American Quilter's Society, and the American Sewing Guild.

Her first Quilt publication entitled “ Block Explosion” was released by Leisure Arts in fall 2004. She is the founder of the very successful Quilt Escape, a quilters retreat held every year since 1994, and has been able to reach thousands of other quilters and keep the circle growing.

The Vision:

Donna and Cindy first combined their team approach to developing the largest and most successful One-Stroke class program in the history of the big box retailer. In the fall, of 2003 22,000 students signed up across the country to take the One-Stroke Class Series. Over 150 certified One-Stroke Instructors taught those classes and personally benefited as well as developing a following of students.

Donna and Cindy decided to bring the same excitement and focus to the Quilting Industry and thus the One Stitch Program was developed to introduce quilting to beginners. It was important to both Donna and Cindy to create a new method of quilting/piecing and appliqué and still preserve the integrity of traditional quilting