2024 Summer Classes
Registration now open!
Welcome
To Life Under Quilts
Started as a blog in 2010, Life Under Quilts is focused on sharing the skills and benefits of quilting with a wide audience.
I’m Jessica Alexandrakis, quilter, and I’ve been making things worth keeping since 1993. A graduate of Hofstra University and Smith College, I’m a linguist, a mom, a Relationship Anarchist, and a total Sagittarius. I come from a family of quilters and women who aren’t afraid to reupholster couches. I’m not quite that daring, but I have developed a passion for quilting that I just can’t keep to myself. Through classes, lectures, and workshops, I aim to share appreciation for this very American tradition, shared by needleworkers around the world and through time.
In addition to a gallery of my own quilts and a little blog, this is where you’ll find information on my Classes and Events and you can browse anything for sale in the Shop. I teach in person and online via Zoom. If you’d like to schedule something, please get in touch.
A selection of my quilts were displayed in early 2023 at the Bellmore Memorial Library in Bellmore, NY. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to share my quilts with the public. You can read more about the show here: Life Under Quilts Exhibition 2023
My Quilting Style
There are so many types of quilts! I encourage my students to search up, explore, and try as many styles and quilt construction methods as they are drawn to. Personally, my quilts fall into a few categories that I have really fallen in love with. In addition to these 4, I find myself repeatedly turning to my stash instead of chasing trends. I will stay focused on a project longer when I use fabrics that have some meaning to me, even if it’s just that I know my mom would have liked it. And important to note, my quilts take time. I get more joy and grounding from seeing a piece mature over time, or watching myself change as a quilt grows. I love not knowing what projects will look like in the end. The process is far more important than the project.
English Paper Piecing
Portable and addictive, if I teach you EPP, #sorrynotsorry.
String Piecing
One of the most humble patchwork methods.
Quilts from clothing
T-shirt quilts, men's dress shirts, vintage hankies. What good is it packed in the closet when it could have a second life as a quilt?
Hand appliqué and hand quilting
The rhythm of the stitches and intuition of the design makes the effort so worth the time.
Classes and Events
Want to meet in person or online? Come to one of my events.
Visit the Shop
Class Passes, Books, Notions, and of course Quilts!
