I am a mother of three, wife of 29 years, retired United States Army veteran of multiple wars. I have flown an airplane, driven a tank (thank you National Guard), thrown grenades and fired all kinds of weapons. I was a paramedic firefighter, forensic research assistant, and have multiple college degrees. I have played all kinds of sports, loved all kinds of foods and was raised in Philadelphia where you can not visit without eating a real Philadelphia Steak Sandwich! I love to laugh and love to create. My favorite quilts are ones that evoke great color and original designs. I teach all kinds of quilting classes of any size and have a special place in my heart for changing things up. I find inspiration from everything and nothing. There is always room to improve and I am lucky enough to have learned something new with everything I do.

I am a fierce mother, wife and friend. I believe in the bonds that tie us. We have walked a long hard road as a family and made it to the other side. I work in my basement "studio" and spend just about every waking moment with my family. I am hardly ever seen out and about without one of my kids or my husband; they are the love of my life.

I have written a book through the Veterans Book Project (www.veteransbookproject.com), called Object of Deployment Juliet Madsen available on lulu.com (I do not get any proceeds from this book, the proceeds go towards creating other writing opportunities).

With the help of TriSoldier (www.trisoldier.com) I have also started competing in triathlons on both a traditional and three wheeled bike which is only a few inches off of the ground to prevent any further injuries (I have a small balance problem as a result of my brain injury which has caused multiple injuries). The races have really been great for my spirit by giving me short term goals to work towards while the daily training is excellent for my long term health goals. 

My quilts have hung in some incredible places like the White House, the Library of Congress, the Pentagon, Governor's offices, Capitol buildings, Airports, galleries, Quilt of Valor Conferences, VFW, DAR, VA, American Legion, Operation TBI (Colorado), CAUSE, Wounded Warrior, FOB Colorado, and IDA, as well as multiple public and private collections. Much of my work is used to raise money for organizations that support veterans and individuals with invisible medical issues like myself. If you are interested in how my quilts can help your organization let me know and we can see what I can do for your program.

Additionally, I do a great deal of public speaking on being female in the military, being a female war veteran, recreating yourself after life changing events, and of course Quilting. I want you to know it has been a really difficult road, but a road worth taking. We are all together on this trip and I am so thankful that I am can impact others in the Veteran Community.

If you need to talk about something please don't hesitate to reaching out to me, to someone. The Colorado Crisis Services number is 844-493-8255, or you can text "talk" to 38255.