Judy Martin is the daughter of an engineer. She made her first quilt at the age of 19. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of California at Santa Barbara. From 1979-1987 she worked was an editor for Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine and Quiltmaker magazine. In 1980, she published her first book, Log Cabin Quilts. In 1987 she left magazine editing to start her own publishing company, Crosley-Griffith. She lives in Grinnell, Iowa, with her husband and two children.