The excerpt I used to launch The Drop Quilt Along summarizes a key moment on my quilt pattern designing journey. It read:
It's unconventional. It draws you in. Suspended in midair, you look down.
You're unsure of what waits in the shadows of the sun's rays, but it, whatever it may be, glistens in the light and catches your eye. Piques your curiosity. Beckons you to ask: "What If?"
So you let go and feel the wind racing between your fingertips. Wide-eyed and determined, you ride The Drop beyond the caramel binding, to find what you couldn't from above.
I can recall sitting on the couch with Josh discussing what the original design of The Drop might be lacking. I couldn't name it at the time, but I knew there was room for more, whatever more would be.
"I had to intentionally muck things up, and see what would emerge."
I continued to work on the design over the course of the week, adding and removing design elements until something caught my eye, and more than that, until I achieved a mood, a tone.
It wasn't until I let go of the constraints that so often inform quilt pattern designs that I began to unlock a style. I had to go beyond block-based. I had to intentionally muck things up, and see what would emerge.
I got more than a quilt pattern out of that exploration. I got the taste of something I could call style.
My patterns can be whatever you'd like them to be; they're not literal, and yet there's something familiar about them.
When describing my quilt patterns, I find myself wanting to tell stories. Tales that aren't rooted in real life inspiration or introspective walks at dusk. I'm tempted to recall my creative writer's past, and write a short story, an excerpt, a poem.
To put it bluntly, I want to make something up! The patterns give me the courage to play with my creativity, to explore beyond the caramel binding, to be inspired by the moods they set.
One art has awakened another.
So while my patterns feature bold colours, graphic elements and dynamic layouts, I would also describe them as visual prompts for a multitude of stories, including your own.
The Drop QAL begins June 1, sign up here and receive 20% off the pattern.
