Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Member Spotlight: Joy-Lily

We are pleased to announce that Joy-Lily will be speaking at the guild's February Meeting on February 4, 2012, 1-5 at Redwood City Library. The address is: 1044 Middlefield Rd., Redwood City, Ca 94063. We meet upstairs Community Room (the elevators are on the far left of the entrance). To get you ready for the meeting, here in a Member Spotlight with Joy-Lily!!!

1. Name:

2. In what city do you live?
  • San Francisco
3. How long have you been making quilts? 
  • Since 1985
4.  How and where did you learn to quilt?
  • SF City College class with Caroline Libermann and through the SF Quilt Guild's various classes and by reading books.
5. Who inspired you to get started?
  • A woman for whom I sewed piecework squares into potholders. The patterns intrigued me.
6. Please describe your first quilt:
  • It was a log cabin in turquoise, violet and red.
7. Where do you find inspiration?

  • I like to manipulate traditional quilt patterns to create new ones.
8. Do you have a quilting "style"?  If so, what is it? 

  • Carefree and mismatched.
9. Do you belong to other guilds besides BAMQG? If so, which ones and why?
  • San Francisco Quilters Guild is my local guild. It has many resources like a lending library lectures with well known quilters and workshops. I have lots of friends there.
10. What do you generally do with the quilts you make?  Give away? Keep? Sell? Show?  
  • Mostly show them. I rotate the large ones on my bed to enjoy them. I give away baby quilts.
11. What is your favorite block pattern? 
  • This week I'm messing around with King's Crown, so it's my current favorite.
12. In what room of the house do you sew? Tell us about your sewing/quilting/crafting space. 
  • My humongous bedroom is a quilt studio with a corner for sleeping and clothes. The rest is taken up by shelves of fabrics and books. There is a large sewing/cutting table in the middle. Sometimes even the bed doubles for laying out blocks.
13. Do you create in any other areas of craft? Is quilting your main creative outlet?  
  • I also dye, paint and print on fabric, sometimes all on the same piece. These fabrics are often for my quilts. My latest passion is for felting I make felt pictures and objects. Felt pieces are starting to wander into quilts too. 
 
14.What is your favorite quilt book? Are there any quilt books you recommend?  
  • Naturally I recommend my book: Carefree Quilts – A Freestyle Twist on Classic Designs.  It takes you through the basics of quilting in a stress-free way. Joen Wolfram's  books are a great resource  for learning about color.
Editor's comment: Joy-Lily has recently authored Carefree Quilts and it is available through a variety of bookstores and Amazon. 
15. Are there any must have quilting tools? 
  • I couldn't work without rotary cutting tools.
16. What are your favorite shops either online or in the neighborhood?  
  • The SF Sewing & Quilting Collaborative. I love working and teaching at the Quilting Collaborative because it is total immersion in everything quilting. Linda, who runs the foundation is a " yes and" person, up for most every new idea. Volunteers drop in and work together in a very collegial way. You've got to see this place to understand why I call it "quilt heaven".The SF Sewing and Quilting Collaborative, called the Quilting Collaborative for short, is at 2189 Bayshore Blvd. in the very southeastern part of SF - right near the Brisbane line. Their website is www.sfsqc.org. It is a non-profit organization whose mission is to make "warm hugs" for the community and to educate quilters. It is open Tuesday - Saturday about 11- 6 PM. One part is a longarm studio (topstitching available by donation and occasional classes that allow you to then use the machines.) Behind that is a classroom with a bunch of electronic Brother machines and every quilt tool one needs. The walls are lined with bolts of fabric used for the donation quilts. I teach a 6 session class there where students can do their own projects, in exchange for volunteering for 3 hours a session (+ my fee of $48). Next door is a fabric shop where the most expensive quilt yardage is $7!
17. Is there an area of quilting you feel you would like to learn more about and why?
  •  Free motion quilting on a home machine is a challenge for me.
18. Is there an area of quilting at which you feel you excel? Tell us about it. Do you prefer the process of designing, piecing, or quilting?  
  • I love to design piecework and to stitch freehand with a long arm machine.
19.You have to evacuate your home quickly due to a natural disaster.  What 3 things would you grab from your sewing room/space?  
  • My laptop, as many quilts as I could carry.
20. Do you have a favorite sewing tip or trick? 
  • Check ¼ inch below the edge to match seams. If they don't line up, flip the seam allowances in the opposite directions.  Twisted seams on the inside are invisible.
23.What else do you want your fellow members to know that we have not asked? 
  • I am a quilting instructor with 23 years experience.
Check out more of Joy-Lily's work at her website : www.joy-lily.com

Take a look at our other Member Spotlights.

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