I found a new friend in Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup. She is the maker and designer of "hip and fun" quilt patterns that have great appeal for the young quilter and for the seasoned veteran.
Her patterns are fresh and inviting. Most are appliqué, but even if you hate appliqué work, you will still want to make these quilts. Now, that says something about her patterns.
So if you are tired of the some old thing…How about dishing yourself up a big bowl of QuiltSoup!
Oh yeah and by-the-way she gives you recipes with every pattern and posts new recipes each month on her website!
A few of my favorite patterns are “Strawberry Smoothie”, “Porch Pots” and “Cracker
Snackers”. Porch Pot (shown here) is made mostly of Denyse Schmidt’s Flea Market Fancy fabric line and it shows how to use the different colorways in one fantastic quilt. (Barbara got the fabric just days before Quilt Market, whipped it up in no time and had the quilt ready to be showcased in her booth. The pattern was sizzling “hot off the press”.)Here is Barbara to tell us about her quilting adventures and her company, QuiltSoup... in her own words:
Where do you get your ideas and inspiration?
Anywhere and everywhere! I have three granddaughters who have very different tastes. One is very eclectic; one is very shabby chic and one loves lime green and bright, fun things. I often think of them when I am thinking about a new quilt design.
My poor little grandsons don't get as many quilts as the girls do and I plan to do something about that soon. Sometimes I think about my quilting friends and what would appeal to them. I am often inspired by a terrific piece of fabric or a wonderful color that I haven't worked with much. I like to learn something new with each quilt that I make.
I like very clean lines and uncluttered things to look at. I like to be able to "read" a quilt, a painting or a drawing at a single glance the first time I see it. I am not one that likes to pour over details in the first sighting. I love Art Deco architecture and am also very interested in the work of Frank Gehry. I like to look at things that I have never seen before and never even thought of. I like the look of some films and find inspiration in them.
How did you get the “QuiltSoup” name? When I started the business, I thought some of my friends might like to have their designs under the QuiltSoup label and that allowed room for more than one designer. That idea didn't pan out. Now I say that I am not known far and wide throughout the land for my cooking but I can make a bowl of soup.
My sister says that just as soups can be made from leftover scraps of this and that, so can a quilt. My long-term goals include more than just quilt designs and I think the "soup" idea allows room for expansion.
Our logo says, "QuiltSoup..Handmade quilts and home made soups....a recipe for success." When you are making soup, you just dump a bunch of stuff in the pot and you are free to quilt while it simmers all day! We include a recipe in every one of our patterns. We do a monthly email newsletter and post a new soup recipe on our website every month. It is found on the Soup to Nuts page. (Quilt shown here is "Table Scraps")
Who do you think is your audience? I know that my customers are quilt shop owners. I think my audience are quilters that like a little something different and are younger, hipper women with pre-teen to teen daughters. They could also be quilting veterans who are looking for something fresh.
Stay tuned for more "tasty treats" from QuiltSoup tomorrow.
