We have a challenger for December Desire to Inspire - Meet Victoria Steel

Meet Victoria Steel - December's Challenger

Tune in to this blog at the end of December as our challenger has nearly the whole month to take these fabulous fabrics and create something that has inspired her.

This fabric line, "Clean Living" by Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup is shipping into fabric stores now. Victoria was inspired by this collection because she is a fan of mid-century modern design. When we notified her of being accepted as the challenger, she shared a quilt design that she had already started with these fabrics on her software!

Meet Victoria Steel, originally British, she has lived all over the world. She now resides in Cheyenne, Wyoming where she works full time at Laramie County Community College and in her free time enjoys quilting and quilt design.

Henry Glass Designer Spotlight: Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup

They say there is always more than one route to a destination. Barbara Jones, a designer for Henry Glass, and owner of QuiltSoup Pattern Company is a perfect example of one who has taken one of the more interesting routes to becoming a fabric designer and pattern maker. First, she became a molecular biologist and worked in human genetics at the University of Utah.  That certainly isn’t an ordinary route, but one that seems perfect for Barbara.

So what was the beginning of this journey?   Barbara, of course, had endured her adventures in sewing, like many of us have, at the hands of zealous home economics teachers who insisted our seams be beautiful and the clothing we make in class actually fit. (Who among you ever actually WORE your first home economics project?). She knew she wanted nothing to do with that kind of sewing.

She started quilting very young… 18, as a matter of fact, in preparing for her first baby she ventured into quilting at an invitation from her mother-in-law. After that first glimmer of interest she set the hobby down until her first grandchild came along when she picked up quilting again, and hasn’t stopped for the last 30 years.

Her interest peaked when she saw a beautiful quilt in a store window that caught her eye. Here was a beautiful object that was flat, and didn’t have to ‘fit’ anybody. This was her kind of sewing. She inquired about the quilt, and was encouraged to take a class, as this particular quilt was an ‘advanced’ quilt with a lone star and log cabin blocks. So she started with the class, and a couple of others.

After making a few patterns, it occurred to Barbara that she never made the quilt the same as in the picture or even followed the pattern very closely. Every piece she created was truly something that she created from inspiration from the pattern, not the pattern itself. When she discovered applique, her own techniques blossomed, and soon after Barbara was designing quilt patterns herself.

Designing quilt patterns was really just a hobby, until friends started saying they wanted her patterns, and then the hobby became a full-time job at age 51. She quit her job sequencing the human genome, and focused her efforts on designing creative quilt patterns. Seven months later she went to her first quilt market and began to sell patterns.

It seems a logical question to ask, how does one get from a molecular biology lab working on the human genome project to designing quilts? How do those two pursuits fit in the same brain? “Very easily,” says Barbara. The two tasks are very similar in approach. They both require left brain and right brain thinking. They both require tremendous precision. They both require visualizing the results of an experiment. They both require inventing the manner that will show the result of what you are investigating.  

And so when did designing fabric enter into the picture? At her second quilt market Barbara was approached by four different fabric companies to design fabrics. The first experience designing fabrics wasn’t what she thought it might be, so she gave up.  Then, after some persistence by one of the Henry Glass lead stylists, Barbara joined the design team of Henry Glass. That was 8 years and 25 collections ago.

Barbara begins her design process with a concept, and she starts drawing or painting with every collection she starts. For instance with QuiltCamp it was the elements of the cute ‘glampers’ or retro 1950’s glamorous campers that are everywhere now. She thought the only way she would go camping would be with her quilt friends, and she knew that quilters can also be terrific cooks, so she added the cook-out elements to the line.    

The Clean Living line was inspired by a recent move Barbara made to St. George and a total re-do of her home in the mid-century modern style. She had a few of her mother’s living room pieces from the era when avocado green, harvest gold and orange ruled the country’s palette. She even has a bright orange chair in her new living room to pull it all together! Once she began thinking about that time period there were lots of elements that just aren’t around any longer, like the starburst clocks, records and old TV’s. She has found that this time period resonated with a lot of people depending on how familiar they are with those years.

Barbara professes a LOVE for color, and creating the color palette for a collection in one of her favorite parts of fabric design. “It is part of the precision of the process, to be calculating and still visionary. You know it when you see it.”

And in finishing up our interview with Barbara, she offered up her life’s philosophy, “With some sacrifices and hard work you can do just about anything you want. Change your mind and you can change your life. And, have a grateful mindset. Be grateful every day.“

Henry Glass is grateful too, to have an awesome designer like Barbara Jones on our team. 

Meet the Desire to Inspire Challenger for August - Sharon Parcel

We have a Challenger for August! Meet Sharon Parcel. 

She actually has a camper, so we are excited that she is in the groove for this challenge. Sharon lives in Lees Summit, MO - only a short distance from  Missouri Star Quilting. 

The fabric is on it's way out to you Sharon! We can't wait to see what you do! 

A special thank you to everyone who offered up for the challenge. Please, please don't give up! There are some very talented readers of the Henry Glass blog, and we are always so happy that you are willing to take on the Desire to Inspire Challenge. So please try again next month. 

Desire to Inspire August Challenge - Quilt Camp by Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup

  Visit Quilt Camp by Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup. 

This is where retro moods meets camping fun meets trendy glamour, it's all here in simple checks dots and campers! Inspired by this camp load of fun? 

Sign up for our August Desire to Inspire Challenge. August challenger will be selected on August 1. Here are the simple rules: 

1. YOU sign up below with your email or blog name to this post.

2. WE pick a winner. 

3. YOU send us your address.

4. WE send you the "Quilt Camp" fabrics shown above.

5. YOU make something AWESOME within 3 weeks, with pictures and your story.

6. WE post it. 

7. YOU keep it. 

* We would like to have challengers show us they can do it. So while you don't need a blog, a profile with some quilt pictures helps. Enter by commenting with something you have done before. We will not post your emails, or links or anything on the site, it will remain private. We just want to get a flavor of how inspiration strikes you!  

Quilt Market!

The Henry Glass & Co. crew went to Quilt Market recently and we had a great time seeing our designers, customers and friends from the quilting industry.  Thank you to all who stopped by our booth to see our collections.

Several designers had booths at the show. We are excited to see their latest work. Janet Nesbitt made her debut as the owner and designer of her new company, One S1STER Designs.

Dana Brooks of My Lazy Daisy and Barbara Jones, formerly of QuiltSoup have teamed up to start a new venture called Tickled Pink. Stay tuned for more details on this exciting new concept.

Mary Jane Carey of Holly Hill Quilt Designs had such a pretty booth. The soft colors and the shabby chic decor was very pretty.  She and Leanne have teamed up for another year of their club. We'll show you some of the projects very soon.

Leanne Anderson of The Whole Country Caboodle and her daughter Kaytlyn were at the show with their wonderful patterns and club. They made up samples from the Henry Glass book "A Flair For Fabric" and we are in love with their versions of the projects too.

Heather Mulder Peterson of Anka's Treasures is well known for her beautiful floral-inspired quilts and table runners but lately her adorable boys have been a big part of her designing perspective. We love this monster quilt!

Come back for more Quilt Market inspiration. Remember to enter the Let's Get Quilting giveaway. Have a great weekend.

- HG

Naughty Or Nice Holiday Party - Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 of our party. In case you just started reading, here are the general guidelines for this party. Each day we will feature the answers of the questions that we posed to the designers. You will find out about their holiday habits and each day you will have the opportunity to share your thoughts. You will be eligible to win a fabulous bundle of fabric. All you have to do is answer the question on the blog [and/or on Facebook] for a chance to win the bundle of fabric of the day. No substitutions. You can enter on the blog and/or Facebook for two chances to win per day. You have until midnight December 9th to enter and all winners must claim their prizes until midnight December 13th or the prize is forfeited and we will announce a new winner.

Thank you for visiting our website, blog and Facebook page. It has been a great year for the Henry Glass designers. They've been busy working on a big project with the folks at Martingale & Co. The book will be released next fall and we know that you are going to love it. Stay tuned to our blog and Facebook or sign up for our newsletter to receive news about some exciting announcements in the new year.

For this blog party we asked the designers the following questions:

1. What was your favorite gift? Worst?

2. Early or late shopper? Earliest or latest that you've shopped?

3. Favorite holiday drink? Alcohol or none? Recipe?

4. Are you likely one to return a present or to suck it up and keep it?

5. As a child were you likely to make the naughty or nice list? 

Today we welcome Leanne Anderson and Wilma Sanchez to our party. Let's start with the terrific designer Leanne Anderson of The Whole Country Caboodle.

 [Leanne and her daughter Kaytlyn's in front of their first collection, "In Cahoots"]

[Snowman Tea Time Mug Rug is one of our newest patterns made with fabrics from 

"The King's Arrival" collection from Henry Glass.  Great little holiday project...quick and easy.]

1.  My favorite gift as I look back was probably the worst as well.  I got a pair of burgundy crushed velvet bell bottoms when I was in middle school, with an olive green strip inset down the front of each leg.  I really thought I was the coolest kid in all the school...hmmm, hopefully my style has gotten a bit better!!

2.  I do some of both...I think it's fun to get some things done ahead of time, then wait until the end to really get into the spirit of Christmas.

3.  Mimosa...Orange juice and champagne.

4.  Oh I suck it up and keep it most of the time!

5.  Well, if you talked to my parents, I'm sure they would say the naughty!  I could easily find trouble when I wasn't even looking for it, but I worked hard at making the nice list the month of December.

Note from Leanne:  Christmas is my favorite time of year.  I love to see my grandchildren get excited about what is coming.  We talk about Santa...believe in the magic of what he stands for, but our main focus is to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the promise He brings to those who believe.  

Our next party guest is Wilma Sanchez is the talented designer behind Racoon Illustration and her latest line is "Fairies of the Earth." You can keep up with Wilma on her blog here.

1.  I have two favorites.....my first I got when I was 6. My first bicycle. It was a perfect green (still my favorite color...and coincidently the color of my bicycle today) It had the cutest white basket to carry all my stuffed animals in....I remember riding it around our tiny apartment all Christmas morning! 

Abby my darling Norwich Terrier was my other favorite. She lived a happy 14 years but died this summer...will be in my heart forever. 

My worst gift was a secret santa with a classmate...I got a used game of checkers with missing pieces. I was 8 and very upset and cried.....but my parents made me understand that perhaps that was all that child had to give, possibly his/her favorite toy....a good lesson at an early age. Maybe the beginning of my passion for all that is repurposed, recycled or second hand.......

2.  I'm both early and late shopper.....A lot of my gifts are handmade so I start making early on.....or I plan way ahead of time.....However if anything has to be store bought, I may leave it for last minute......but I will shop very early in the morning or late at night to beat the crowds.......

I have a few gift that I wait until after Christmas to buy to take advantage of the sales. I still have family that lives in Dominican Republic and they celebrate the Arrival of the Three Kings. So gift giving is January 6th. 

3.  My favorite Holiday drink is called "Coquito" which is a coconut flavored eggnog. The combination of rum and coconut milk  always brings me back memories of home, at my parents, for the Holidays. The recipe will be posted on my blog sometime soon. 

4.  I rarely return any gifts. To me, it's the thought that counts. I will exchange clothes for a different size but that's about it.  However, I do regift , if i know that person will really like and use it!

5.  I  always made the  Nice List ....too nice sometimes , my brothers would get away with murder. 

Today we have a big offering of QuiltSoup's "Anything Goes Basics" line. We are offering a variety of special cuts of this fun line that's not normally offered for sale. We are going to choose TWO winners today. The first winner will win the fat quarter bundle and the large squares while the second winner will win the roll and the small squares. All you have to tell us what or if you've made any gifts this year.

Good luck!

-hg

Jillily Studio Red Windows Open House

If you are lucky and you live near Herriman, Utah, you should plan on attending Jill Finley's Open House on September 19, 2013. Another Henry Glass designer, Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup will be there too!

Have a great weekend.

-hg

Desire To Inspire - July Edition

Welcome to the July edition of Desire To Inspire Challenge. We appreciate all of the interest and enthusiasm for this part of our blog. We are continually working through the list of individuals who have expressed an interest in participating. Hang on, we will get to you. It is a long list and we appreciated all of you.

Welcome to the July 2013 edition of the Desire to Inspire Challenge. As with all of the previous months, we are very happy with this month's challenge project. We sent out some fabric from Barbara Jones' [QuiltSoup] new line, Anything Goes Basics. You can see the complete line at the link.

HG:  What's your name?

LP:  My name is Linda Parillo

HG:  Where do you live?

LP:  I live in south river, New Jersey  My family consists of me my husband two grown boys and a 19 year old daughter

HG:  How long have you been quilting for?
LP:  I have been quilting for over 20 years

HG:  What's your favorite quilting technique?
LP:  Is buying fabric a technique because that would be #1 but I do like to machine piece I find it to be relaxing and productive

My mother taught me to sew mostly (clothing) but quilting was taught to me by a woman named Lorraine.

HG:  Do you belong to a guild?
LP:  I do belong to a guild that is rather small compared to some, but they are very important to me as friends and quilters. Donna, Barbara, Marybeth, Elaine, and Rina we all enjoy our hobby and would love to have more time to stitch together!

HG:  Do you have any advice or tips for quilters?

LP:  If you are a quilter you should encourage your friends to join you even if they say they can't sew a straight line.  The lines in our quilts don't always have to be straight.

HG:  Thanks, Linda! The quilt is gorgeous. Thank you for being a challenger in our Desire To Inspire Challenge.

-hg

Henry Glass Summer Fabric Party! Day Four: Barbara Jones

 

This Summer Fabric Party has been fun so far and we have loved sharing our latest lines. We are glad that you've been enjoying it all as well. Remember to enter our giveaway if you haven't already! Check out the details at the bottom of this post.

 

 

Today we are featuring Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup.  Anything Goes Basics line is her new fabric line and it is great as a stand alone group but the prints coordinate with Barbara's other new line, Fashion Plate. You can see all of the prints [there are 30!] on our website and Barbara has designed a beautiful free project for you to download.

We'll highlight a few of the prints from Anything Goes Basics. We are crazy for small prints.

We love chevrons in happy colors too.

Every line needs a good staple like a fun dotty print.

When you put them all together, you get an awesome group of fun prints!

 

Here is the gorgeous bundle that we're giving away. Do you go to dots or stripes, chevrons or small prints as your go-to basic? 

Good luck! Thank you for visiting.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

-hg

Oh So Bright!

Are you ready for spring? We heard that the groundhog predicted an early spring! Barb Jones of QuiltSoup has some fabulous new designs. You can find our more about the patterns and kits on her website here.

Have a great day!

-hg