Jessica Schick - Quilting by Design: 155 Free-Motion Designs in 10 Elegant Suites

Publisher: Amy Marson

Creative Director: Gailen Runge

Art Director: Kristy Zacharias

Editors: S. Michele Fry, Gailen Runge, and Lynn Koolish

Technical Editor: Susan Nelsen

Cover Designer: April Mostek

Book Designer: Kristen Yenche

Production Coordinator: Zinnia Heinzmann

Production Editor: Alice Mace Nakanishi

Illustrator: Jessica Schick

Photo Assistant: Mary Peyton Peppo

Photography by Diane Pedersen, unless otherwise noted

Published by C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549

Acknowledgments

Thank you to

My friend Karen Coss for providing the quilt top to show designs from the Olive Leaves suite.

Sandy Carlile at Macys for helping me with makeup for my photo.

Karen McTavish for saying that if its worth doing, its probably not going to be easy. Ive thought of those words many times over the years.

My good friend Patricia Ritter, who kept telling me that I will be glad that I wrote this book once its completed, and allowing me to whine about it while struggling with the parts of the process that are outside my wheelhouse.

C&T Publishing for providing me with the opportunity to write this book.

Dedication

When we started dating, my husband, John, asked me what I wanted to do for a living if I could do anything I wanted. My reply was, Anything, even if I dont think that I could ever make money doing it? He said, Yes, anything. I told him that I wanted to be able to draw for a living. Hes spent more than two decades making sure this could happen, and several years ago thats exactly what happened. For this Id like to thank him. Without his belief that I could actually do this and I could do it very well, Id have never taken the steps to build a design business where I draw not only for myself but for other designers as well. I also want to thank him for years of ripping out stitches when things didnt go as planned. He calls himself my automatic seam ripper.

My family, friends, and customers have also been so supportive. I cant thank them enough.

Front cover: Baroque Angels, 38 38, by Jessica Schick

Uses wholecloth design from . Jessica shaded areas of the quilt by hand with ebony pencil and then treated the quilt for permanency.

Introduction

Let me tell you a little about myself so that you know how the information in this book came about.

Ive always drawn. I cant remember a time when I didnt draw or wasnt into art of some kind. But I always wanted to show people how many ways you can use just a few small elements to make wonderful elaborate designs. I also am the kind of person that has a hard time settling for an inside the box answer.

When I started quilting and wanted design patterns, I didnt want to settle for the size that they were drawn in. I wanted them to fit just right. To get the fit and style that I wanted, initially I used programs that I had for screen printing to resize and print the patterns that Id drawn, or even ones that Id purchased in print. Then I could print them in whatever size I really wanted.

When I found out about computerized quilting machines, I knew I wanted to digitize design patterns for those, too.

As much as I love art, I probably like the math and mechanical design part of things just as much. The idea that a machine can take my drawing and do it over and over again is very appealing to me.

Because Id been drawing designs for screen printing and embroidery, I figured I could draw them for quilting as well. I wanted to create design patterns that anyone could have the way they wanted in a size that they wanted. Again, did you notice how drawing patterns for screen printing and embroidery is along the same lines as computerized quilting? You draw once, manipulate, and have the machine make the same pattern thousands of times if you want. I have no idea why this is so appealing to me, but it is. It feels as though I was born to draw and then make those design patterns into formats that are usable over and over again and across many mediums. The image below shows an example of the sketching I do when I start to think about creating a pattern.

I love ornamental quilting styles. If I have the time, I like to do over-the-top quilting, and youll see some of those designs in this book. But I tried to rein it in to give everyone something theyd find appealing to use.

I started quilting for hire, I think because up until the last couple of years I can honestly say my piecing was not good at all. So I naturally leaned toward quilting wholecloth or appliqu quilts I had made myself. I love pieced quilts, though, and could imagine how I would quilt them. So I quilted other peoples pieced quilts. I understand quilting for yourself versus quilting for pay. I make sure that some of my patterns are suitable for the quilter who is quilting for hire as well as for the individual.

Last, the way I do things might not be the way you would do it, or the way your mom does it, or the way the quilt police told you to do it. The information is just what works or doesnt work for me. There are no quilt police in my world, and Im barring your door from them at least while you read this book. So enjoy, and let all the ideas you have gather steam.

How to Use This Book

Regardless of whether you quilt by hand or use a domestic, midarm, or longarm machine, you can use the information in this book in a number of ways:

You can copy (enlarging or reducing if desired) or trace the designs directly from the book pages.

You can print the PDFs from the linked file, and then copy (enlarging or reducing, if desired) or trace the designs.

You can copy the PDF files from the ).

If you have a computer-guided machine or embroidery machine, you can copy the machine-specific files from the linked file and use your software to create myriad design combinations to fit the size and space you are quilting.

The quilting design patterns are presented in suites, but there is absolutely no reason why you cant combine elements from the different suites to suit your needs.

Plenty of books are available to show you how to get started quilting; with this book, I want to introduce you to ways that you can expand the use of design patternsmodifying them to fit, creating new combinations, and in general, exploring new options when it comes to quilting.

If you want to get more into creating your own designs, look at the . You may be pleasantly surprised at how liberating it is to know that you can make whatever designs you need to fill your quilting design needs.

note

COPYRIGHT NOTE

Quilting designs that you buy or download are often copyrighted! Even if you make changes to the design, if you are a commercial quilter and you plan to use designs on your customers quilts from any patterns or modifications of patterns that you did not create, be sure to read the copyright information and make sure that the designer has granted permission to use the patterns for commercial use. Some may allow limited or unlimited commercial use, and some may not allow any commercial use.