Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup has been in the quilting biz for about 20 years...and for the last ten of those she has been teaching quilting.  Then she got crazy and decided to leave her job and start a "quilt pattern making business"...she has been at it full time since May 2005.  She attended Quilt Market last fall and last week as well--selling her goods.
 (Happy One Year Anniversary Barbara--for being a full-time committed girl at QuiltSoup!)

And Barbara has a thing for applique.  And she works to teach others that applique is fun!

 Here is Barbara to tell us more about QuiltSoup:

Most of your patterns are appliqué...do you like the "A" word or what?

 I LOVE appliqué. I think appliqué has a bad reputation that has come from years of struggling with itsy bitsy pieces that are too challenging for beginners. I like to start students off with big easy shapes and teach them a different technique in each block within a quilt. Once they realize they can succeed, appliqué is fun. Many of my students say that I make appliqué fun, which is about the highest compliment they could pay me! Every quilt I design is intended for students. I would say that about 80% of my quilt designs are for rookies and 20% are for intermediates. We don't do anything that is incredibly challenging. But, just because they are easy, doesn't mean they have to be ugly.

"I also think that what appliqué lacks in speed it more than makes up for in portability."

 You can take it in the car, on the plane, to the soccer game, etc. I don't like to wait no matter where I go. If I am appliquéing, the time evaporates and before I know it and it doesn't seem like I have had to wait for anything all day long! I always joke with my students that whenever my husband and I are driving somewhere, he drives and I stitch and it is better for everyone that way!

I appliqué every evening. It relaxes me and helps to calm my mind. If I don't have a chance to stitch, I get a little out of sorts.

Is there anything else you would like to say?

I love almost everything about quilt making and quilters. Color excites me and to be able to play around with it is terrific fun. I like to piece, love to appliqué and hate to bind!

I find quilters to be caring, giving, kindly people in general. What great company to surround yourself with! I like the fact that there is room for every one and every style in quilting and I also love the challenge of continually learning something new. I can't even imagine my life without quilting, as it is such a huge part of what I am all about.

Barbara also has a unique pattern available. It is called a  “two-fer” pattern..the ultimate in quilt fabric recycling.!

"Two-fer" is for those of you who like to machine piece and appliqué. It is called two-fers because the area behind the stars on the larger quilt are cut away and then appliquéd on top of the squares on the second quilt. You get two quilts from one! Fabulous.



Barbara is the sole owner of her QuiltSoup business, but, has lots of help from her husband and sister, Glenda. Good Luck soup girl.

(Photos and graphics taken at Quilt Market or from the photo stash of Barbara at QuiltSoup...Quilts shown are: Mable's Table, Rooster and Rice, Blue Plate Special, Porch Pots at the booth in Minneapolis with Barbara and her sister Glenda, Summer Cottage and the "Two-Fer" pattern.)