Thank you Lissa Alexander, Marketing Director of Moda Fabrics, for introducing me to another designer, Scott Hansen. Scott’s pattern Lime Grape Fizz appears in our March/April ‘10 issue (No. 132). The inspiration for Lime Grape Fizz came from an interesting source. Read more from Scott to learn about one of our male quilt designers and how this quilt came to be.

Scott Hansen

Now to tell you a little bit about the inspiration for this quilt Lime Grape Fizz.  It’s design basically came from this old raggedy comforter “quilt” we found by the side of the road near home.

vintage print

It wasn’t great (actually it is pretty ugly), but it was freshly dumped, and it had an intriguing fabric.  I am a sucker for anything old and abandoned, and it needed a home, even if it was just for the car or emergency kit. We took it home, washed it, and it has been the base for a many a picnic or snuggling under while watching fireworks episode. The print on the fabric always reminded me of a quilt, and when I saw the colors in the Eva line by Basic Grey for Moda, I thought this is the fabric to make that quilt that had been stewing in my mind for many a year.  The name for the quilt was discovered at Fall Quilt Market last year by the attendees of Quiltmaker’s Schoolhouse Session, I am told…I could not even think of a name for this quilt, and I LOVE naming my quilts….but this one escaped me, and I think it was because it was meant to have this name!!

I’m introduced to designers in many ways—Quilt Market, other designers and also from our friends at the different fabric manufacturers that we work with. I’d like to thank Lissa Alexander, Marketing Director for Moda Fabrics for introducing me to Julie Herman. Julie is a young designer who also makes projects for the Moda Bake Shop. She’s fun and full of energy and ideas. You can find her pattern for Cornflower Fields in our March/April ‘10 issue. Read about Julie and leave us a comment for a chance to win one of the 3 prizes Moda Fabrics has provided: a Jelly Roll, Honey Bun or Charm Pack from the Nature’s Notebook collection by April Cornell, the same collection used in Cornflower Fields. I’ll randomly draw 3 names next Tuesday, February 2nd around noon.

Julie Herman

If you asked me 10 years ago what my creative “thing” would be in 10 years… quilting would have been the last thing I said!  I’ve always been artistic, but the quilting bug didn’t bite me until 8 years ago.  Prior to quilting, I painted, sculpted with clay, worked with beads, did graphic design and even a bit of needlepoint.  My mother has been sewing since well before I was born and so I naturally had no interest in doing the same thing as her!  Well eventually the quilting bug bit me and I’ve never looked back.  I always thought I was the first quilter in my family.  Recently I learned that I’m not upon the discovery of three quilts made in the 1930’s by my great great grandmother.

My style of quilting is all over the map.  I’ve made traditional to modern… detailed appliqué with hand quilting to simple and fast, no fuss.  Cornflower Fields is the largest quilt I’ve made.  At 96″x 96″ it may seem challenging but large pieces enable it to come together very quickly.  I normally start a design without color in mind but I worked backwards with this piece.  My goal was to come up with a bold design that would have a floating on-point appearance set within a standard grid.  All three borders were attached at one time using the same technique I show on my blog for mitering multiple borders. Mitering borders is much easier than most people think and gives a great finish to many quilts!

Unlike many quilters I love the math involved in quilting.  I find joy in calculating how big pieces should be cut and how much yardage will be needed for a project.  This skill comes in handy when working at a quilt shop, attending a show, or getting a phone call from quilter friends while they are in the middle of a project. Yes this has happened!  My background in design has also helped me tremendously. I attended Drexel University for design and had the pleasure of taking many great classes including one silkscreen class where I made a quilt as one of my projects out of custom fabric.

Blogging has been one of the best additions to my quilting life.  It has enabled me to share my work and meet a ton of new people.  In 2009 I was lucky to be able to design for the Moda Bake Shop, attend my first quilt market, as well as work and shop at 4 other shows.  I’ve got a lot planned for 2010 and I hope you’ll join along on my blog, where I post “WIPs”work-in-progresses, finished pieces, my weekly stash report, as well as all kinds of things!

One of the things I enjoy about my job is the opportunity to meet some of the designers we work with in Quiltmaker. I’ve had the pleasure of spending some time with Margo Krager at Quilt Market and here in our office when she shared one of her  antique fabric sample books with us. You can find her pattern To Market, To Market in our Jan/Feb ‘10 issue.

Margo Krager

Do you love the look of old fabrics? They are my passion! I love buying and selling them, designing reproductions, learning about their history as well as writing and lecturing about the chemistry, technology and skills that made it all possible.

Reproduction fabrics are the focus of my store in Bozeman, MT. We sell to quilters as well as costume designers from television, theater, the movies, re enactors and living history museums. Our website brings us customers from around the world. Recently, I did have to check the map for the exact location of Estonia as I was taping up the box.

Delving into the rich history of textile printing and design is my idea of a really good time! I try to include, in each order, a page of information about the fabrics in the box. That could be an essay on double pinks or violets, a listing of fabric colorations and styles popular during the Civil War or a short history on the advent of those much loved Depression Era prints.  

 My favorite lecture topics are Textiles of the Fur Trade Era and Indigos. Indigo dyed threads have been found in the selvedge of a 2000 B C Egyptian mummy wrap. A synthetic form of Indigo now dyes 1 billion pairs of jeans annually. From the 17^th century to the early 19^th century, North American Furs were a global commodity and exchanged for manufactured goods of all kinds. Merchant ledgers from New France detail an amazing list of products used for trade, including printed and plain cottons, woolens and silks.

Dargate book

Beginning in 1997, I started collecting antique fabric sample books. I now own nine of them; six from the 19^th century and three from the 20^th.  I have been designing reproduction lines from these books since 2002 and just recently signed a contract with Blue Hill Fabrics. We hope to introduce my newest line, Little Pink Stars, at Quilt Market in Minneapolis this May.

To Market, To Market

There is a local Bozeman company that prints Vintage Images on fabric. Their collection of antique post cards and other old art work has been my inspiration for quilt and craft projects recently. Designing the “To Market, To Market” bag was fun! The Royal Anne Cherries and Black Raspberry can labels caught my eye—elegant designs from the 1930s. I thought the dramatic brass and rich indigos were the perfect balance for the delicate coloration of these fruit cans labels.

People often tell me I have a dream job. I own a fabric business with great employees and wonderful customers around the world. I get to write on a regular basis for my blog and travel around the country lecturing and sharing my passion for the history as well as the spectacular art and craft of antique printed cottons.

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.”