Alexandra Winston grew up in a sewing family. Both her mother and her grandmother were avid sewists and made outfits for her growing up. Since it was the 1980s, these involved quite a bit of neon and puffed sleeves, though not necessarily together. She became acquainted with Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores at an early age and started sewing for herself in middle school. Her love of interior decorating led her to start sewing unique creations for her bedroom, like a black satin, velvet, and corduroy quilt. Ali gave up sewing late in high school after a disheartening sewing disaster involving a Vera Wang dress pattern, boning, and lots of satin and lace. After college she worked as an architect, interior designer, furniture shop manager, and secretary (mostly at the same time!) before discovering that her passion was really in math education and sewing. Drawing on her art education at an engineering university, she loves to work art into her math classes and math into her sewing. The teacher-quilter-author lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, Josh.