In 1972, I saw an antique quilt at a rummage sale, purchased it for 5.00 and on the way home fell in love. From that moment on, I wanted to learn to make quilts and sought out quilt makers, usually elderly ladies, who could teach me the art. Ever since, I've been collecting quilts, making quilts, writing books about them, designing needlework tools and sharing my love of quilting by teaching and lecturing.

For seven years (1976-1983), I owned a quilt shop called Culpepper's Quilts, in East Lansing, Michigan. Teaching travels have taken me to 45 of the 50 states, plus Canada, England, France, Spain, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Germany, New Zealand and Australia. Obviously, I love traveling!

I have written seven books: Quilting Designs from the Amish, Quilting Designs from Antique Quilts, Multi-Block Quilts, 65 Drunkard's Path Variations, co-authored Signature Quilts with Susan McKelvey, Mastering Quilt Marking, and the most recent, Pepper Cory Quilting Pattern Collection, which came out January 2007.

In addition to designing stencils for marking quilts, I also design painting stencils for home decorating, which are manufactured by StenSource International and Quilting Creations International. For twelve years, I've been designing cotton prints, first for Michael Miller Fabrics, then Telegraph Road Studio, Avlyn and now Studioe Fabrics.

What do I do when I'm not quilting? I garden, read history and poetry, and walk on the beach collecting shells. Since 1996, my husband Rod and I have lived in coastal North Carolina. We love the beauty of our home and share it with a cat named Bamboo.