In this new showcase I’m featuring four Modern Quilters that you will love!
Jo Westfoot
Hi, I’m Jo Westfoot from The Crafty Nomad. I’m a quilter, pattern designer, and teacher who has a passion for helping others enjoy their patchwork and quilting hobby even more! I love to help people learn new skills or improve their current ones!
I’m British and live in a quintessential English village in the south of England. My family spent 10 years living in different countries, and it was whilst living overseas that my interest in craft and sewing was rekindled, hence the name The Crafty Nomad. A couple of friends introduced me to quilting, and, whilst I was initially reluctant to make a quilt due to the time involved, I eventually gave in! That was around 12 years ago and since then I have made A LOT of quilts!
Even in the early years I rarely followed a pattern, preferring to design my own. My designs have evolved over time but tend to be modern and bold. I love working with the rainbow palette but recently have noticed myself moving away from that with some designs, particularly my block of the month program designs: Glitter Ball; and Kaleidobloom. Colour and architecture are big influences on my designs, and I love to incorporate traditional blocks with other modern ideas or positioning.
I love free motion quilting on my projects and often mix this straight-line quilting to give balance to a project. I feel that free motion quilting is a great way to relax, calm my mind and let my creativity flow. I love to encourage others to find the joy in free motion quilting too.
During the pandemic I took all my teaching online and my Free Motion Quilting course was the first one to each that way. I was amazed by the fact that teaching it that way was more successful than the in-person classes I used to run. I’m sure it’s mainly because people feel calmer in their own spaces, less judged and more able to find their own flow. I now teach my block of the month programs online as well as other specific courses and also many different patchwork & quilting techniques as part of my quilter’s membership club: Quilt Hive.
Abigail Vargas
Hi, my name is Abigail Vargas and I come from a family of makers and tinkerers! Growing up in Northern California during the 1970s my mom embraced the handmade movement by making most of our clothes and designing clothes for herself and my dad. She made crazy quilt style denim jackets from used jeans, quilts from scraps, and country western shirts with a touch of quilting. My dad loves to tinker with mechanical things and has been modifying cars since high school. My uncle sandblasts and now laser cuts beautiful designs into wood and metal for gates, arbors, and garden elements. All inspired me to be a maker.
I’ve been making things with thread, fabric and yarn since high school. Back in 2001 I started selling one-of-a-kind children’s clothing made from vintage tablecloths and loved the design process of my business. After the economic downturn in 2010, I took a five year break from sewing and went back to the business world full time. Once my children were older, I thought I would try to use my left over scraps of vintage white on white linens into a quilt idea using hexagons and triangles. While the quilt turned out beautiful, I quickly remembered why I never went down the quilting path…I did not have the patience for the accuracy needed in piecing blocks. When I researched quilt designs on Pinterest, I came across improv style quilts and began experimenting with a design concept not constrained by accuracy.
Six years later I am still quilting and I use improv, FPP and yes…I have worked on my accuracy and gained patience with the process. My style is looking at nature, architecture, other artist mediums and asking myself how can I translate these elements into modern quilt designs. I love the problem solving aspect of making something unexpected and changing my mind mid-way through a project to take it in another direction. Half of my projects involve bold solid colored fabrics and the other half turn vintage material elements into contemporary compositions.
Sarah Gagnon
I’m Sarah from @pelicanquilts. I make quilts from naturally dyed linen, typically machine pieced and always hand quilted. I started making quilts three years ago with the goal of making a quilt for each room in my house, “A Quilt for Every Room.” I used to find color overwhelming. I was curious about natural dyes but the work involved was daunting. At the beginning of the pandemic I finally tried it. Something clicked and now I design with wild amounts of color, this time, in a way that made sense to me. I am so happy with the way these textiles are transforming each room in our house, adding color and texture and comfort.
I learned to hand quilt from an online workshop by Maura Ambrose @folkfibers. It’s a great time to learn the craft of quilting. So many people in the quilting community online are generous to me, answering all my many questions. I love sharing what I have learned with people who follow my work.
I study quilts from the Gees Bend, Amish quilts, and other American quilt traditions. I particularly like strip quilts of any kind. Log cabin, house top quilts, brick layer, roman stripes. While I rarely hand piece quilts, I do look forward to making some more figurative quilts in the future with hand appliqué. One of my favorite artists, Carson Ellis, made an amazing appliquéd and pieced quilt that inspires me.
I love to work a quilt “idea” over several quilts. My first quilts used Half Square Triangles (HST.) I watched videos on YouTube and learned all the tricks. I made a couple flying geese quilts, a star quilt, and a pinwheel quilt – all using the HST. I am currently obsessed with the Log Cabin block and all its variations. I made a courthouse steps variation and am currently working on a single block log cabin, a 24 block half-cabin, and about 3 others.
Being an artist and homemaker is a big part of my life. I value the home as a place to provide comfort for my family, build community, and offer hospitality. I love sharing my work on instagram and hope to grow in my ability to write about quilts. I don’t currently sell my quilts, but am always here to inspire and teach anyone who wants to learn to make their own.