Today marks the start of a six week blog hop of scrappy mini quilts from Kelly Young's new book, Scrappy Improv Quilting (affiliate link). And I'm very excited to be included in the hop and sharing Kelly's new book!
Through blog-land, with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation, we've known each other for at least five years, and even met at Quilt Market Portland a few years ago when she gave a presentation on scrap quilts.
When Kelly contacted me again about participating in the Scrappy Improv blog hop, my quick response was heck yeah! Seriously, who could resist these designs, created with scraps???
And I was surprised at how very much alike we are, from when we started quilting, blogging, fabric procurement, fabric choices, and where we quilt. Keep reading below to learn more about Kelly Young, author of Scrappy Improv Quilting and Stash Statement.
What started you on your quilting journey? I grew up watching my grandmother make quilts, and always loved helping her choose fabrics and designs, and I made my first quilt all the way back in 1999! But I really found my own quilting voice when I started reading quilt blogs around 2010, and then started my own blog in 2013. As with most things in life, my own style is ever-evolving.
What’s your favorite part of quilting? I get asked this quite a bit, and I always joke and say "the finish!" It does feel great to finish a quilt, but what makes it the best is seeing a design, which was once only a vision in my head, or a sketch come to life before my eyes.
Tell us about your quilting space – location, size, number of machines, etc. My studio is in an extra bedroom in my home. It is actually downstairs and faces right out of the front of the house, which I particularly love. I am happy that I have a dedicated space, but I'm not secluded. It's not a huge room, but it is big enough and has a good sized closet. As for my machines, I am a BERNINA girl through and through. My workhorse is a BERNINA 550 QE, named Regina, which is a regular domestic machine. Some people are surprised to learn that I don't own a longarm and quilt all of my quilts on a regular machine. My backup machine is a vintage BERNINA 830 Record named Bettina. She's a 46 year-old, all metal, mechanical machine, and she still sews beautifully.
What other types of quilts have you made? I've made all kinds of quilts! I don't like to put a label on my style because I don't want to be limited, but I tend to walk the line between modern and traditional. Above all, I love saturated color! I get asked a lot whether I make other types of quilts besides the scrappy improv quilts you see in Scrappy Improv Quilting and Stash Statement, particularly when I am presenting a trunk show full of quilts in this style. I always answer- YES! I do make lots of other quilts with "regular" fabric, and I even design patterns that use "regular" fabric (rather than scrappy improv pieces). This is just what I love to do with my scraps!
Do you keep all of your quilts? How do you use them in your home? I don't keep all of them, but I do keep quite a few. Since I travel to present trunk shows and workshops to guilds, I have kept all of the quilts from my two books, plus several others that are made in this style. And sometimes I make quilts that I love so much and are so personal, I just can't part with them (like my recent Improv Houses quilt). Quilts I've made cover every bed in our home, and they're folded on couches and chairs. I do have one quilt hanging on a wall, but only one. Most of the walls in my house get direct sunlight at least part of the day, so I worry that they would fade over time.
Thank you, Kelly, for a wonderful interview - as quilters, it's nice to know we have so much in common! For this week's quilt show from Scrappy Improv Quilts, visit
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