Hey quilty friends!

I’m so excited to share something with you today! Or should I say someone? Or several someones? Lol!

As a celebration of releasing the Classic Sew Easy Block of the Month, I thought I’d share some of my favorite pattern designers!  The following quilters are in various stages of their own pattern writing journey, and it’s always an inspiration to see how others are paving the way! So enjoy the spotlights for the pattern designers below!

Spotlight #1:

@wellspringdesigns_co 

Casey Cometti

My name is Casey Cometti of Wellspring Designs. I am a dentist turned stay-at-home-mom to 3 (almost 4) little ones. My quilting journey started 5 years ago, and I was immediately drawn to simple, minimal designs that coordinated with a contemporary aesthetic. At the time, my husband was in residency, and living on student loans did not leave a lot of margin for purchasing quilt patterns. So I began sketching ideas on graph paper and selling baby quilts on Etsy to support the growing love of sewing. That’s how Wellspring Designs was born! 

My patterns tend to be minimal, organic designs featuring an earthy color palette, with the goal of bringing the tradition of quilting into a modern home. I want the patterns to resonate specifically with homemakers and to communicate that motherhood and homemaking don’t have to be seasons of “losing yourself”. Instead, they are an opportunity to expand your personal style into the worlds you are shaping for the people around you. What better way to do that, than to create handmade heirlooms that reflect your unique aesthetic?

Discount Code: Use WELLSPRING20 for 20% off any pattern

Website: Wellspring Designs Quilting

From the very start of my quilting hobby I was always doodling ideas for quilt designs on sticky notes and graph paper but wasn’t sure how to translate them to real quilts for others to make. In 2020 I took a pattern writing course to learn the necessary steps to draw them out graphically and break them down into a series of workable steps. My first pattern, Peace Love Quilt, released in January of 2021 and the rest is history. Over time as I build up a library of pattern designs I see my brand style coming together – a cheerful, mid-century aesthetic with some natural influences.

Spotlight #4:

@alderwoodstudio

Amber

Hi, I’m Amber, and I’m the pattern designer behind Alderwood Studio. I’ve been sewing almost my whole life; or at least since I was very young. I got started when my grandmother gave me a needle, thread, and some of her old clothes. I spent my childhood frankenstein-ing her cast offs and ‘making’ new ensembles for my mother to wear – they did not look good, but she was a great sport! In my teens, I did a lot of costume design and garment sewing, and then I decided to try out quilting. I made my first quilt – a low volume, simple patchwork block quilt – and was hooked. I’ve always created my own quilt designs, but didn’t consider pattern writing until a friend asked if I had thought of writing a pattern for one of the quilts I had made…. and the rest is history!

One of the struggles I always had with quilting was creating quilts that I would actually want to use and display in my home. With my quilts I try to create modern, unique designs that would fit in well to a modern home’s decor. I love mixing curves with straight piecing, and playing with scale to create striking designs. I always gravitate most to greens, neutrals, and the classic black and white combination. Much of my inspiration comes from nature, and I love to mix landscape concepts with modern, graphic blocks to create unique designs. Since launching the Modern Makes Membership I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to regularly design small experimental patterns that push me out of my comfort zone.

I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, preschooler, and baby. I love that I get to bring creativity to others, and when I’m not working you can usually find me playing with my kids or out in the garden.

Website: Alderwood Studio

Spotlight #6:

@toadandsew

Taylor Krz

Hi, my name is Taylor Krz and I am the designer and creative mind behind Toad & Sew. By day, I am a full-time illustrator, and by night I am a full-time quilter!

My grandmother taught me how to sew as a young girl but I didn’t get back into it until 2019. As someone that works on the computer every day for their career, quilting was a way for me to create using my hands. I was naturally drawn to pattern writing because it combined all the things I love about design and quilting.

My goal is to create modern quilt patterns that are not only unique but also a lot of fun to make!

A lot of times I dream up my ideas – I wake up in the morning with a vision and I have to immediately sketch it out! Sometimes it works out and other times it doesn’t. Usually my initial sketches stem a different direction, and that will stem another, and so on until the final design only slightly resembles the original! I get inspiration from the world around me, sometimes it’s simply a building I pass on the street, a painting, or I just play around with different shapes on my computer until something sparks! I use the knowledge gained from my graphic design jobs to use programs like Adobe Illustrator and Figma to help assist me in the sketching process.

Website: Toad & Sew