Tell us about yourself.

I am a quilter who lives in South Hadley, MA. I spent the first 15 years of my quilting career as a longarmer. Now I spend much of my time teaching, designing fabric, and am the author of a new book Stitched Photo Mosaic Quilting. I always define myself as a quilter, rather than artist or textile designer, because quilting is the foundation for everything else that I do.

When I quilt, I listen to books, podcasts, and watch trashy reality TV.

What inspires you?

I never thought I would be a fabric designer! Scott Fortunoff, the President of Jaftex, invited me to lunch and asked me to design for Studio E. One thing I have learned is that saying yes to doing something new and scary often takes me to interesting places creatively. I knew it would be a big learning curve and a challenge, so I said yes. While I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, I use fabric and I know what kind of fabric people buy since I hang out with quilters all of the time.

I am very inspired by antiques, flea market finds, and items that have already had a life. Whenever I am feeling stuck creatively, I go to an antique store or browse online library photography collections. My house is decorated with a mix of “old stuff” and modern pieces. My brother is an architectural designer. He tells his clients that if they like the furniture and art in their house everything will go together, because their eye has already done the curation. I feel that way about using fabrics - if I like them, I can find a way for them to work together.

Tell us about your fabric.

My second collection “Zooming Chickens” will be released in the Spring 2023. This collection, like my previous collection “Noble Menagerie”, is based on quilts that I made. The original quilts were translated into fabric panels by the Studio E team, and then we came up with coordinating prints to complement the panels.

Zooming Chickens started with my quilt of the same name. I made the quilt after attending the Northeast Poultry Congress and taking loads of photos of show chickens. The coordinating prints in the collection are all chicken themed. I had so much fun coming up with ideas for these prints - eggs, egg cartons, feathers etc. For many of the fabrics, I started with collaged designs using fabric from my stash. The collages were then scanned, and the Studio E team translated them to the digital files that they could use for printing. The whole process is quite collaborative. I send ideas to Studio E, and then get feedback about what they think will work and what should be tweaked design-wise. I enjoy the back and forth. Honestly, the artists at Studio E do all of the hard work in translating my ideas to something that can be printed onto cloth.

(Early sketches and mock-ups for the coordinating prints)

It was important to me that the collection not only have focus panels, but other coordinating prints that stand on their own and can round out a quilter’s stash. There is a wavy black and white stripe and a newspaper print in this collection that I know I will use in many future quilts!

I always want my work to have an element of fun to it. I want it to keep me entertained while I’m working on it, otherwise, why bother? If I am having fun, I assume the audience or the quilters buying the fabric will chuckle too.

What advice do you have for the new maker? 

Cut up the fabric and use it! Don’t save it for “someday”. It is there to be used. I keep a notebook of swatches of my favorite fabrics from over the years. You know what? My favorite fabrics from 10 years ago are not my favorites now. Use what brings you joy right at this moment.

Also, you don’t have to make for a reason. So many quilters only make quilts for other people or special events. It’s such a gift of love to give someone a handmade gift, and you shouldn’t stop doing that. But when you’re creating only becomes an obligation it stops being fun. Spend time making what interests you. This helps keep the joy in the process. (I need to follow my own advice on this one!)