Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Reflections of a Quilt Pattern Designer

Often times, I come in here and have so much I want to talk about but can't.  It can be very daunting, keeping things under wraps!  I'm so thankful for all of the work that has come my way.  Recently, I've taken on extra freelance work and am taking a class for a course I'm taking through The Art Institute of Pittsburgh's online division.  It is a program that will take me into late next summer, 2011 that I'm counting on to expand what I already do.

One thing I can mention is that I'll have a quilt in the upcoming November/December 2010 issue of McCall's Quilting.  It is a quilt I called: Highland's March.  I had the pattern for sale on my site, but decided to pull it with the upcoming issue to hit newsstands within the next month.  I'm so glad to be able to offer free patterns through the magazines that keep me busy!  The quilt has a subtle 3-D effect to it with one of the borders and when I was finished making it, a few years ago, it reminded me of a quilt that would have traveled across the states heading west in a covered wagon.  The fabrics used are from Quilting Treasures and are reproduction.  I hope you'll like it!

So, what do I do on a daily basis?  It changes daily, so I'll touch on today's work, which consists of some editing, prepping binding for two new upcoming quilt patterns (look for them in October!), responding to e-mails, working on future designs, and checking in with my online class.  I also have patterns to prep and mail for shops, a distributor, and a new customer.  What I'm working on today may not be seen for up to 8 months.  And although it is still very exciting to reveal projects coming out, I typically have my head in projects that are starting a new 8 month process.  It is a crazy business, yet so satisfying.

What I enjoy most about what I do is the variety.  I like that I'm able to work with the latest in fabric colors and designs, I'm able to keep my basic math skills up when writing patterns, and I'm able to see my designs come to life from a basic sketch.