Member Spotlight

The Member Spotlight this Month is our President Julie Herrera 

How long have you been Quilting? 3 years

 How did you learn to Quilt? I took a class and read blogs and watched youtube videos.  After I took the class I really didn’t quilt for a year afterwards.  For some reason, a switch just flipped for me and then  all I could think about was my next one.

What is your favorite part/step of the process? I have two favorite parts. My first one is when the last seam is sewn on the top. I love to press and and see what it looks like all put together.  It’s just such a sense of accomplishment for me.  The second part is the binding.  I really enjoy hand sewing my bindings on my quilts. 

Your biggest obstacle? The colors! I recently joined a Skillbuilder Block of the Month for 2013 and when choosing color palettes, we were asked to pick colors in different hues – aack! I just chose black and white and gray instead.  For some reason selecting colors that go together is hard for me.  Sure I get the color families, but the accent color or pop color is difficult. 

How many Quilts have you finished? 13 

How do you decide on a pattern? That’s easy. I only make what I like.  When I see something on a blog, flickr or pinterest, I mark it and that is what I go to when I need an idea.  Another component that drives my quilts is the complexity.  If a block looks like it takes a long time to make, then I go on to the next one.  I don’t want to  get so tired of making blocks that I don’t want to finish the quilt so I like quick and easy and with great visual impact.   

Tell us about your stash? Oh my, well I have a large one.  I separate it by color and have a few dozen Kona pieces too.  I love to have solids on hand and I usually buy them by the bolt.  Most of my stash is just two colors (but reads one).  I have lots of metro living circles, oval elements, dots, pearl bracelets and all in bright saturated colors.  I have very few pastels in my stash.

How would you define your style? I am a modern quilter who likes both modern and contemporary design. I am not drawn to traditional patterns or blocks or fabrics but I appreciate that we wouldn't have modern quilting now if it wasn't for traditional quilting before us.

What are your go to colors? Pink, purple, aqua and tomato red, although not always together (because frankly, those are ugly together-right?) Kona ash is my go to neutral but I love Kona coal too. I have only made one quilt that doesn't have at least one of those first four colors in it.

Do you have other crafty hobbies? I used to a be a scrapbooker for about 10 years so I have all of that “stuff’ but other than that, quilting is it for me.

Anything else you would like to share? Call me, email me – let’s go have tea or better yet dessert!  I don’t get to socialize as much at meetings as I would like and want to get to know everyone better!