FORT MADISON, Aug 09, 2009 (The Hawk Eye - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Even things as simple as needle and thread have been influenced by technology.

Penny Roberts will show you how.

Roberts, who opened her quilt shop, Penny Quilts, last month at 719 Ave. G in Fort Madison, has the needle and thread she uses plugged in to make quilts. Penny Quilts is within K's Fabrics and More.

"With the computer and quilts, the computer helps place the pattern," she said. "And it does the sewing." Roberts work on quilts is aided by a computer-driven sewing machine. Creative Studio is the name of the software used to turn thread, design and patterns into quilts in a matter of hours. Before the computer revolution hit quilting, it took weeks, and maybe even months to finish a quilt.

"You can get better quality and have more intricate patterns," Roberts said about the program. "Remember, with quilts, it's all about appearance." Roberts is one of 32 software testers in the world for Creative Studio. She is given prototype software to experiment with. As she goes through the routines of creating a quilt with the software, she takes note of the bugs and flaws in the software. Roberts sends her notes about the program to the creators where they are corrected before the software is ready for purchase.

She stands by the program as Roberts has noticed fewer flaws using the program compared to the traditional way of quilting with manpower behind the needled and thread and traditional sewing machine.

Roberts, 45, offers classes to those wanting to know more about Creative Studio and computer-assisted quilting.

The program helps in tricky places when making a quilt. Roberts said the program can make a pattern look appropriate if there is not enough room left on the quilt to finish the pattern. The program also can help with quilts that include a pattern that has curves, which Roberts said can be tough to manage with needle-and-thread.

The computer programs and storefront is another chapter in Roberts interest in quilting. For the past seven years she has been quilting out of her home for other people. She has lived in Fort Madison for a year. Previously, she lived in Missouri and Mississippi. Her interest in quilting began when her child was 4. He's now an adult.

"I wanted to turn it up a notch," she said about trying to find a way to make her interest into more of a business.

After settling in Fort Madison, she really couldn't turn her home into a business. Since her husband is a preacher of a church, she didn't want to turn the parsonage into a business. She had met with the owners of K's Fabrics and More. She met them through a dress that needed done for her daughter.

Roberts said her quilting would complement K's Fabrics and More selling fabrics and doing alterations.

"She has what I don't have," Roberts said.

That combination turned into Roberts renting some space from K's Fabrics and More.

Roberts said quilting is a unique hobby and skill. She said quilting reflects the regions of the country, as she noticed quilts in the South are not quite like they are in the Midwest. Quilt patterns and designs are an artform. She said quilting has multiple purposes.

"It's functional," she said. "You can do this as an art, but still turn around and give it away as a functional gift." To see more of The Hawk Eye or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thehawkeye.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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Quilt maker goes high-tech

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