Aurifil 2017 May Designer of the Month – Mathew Boudreaux

I’m Designer, Author, Talk Show host Pat Sloan.

This year we are celebrating the rainbow of colors in our color wheel. Each designer is assigned a color to create their block in.

Spinning around the color wheel we land on RED this month. Not only my personal favorite color but it’s also Mathew  Boudreaux favorite, that made this a perfect month for him!

 

If you are not on instgram yet, you’ll want to sign up just to be inspired and entertained by Mathew’s work!

One day I got an email asking if I’d seen the ‘woven projects’ by Mister Domestic yet? And If not, hurry up and look.

From there on out I was checking to see what fun new things Mathew was sewing up!

Mathew is also sewing along with all the designers each month and his blocks are fantastic! I LOVE the January Kittie block.. a kitting sitting in the center of doggies.. too fun!

CLICK TO see his Blocks

Each designer is sending me a photo of fabric with their thread color so I can build a fun collage of the color wheel with them.

Missed a month?

CLICK FOR PRIOR DESIGNER interviews

Remember we have a Challenge portion of our Designer of the Month interview.

Each month we select one random winner to receive a 12 spool BOX of Aurifil thread for just making the challenge block and sharing it at my website! (details at the end plus last month’s winner!)

Let’s get to know Mathew!

Aurifil 2017 April Designer of the Month – Sue Marsh

I’m Designer, Author, Talk Show host Pat Sloan.

This year we are celebrating the rainbow of colors in our color wheel. Each designer is assigned a color to create their block in.

Sue Marsh’s company name says it all, Whistlepig Creek, she designs fun and whimsical patchwork & applique.

Her signature color is Purple, so she wraps up the array with Red/Purple!

And the Challenge part continues as each month we select one random winner to receive a 12 spool BOX of Aurifil thread for just making the challenge block and sharing it at my website! (details at the end plus last month’s winner!)

Let’s get to know Sue!

Aurifil 2017 March Designer of the Month – Melissa Corry

I’m Designer, Author, Talk Show host Pat Sloan.

This year we are celebrating the rainbow of colors in our color wheel. Each designer is assigned a color to create their block in.

You might have thought we’d select colors by month, the but color wheel isn’t that co-operative! And we HAD to give Melissa Corry Purple… you’ll see why when you meet her!

When I first had a chance to see Melissa in person she was as bubbly and warm and MEGA talented as her writing at her website. And this girls can SEW .. like the WIND! She creates amazing things and if you are new to Melissa’s work.. get yourself signed up for her article notices ASAP…. whew.. now we can go on!

You can listen to Melissa and I talk about her being part of the Splendid Sampler and other projects she was working  on at my Talk Show  

And the Challenge part continues as each month we select one random winner to receive a 12 spool BOX of Aurifil thread for just making the challenge block and sharing it at my website! (details at the end plus last month’s winner!)

Let’s get to know Melissa!

Aurifil 2017 February Designer of the Month – Maureen Cracknell

Welcome to Year number 7 of our Monthly Designer Challenge & Interview!

I’m Designer, Author, Talk Show host Pat Sloan.

This year we are celebrating the rainbow of colors in our color wheel. Each designer is assigned a certain color to create their block in.

February is a perfect month for the talented Maureen Cracknell’s to visit with us. Her gorgeous Art Gallery fabrics and her expert eye for color always has her matching just the right Aurifil threads. Her color is Blue-Purple, you are going to love meeting her and sewing her block!

You can listen to Maureen and I talk about her freemotion stitching  on my Talk Show  

And the Challenge part continues as each month we select one random winner to receive a 12 spool BOX of Aurifil thread for just making the challenge block and sharing it at my website! (details at the end plus last month’s winner!)

Let’s get to know Maureen!

Aurifil 2017 January Designer of the Month – Janet Clare

Welcome to Year number 7 of our Monthly Designer Challenge & Interview!

I’m Designer, Author, Talk Show host Pat Sloan. We are starting the new year right with our wonderfully talented friend Janet Clare. She is a Moda fabric designer and I personally hoard all her fabric lines!

This year we are celebrating the rainbow of colors in our color wheel. Each designer is assigned a certain color to create their block in.

You can listen to Janet chat with me  on my Talk Show  about her design work.

And the Challenge part continues as each month we select one random winner to receive a 12 spool BOX of Aurifil thread for just making the challenge block and sharing it at my website! (details at the end plus last month’s winner!)

Let’s get to know Janet!

Aurifil 2016 December Designer of the Month Amanda Herring

I’m Designer, Author, Radio show host Pat Sloan.. Our December Designer bringing us the 12th gorgeous blocks is the super talented and witty Amanda Herring of The Quilted Fish.. get it.. Herring… Fish? See.. I told you she is witty!

Amanda Inspires me personally, when we meet it was like we’d known each other forever. She champions the amazing industry we work in and is a constant source of creativity. She puts out 1,000% for every project.

You can listen to Amanda chat with me  on my Talk Show Nov 23, 2015 about her inspiration for her  fabric lines.

Let’s get to know Amanda!!

Where do you live Amanda?

I live in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah and I love where I live!  I especially love the mountains and find great peace when I spend time there.  I have lived here my whole life, but have traveled the world.  I am always happy to call this home!  I live about 25 minutes from 5 or 6 canyons, so I be in nature any time I need to recharge.

For a complete change of scenery, I only need to drive 2-3 hours and I can be in the gorgeous red rock part of my state.   One of my favorite destinations is Moab.  I always feel inspired after a visit here.

What was your first quilt sighting? Did that start you quilting? 

{My wedding quilt from my grandma!}

My first quilt sighting was at my grandma’s house.  She was an avid hand quilter and I remember her working on quilts in a giant hoop.  She made a quilt for each grandchild when they got married.  My wedding quilt was one of the last she made before she passed away and it will be a treasure forever!

Seeing my grandma quilt didn’t inspire me to start, but what did was a dose of massive depression.  I started quilting as a way of finding some relief and it was wonderful!  I made 11 quilts in my first three months of quilting.  I gave away almost all of my first quilts, which also gave me great joy.  My first quilt was made from a pattern called Just Can’t Cut it by All Washed Up and I gave it as a gift to that same grandma.

What is your background prior to designing fabric?

{Selected fabrics from collections I have designed for Riley Blake Designs…all in my fave blue, turquoise!}

Before I started my life in the quilting industry I tried lots of things.  I went to school in both interior design and fashion design.  I worked in retail for 10 years and then was an interior designer for a short period before becoming a mother.  Besides designing fabric and patterns, I also design custom rugs.  Between design and family, my life is very full!

We all have ‘one thing’ that is kind of hits us.. what is yours?

My recent “light bulb” moment was when I used silk pins for the first time!  I couldn’t believe how much more enjoyable my pinning experience was.  I have always just used the cheapest pins I could find, and I won’t be doing that anymore!  I also have started using my seam ripper as an awl, and I am loving that, too!

 Where do you work? would you change anything?

I am so fortunate to have two fabulous places to sew.

One is my cottage, which is a little house that was built in 1938 and is the center of operations for all of my creative exploits.

We purchased it about 4 years ago and completely renovated it.  It is full of joyful feelings and happy little bits and pieces that make me smile.  It is big enough that my staff can join me here, and small enough that it is intimate and cozy.

At the cottage I sew on my turquoise featherweight (which I LOVE)! This was custom painted for me by Jeff McAllister (@OldOval) and it is a dream!

I also sew at home, but right now it is in my unfinished basement, and it isn’t pretty at all.  So I try to save my sewing for the cottage.

Do you have a super storage tip?

I don’t consider myself to be very organized, but I do have one thing that keeps me pretty neat while I am sewing.  It is a tiered stand I purchased from the kitchen/dining section at Pier One a couple of years ago.  I love it for my pins, cutting tools, seam rippers, extra blades….anything I like to have close.  I love that I can pick it up and move it to wherever I am.  Plus, it’s big enough that I can sometimes toss things in.

The hard question.. favorite color of Aurifil thread!

My favorite Aurifil colors are white (2024) and then these beautiful turquoise colors (1148, 4093).  Truly, turquoise is my favorite color!  Close behind is pink, though, so I thought I would throw them in for fun.

What about blue inspired your block?

I love blue.  I find myself gravitating towards it in design and decor.  For me, nothing is complete without some touch of blue.  My home is filled with blue, my cottage is filled with blue (you may have noticed the table, the cupboards, the walls…all turquoise) and every line I have ever designed has blue as a main part of one of the color ways.  Blue makes me feel calm and happy and I try to surround myself with it.

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DOWNLOAD Amanda’s Flower block

TIP – The seam allowance is included in the PP, so once units are ready to put together, cut ON the line and sew with a 1/4″ seam

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A few more things about me:

• Right or left handed? I am right handed, and can’t do anything with my left!  I am the proud mom of a lefty, though!
• Favorite  TV show? Favorite childhood TV show was “Today’s Special”.  I recently found it on DVD and ordered the entire collection!
• Dog, cat? I am a dog person, although I love ALL animals.  This is my dog, Nuit, when she was a puppy.  She is a great dane, and my nearly constant companion.

• Favorite snacks? My fave snacks are nuts, especially if they are covered in chocolate!
• All time favorite color? The color I have always loved is blue…no pink! No BLUE!

Follow me:

instagram @amandaherringdesignsamanda-herring-paper-pieced-flower-block

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/QuiltedFish/

Website Thequiltedfish.com

You now have 12 gorgeous blocks in your library. ALL will make excellent repeat block.. our design team did an outstanding job this year!

I pulled all their blocks & my version to see them together.

COME SEE ALL the Designer Blocks on my Design wall!

I will create a setting for the 12 blocks sometime in January. You can always use a prior setting we did .. the previous 5 years of Designer blocks are HERE, where we have 2 settings for 12″ blocks

Are you on Facebook? I have a fantastic quilt group with the most incredible show and tell going on! You should see it! JOIN me HERE … I’d love to meet you!

******* JOIN our Aurifil Family  *******

EACH MONTH we will pick one random winner that has made a block.. that person will receive a special Aurifil thread prize! Winners are all contacted email

Our RANDOM picker this month selected Ev!  She has WON a BOX of Aurifil thread! Such gorgeous blocks entered .. see all the great versions HERE

REMEMBER – The Photo entry is moved to my website where more people can enter, right HERE

• Sign up for the Aurifil Newsletter… scroll to the NEWSLETTER box
• Become a member of the AURlfil fan page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aurifil.quilt.thread
• For more Aurifil project photos visit our FLICKR PAGE  HERE
• See more quilts using Aurifil thread at our Flickr page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aurifil 2016 November Designer of the Month Kim Niedzwiecki

I’m Designer, Author, Radio show host Pat Sloan.. Our November Designer is the incredible designer and a good friend of mine,  Kim Niedzwiecki. She write at Go Go Kim

Once you meet Kim, you’ve made a friend for life, you just know it will be that way! I first meet her at a trade show and she came swirling around the corner (as she NEVER goes slow) all bubbly and fun in the most amazing outfit she had sewn. We hit it off and.. well.. i think we chat now every day, you are going to LOVE Kim as much as I do.

Listen to Kim chat with me  on my Talk Show Aug 12, 2013 and learn how she got the name ‘Go Go’!

Let’s get to know Kim!

Meet the 2017 Aurifil Design Team!

Hi I’m Pat Sloan, the host of Aurifil’s Designer of the Month program!  This is going to be an excellent year for sewing along with our AMAZING Designer team! We’ll meet one a month and they have a challenge block for you. Sew the block and You might win a BOX of thread, and NOT the small one.. wink!

Our project this year is a Block of the Month done in the colorwheel. Each designer is assigned a primary color on the wheel and will create a block using that color + white.  I’m really looking forward to working with this super talented group!

Let me introduce you to them!

Group Photo Back – Alex, Heather Givens, Vanessa Goertzen,  Me, Janet Clare

Front –  Helen Stubbings, Amanda Murphy, Sarah Maxwell,  and Elena

1. Jan – Blue – Janet Clare www.janetclare.co.uk/home.htm

2. Feb – Blue-Purple – Maureen Cracknell maureencracknellhandmade.blogspot.com/

3. Mar – Purple – Melissa Corry www.happyquiltingmelissa.com/

4. Apr – Red-Purple – Sue Marsh – www.wpcreek.com/

5. May – Red – Mathew Boudreaux misterdomestic.net/

6. June – Red-Orange – Sarah Maxwell www.designsbysarahj.com/ and www.homesteadhearth.com/

7. July – Orange – Shruti Dandekar shrutidandekar.com/

8. August – Yellow-Orange – Brenda Ratliff www.pinkcastlefabrics.com/ and www.justabitfrayed.com/

9. Sept – Yellow – Vanessa Goertzen lellaboutique.blogspot.com/

10. Oct – Yellow-Green – Helen Stubbings www.hugsnkisses.net and www.facebook.com/helenshugsnkisses

11. Nov – Green – Heather Givans – Crimson Tate www.crimsontate.com/  www.instagram.com/crimsontate  

12. Dec – Blue-Green Amanda Murphy – blog.amandamurphydesign.com/

Top –   Maureen Cracknell, Melissa Corry, Mathew Boudreaux

Bottom – Sue Marsh, Shruti Dandekar, and Brenda Ratliff with Alex & Elena

Hosted by – Pat Sloan blog.patsloan.com for  CBDO Alex Veronelli and CEO of Aurifil USA Elena Gregotti.

Here I am, with Halloween Pony Tails in front of my version of the 2015 Block of the Month. If you followed along you may notice it doesn’t look like 12 mini quilts! I made each mini, or a portion of it, then assembled into one quilt. The fabric is all my mines from Moda!  The quilting is by award winning quilter Shelly Pagliai of Prairemoon Quilts

My quilt is going to do some traveling with Aurifil before it returns home to me.

Each Interview comes out about the 15th of the month. Interested in the FREE Patterns from Prior years, see our PATTERN PAGE.

• Sign up for the Aurifil Newsletter
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• and hang out with me at my Facebook Classroom, see you there!

Aurifil 2016 October Designer of the Month Kathy Brown

I’m Designer, Author, Radio show host Pat Sloan.. Our September Designer is the wonderful and amazing Author, fabric designer and teacher Kathy Brown. Her company name is The Teachers Pet, and I imagine you have used her designs, rulers or fabric already!

The last time she was on my talk show was Feb 1, 2016  CLICK to Listen or subscribe by Itunes

Let’s get to know Kathy!

Aurifil 2016 September Designer of the Month Katarina Roccella

I’m Designer, Author, Radio show host Pat Sloan.. Our September Designer is the super talented Katarina Roccella, fabric designer for Art Gallery, see all her collections.

We have had an instant connection from the first time I walked in her booth. It is the highlight of my day anytime I can stop and have a chat with her!

This May we talked for my show..Listen to my June 6, 2016  talk show CLICK to Listen or subscribe by Itunes

Let’s get to know  Katarina!