One of the things I enjoy about Quilt Market is the opportunity to meet new designers. This past Quilt Market was no exception. I met several young designers who are just now making their mark in the quilt world. One of them was Rachel Griffith, and I asked her to be a guest blogger for us. We’ll be working more with Rachel in upcoming issues of Quiltmaker.

And, we’ll have another giveaway! Just leave a comment telling us how long you’ve been quilting and what your skill level is. You can also add the types of quilts you like to make. I’ll randomly draw one name next Tuesday, 11/24 around noon to win a fat quarter bundle from Riley Blake Designs.

Rachel Griffith

Once upon a time…there was a 16 year old girl who loved home economics class. She learned all things domestic that a young girl should including how to make pillow turn baby blankets…she was instantly addicted. She made pillow turn blankets for years and knew that she needed something more…her one true domestic love.

“I think I’ll learn to quilt!!!” she said to herself in the middle of the fabric section of Wal-Mart. And that’s where her story started.

So here I am…that young girl, all grown up and I’m still in love with all things domestic. {except laundry of course…ewww.}
I guess yall could classify me as a multi-talented domestic diva. *kidding*
I’m pretty much your average stay at home momma, except I get to play with fabric in between changing diapers and picking up toys. And yes, I SO love my job. I began to make baby quilts, table runners & lap quilts for our house. Then I started making items for people when they needed them or when I needed a few extra bucks. Lately it seems as if the quilty part of my job has been branching out and I’ve added a few more things to my job requirement list.

I have been designing for the Moda Bake Shop, which in itself, is such a great gig. {It’s no big surprise that I am addicted to Moda Fabrics.} I think that it’s pretty safe to say that designing patterns & doing tutorials for the moda bake shop opened the flood gates for the designer within me.

I had the pleasure of attending International Quilt Market this past October and boy let me tell you…it was amazing. I met some of the most amazing quilty stars in the business and was inspired beyond belief. It definitely made me want to come home and design, design, design.

Basically, the quilty beast can’t be tamed, and my story will continue to write itself as I continue to branch out in the quilting world. I hope that yall will follow along with me as I share my quilty {& sometimes not so quilty} adventures over at my blog, p.s. i quilt.

Several Quilt Markets ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Jacqueline de Jonge, the amazing designer of the Be Colourful patterns. Her foundation-pieced designs are full of rich, vibrant colors. I caught up with her in Houston at Quilt Market and asked her to be a guest blogger for us. She also gave me some of her patterns and a set of note cards to give away on this blog. Leave a comment telling us your favorite color combinations to work with in a quilt, and I’ll randomly draw 5 names on Tuesday, November 10th around noon. Each winner will receive one of Jacqueline’s patterns or the set of note cards.

Quilts are beautiful!

Everyone who is making a quilt finds his or her piece really unique and special! Perhaps it has something to do with the purpose for which the quilt is made or the event where the quilt is received or given as a present. Nevertheless, each quilt is a piece of art where the maker spends a lot of love, enthusiasm and fun in making it!

With that consideration in mind I started to publish my own pattern line under the name Be Colourful. My  patterns are now sold worldwide. It is my goal to inspire quilters all over the world with my colorful patterns. No, it is better to say that it has become my passion and my main importance. It has come from the talent I have received from God. I feel myself rich and blessed by Him that I can do this.

How do I start with a design, where do I get my inspiration from, how do I put all the different fabrics together…every day I receive these kind of questions. Inspiration for a design happens in a single moment during the day. Whether it is in a meeting at work, or a sign on a truck, an advertisement in the newspaper or a magazine, a wheel on a car, a flower…it can be anything. You can see that the shapes I use are traditional and therefore very accessible. But my use of color is maybe not so very common, it is different.

Some of Jacqueline's quilts in her booth at Quilt Market.

I love to experiment with fabrics and colors and to come up with unique combinations. A design is never steady with me. I can always adjust my drawing as a quarter of the design is always beside me in my studio. Sometimes I have great expectations for a new design along with the colors and fabrics that I planned to use in the design. But once I start to assemble the quilt, it is sometimes not exactly what I expected it to be. Yes this also happens! Because I work on one design at a time, I am able to adjust the pattern at any time. Once the quilt is finished and the pattern descriptions are written, I can leave it and start on another design. 

It often happens that ideas pop up in my head when I am quilting. Then I go to my fabric stash to gather different fabrics and colors. This also inspires me to come up with a new design. And those designs ultimately lead to a new pattern which you can find in your own quilt store in Dutch, English and German.

More quilts in Jacqueline's booth.

I have started teaching classes in the US and I really enjoy that! We are now working on a schedule for April 2010, starting in Texas, then to Colorado, Nevada and Ontario. As soon as we have the dates set, we will mention them on our website.

May I invite you to enter my website so that I can inspire you. I really hope that you will enjoy the Be Colourful designs! 

Jacqueline de Jonge
Becolourful!

You may not be familiar with her name, but you’ve seen Peg’s work on the pages of Quiltmaker for many years. She is one of our home sewers and also designs patterns, most recently the crazy quilt stocking ornaments in Holiday Handiwork in our Nov/Dec ‘09 issue.

Hi, my name is Peg Spradlin.  I’m a home sewer for Quiltmaker and Quilters Newsletter magazines and have been for the past 20 years.  They’re great magazines and I’ve enjoyed every project sent my way—big or small, challenging or easy.

I’m a great believer in learning from other quilters and have sharpened my quilting skills by taking classes from some of the best in the industry—Hari Walner, Diane Gaudynski, and Sue Nickels to name a few.  I also teach classes nationally on all aspects of quilting, including machine quilting, foundation piecing and applique.  A complete list of my classes is available on my website at handicraftsbypeg.com.

Also available, for a limited time on my website, are decorative hooks made from

fine flatware that may be purchased and used to display the miniature crazy quilt

Christmas stocking ornaments (a design of mine) that are patterned in the Nov/Dec ‘09 issue of Quiltmaker.

I’ve also designed a quilt block, Spring Blossom, which is being included in the

new Quiltmaker publication “100 Blocks from Today’s Top Designers”  (on sale 11/17).

Look for my shadow applique calendar holder which will be featured in the Jan/

Feb 2010 issue of Quiltmaker.

The first day of Quilt Market and we are meeting with fabric companies. Before our meeting with Lissa Alexander of Moda Fabrics, we stopped by the booth of one of their designers, Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister Designs. They know how to have fun.

The weather is cloudy and rainy in Houston, but warm and sunny in their booth.

We’ll show you more from the floor at Quilt Market later.

I met Sue Marsh years ago and fell in love with her whimsical designs. She has branched out in another direction, adding fast and fun patterns made from precut fabrics. She created a wonderful trio of wool wall quilts, North Pole Pals, for our Nov/Dec ‘09 issue. 

“Hi! I’m Sue Marsh of Whistlepig Creek Productions. Fall is my favorite season. I love the colors of the leaves changing and the intense blue of the sky. The weather is perfect here in Colorado. Not that I get to enjoy it, as Fall is also my busiest time of year. Vacations are over, kids are back in school and quilters are gearing up for Christmas. There is nothing more perfect or welcome than a handmade gift. They are among my favorite things. Quilts given to my nieces and nephews at birth are now in tatters and still being carried around.
 
I love working with the precut fabrics that are readily available. Charm packs, Jelly Rolls, Twice the Charm and fat quarters are among my favorites. I’ve taken to making smaller projects such as tote bags and table runners. Pre-cut packages are perfect for these. A good chunk of the work has been done for you, the fabrics are cut for you and coordinate perfectly. There is little or no waste and they are very reasonably priced. And… if you don’t happen to get the project done, sewers are very happy to receive the little bundles as gifts!
 
As I mentioned, Fall is my busiest season. I go to two wholesale markets a year, and one of them is this week, Quilt Market in Houston. I have nothing completed, but lots of things almost done. I will be finishing these up right after I get out the hair color and take care of these grays that pop up in profusion as the stress level raises. Chances are real good that I will be sewing buttons on the plane.

You can find some of my designs on the pages of Quiltmaker, North Pole Pals in the Nov/Dec ‘09 issue and Grandpa’s Farm in Quiltmaker’s Quilting & Embroidery, Summer ‘09. Look for more of my designs in these magazines in 2010.”