My name is Paula Shareski. I was born Paula Marie Hadwen in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1965. My dad was a high school French and history teacher. My mom was a nurse and later an administrator with Home Care. I was an only child until I was about four when my parents adoped a native Canadian boy. In the years to follow they would adopt five more native Canadian and Metis children. I had great parents who raised us in the church and showed us by example the importance of Biblical morals, education, culture, travel and hard work.

I was one of those kids who loved school. I did well in my classes and dabbled in various extra-curricular activities. I graduated in 1983 class valedictorian. I then went on to a year of Bible School in Saskatoon, SK the following fall, where I met my future husband, Dean, who was attending university. We got married that summer (I was 19; he, 20) and returned to Saskatoon in the fall to attend university. We both became elementary school teachers.

Halfway through my education degree I seriously considered switching into studying design. But it would have meant a move across country so we finally decided against it. I had at that point begun my very first quilt (not having any idea what I was doing!) but I was mostly into knitting - taking evening classes and eventually designing my own patterns. At the end of my third year of education, our first daughter Meredith was born. We had a very busy last year of university adding caring for a new baby to the juggling of working part-time jobs and attending university full-time. I think we must have had a lot more energy back then! We were both fortunate to secure teaching positions in my home town of Moose Jaw after graduation. In the years that followed, we taught mostly Kindergarten or Grade One. My husband is now the resource-based learning teaching consultant in our school division and I am a teacher-librarian/information technology teacher (4 days per week, which leaves me a little time to quilt!)

Meredith, Dean, Martha, Paula, Shea, and Sam

We had three more children: a boy, Sam, then two more girls, Shea and Martha. As you can imagine we are still very busy parenting. Meredith graduated from high school in June 2005 and is attending Humber College in Toronto, ON in the music degree program. She loves to sing and write music. (She was one of the Top 100 Finalists for Canadian Idol 2005 and a member of Saskatchewan Express in 2004.)

The other kids are busy with sports, dance, music and church activities. Sam plays the piano and Shea, the viola. Martha is my little artist. She loves to draw and paint and has taken many art classes at our local museum. I mustn't forget one important family member - Rudy, our Jack Russell Terrier, who is almost two years old. He keeps us smiling! We live in a big, old brick house, built in 1912, that we have been renovating bit by bit for the past seven years.

I took my first quilting class with my mom when my oldest daughter was about two. It wasn't long before quilting began to displace knitting and cross-stitching. My mother, grandmother and great-grandmother had all been quilters, so I guess it was in the blood!

I soon found friends who also enjoyed quilting and joined the local Prairie Hearts Quilters Guild, where I learned more about the craft and got lots of inspiration! Eventually, I found myself altering patterns I was working on and then eventually designing my own patterns.

	My surprise 40th birthday party at one of our local quilt shops (The Quilt Patch), of course, with some of my best friends.

The summer of 2002 I got the crazy idea to start my own pattern design company and "Bobby Socks Quilt Company" was born. I don't have nearly the time I'd like to devote to it, but all in good time. I give it what time I can and have really enjoyed designing patterns over the past few years. It has been a pleasure to receive email from quilters all over the world. Thanks for writing!