A Quilt Pattern Designer’s Journey
My name is Gracey. I’m a quilter, quilt pattern designer, author, artist, pizza-lover, adventurer, outdoor-enthusiast, and go-getter. I love God, my family and living this wonderful, amazing life! Many, if not most of you, probably know me best from Instagram (because Instagram is just fun and amazing and the quilting community is the best!). It’s where I have been able to connect with quilters from all over the world, grow in the community and share my patterns.
How did I start pattern-designing? What inspired me to go from a pattern-follower to a pattern-creator? It all began with my quilting roots. I started quilting in 2009 with the help of my sweet Grandma and the book “Make Your First Quilt with M'Liss Rae Hawley: Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide 9 Fabulous Blocks Tips & Techniques”. The book features a super fun sampler quilt project that launched me into learning various piecing techniques. I LOVED that each sampler block had a name and a history---a message and a story. I became intrigued with this idea that we, as quilters, can tell literal stories in our quilts! We can share about our families, where we live, the things that make us happy or sad, joyous memories and painful tragedies…we can share our hearts with current and future generations in each and every stitch. As I grew in my desire to share my story in my quilts and incorporate memories in my projects, my desire to have blocks that would embody those memories grew.
In 2015 I designed my very first quilt block pattern, posted it on Craftsy.com and shared it on Instagram. Since then, my growth into the pattern design world has been one block at a time, increasing to more and more blocks and block pattern sets. This journey has recently lead me into the world of authoring my first quilt book and designing a quilt for a magazine publication (more to come on those soon!). Needless to say, quilting is one of my greatest passions; the colors, the patterns, the smell of the warm, pressed cotton fabric (am I the only one who loves that smell?), and the sense of home and community that quilting, historically and currently, brings to our hearts. On that note, I believe I’ll now pour myself a fresh cup of coffee, gather a few pieces of chocolate, turn on some solo piano music and head to my sewing machine!
Love and warm quilty hugs,