New! Summer Spotlight Series. Meet Nancy Myers
Hello, my friend, and welcome to this week's blog post. I'm really excited to announce a summer Spotlight Series which will feature students from my Pattern Design Academy® program. I'll be sprinkling in these stories over the summer to help inspire and motivate you to continue to make progress in your own creative journey.
Today let’s meet quilter Nancy Meyers. Nancy lives in a small town of only 2,000 residents, to the north of Grand Rapids and to the east of Muskegon, Michigan. Welcome Nancy!
Nancy’s Story:
In the first grade I often finished my work faster than the other first graders and so to keep me occupied the teacher would suggest I color on my math pages, even offering me a reward. I loved creating shade and dimension and color, so that was the start of it, I guess.
Also, my dad worked at a lumber yard, and he would bring home scrap lumber. Being the eldest, I learned from my dad how to use tools and make things out of wood, learning drafting and design. Probably by the age of ten I was sewing with my mother, and I would figure things out myself.
In college I took an Intro to Art class, and another in industrial education for elementary teachers. I had found my passion! I worked for two and a half years every summer to achieve my minor. When I was a teacher, I tried to bring in everything I could to help kids learn by doing art and building activities. Deep at heart I'm still a teacher, but I just love learning too. And I guess that’s where I met Anne.
Anne, you advertised your free class in surface design with the Craft Industry Alliance, and I thought about my silk screen printing in college, and that maybe I could find out how laptops and computers can do this. I signed up for that class, and then your Academy® program.
I started quilting on my own in 1976, when there weren't a lot of fabrics, and they were pretty ugly. I made a quilt that I didn't even realize at the time was called Trip around the World. When I moved to Newaygo I found a group of ladies, a quilting guild, and I learned so much from them. I began publishing patterns and making t-shirt quilts for people. I kept trying to get someone to come speak to us about Pattern Design. And when I found your class, Anne, I knew that was what I needed! I wanted to try geometrics, and I learned I could do that with your Academy® course.
Nancy’s Process:
When designing pattern instructions, I often make four or five revisions. I do the initial writing, then I go back and try to follow what I wrote. If there is any hesitation, I analyze what it was that wasn’t explained properly. Having taught a lot of students in my elementary classes, kindergarten through third grade, helped me see that everyone’s brain works differently. That’s why I'm glad I have a stash of fabric here because I don't care what fabric I use. I just want to see if the pattern works.
In the beginning it's about learning and following the process. Even if the final product is not your favorite, it’s okay because that wasn’t the point. The point was to follow the directions and see if you can make it work. After that the sky's the limit and you can go back and design different things or add more color and try something much more complicated.
Nancy’s Favorites:
I learned of a company called Carriage House Printery, which is a husband-and-wife production team in Ohio. Their Facebook page mentions people who sew children’s clothing to sell in their Etsy shops, so I sent for a sample of fabric swatches which I highly recommend doing so you can feel them before ordering with your own designs.
Many of you are already familiar with Spoonflower which I think has been around a long time. Here too I recommend you buy the swatch pack.
[Head over to my YouTube channel to watch the video of my interview with Nancy to see many beautiful examples of Nancy’s quilts!]
I just love teaching. I have friends who homeschool their children and they would love sewing lessons. I am very patient with kids. I decided I want to use my surface designs to start developing some cut-and-sew panels, so I ordered one from Spoonflower just to see what other artists did, and I thought, all I need to do is create, and then collect the royalties and file my taxes. My daughter suggested I should also collaborate with somebody who sells subscription boxes for quilts or sewing.
My focus now is on patterns, and I have patterns that I sell exclusively on Cut Loose Press. I had been working at a local quilt shop when I learned about them. Cut Loose Press is a subsidiary of a company called Checker Distributors in Ohio, a distributor of sewing and quilting supplies. Artists can present patterns to Cut Loose for licensing approval. I emailed the company a question and they answered that they would be happy to look at my patterns. I have done about eight or nine patterns, with one selling consistently since 2017 or 2018. The ten seconds of courage that it took to email the company was really the ticket for me. The worst they could have said was no, and if you don't ask, you’ll never know, right?
I would like to thank you, Anne, since you have been very, very influential in what I'm doing these days!
Where to Find Nancy:
· In the studio - I have a studio now with lots of shelving and lots of totes with fabric. There’s a nice window and an embroidery machine. I am going to learn to use it as a long arm quilting machine.
· Website - My website is called PatchworkBreeze.com. I came up with the name while I was teaching classes at a store. My goal as the teacher was to say that patchwork is ‘a breeze’; you just need to know the little tricks and steps.
· Instagram - My Instagram account is also called Patchwork Breeze. I started with Instagram as a way to keep in touch with my family and friends and just show them what I was doing. I now focus on my quilting, my patterns, and my surface designs.
· Pinterest - My Pinterest is called Patchwork Breeze also, but I mainly use Pinterest for saving ideas of things I see around the internet.
Thank you, Nancy for being so incredibly generous, describing her process, sharing her resources, and sharing how she goes about brainstorming ideas. This was an incredibly motivating and inspiring interview.
I hope that you enjoy this summer Spotlight Series, and I look forward to seeing you again next week.
P.S. Get a free 7-day trial of Adobe Illustrator . Select Illustrator 2021 CC for the version I recommend. It comes with the iPad version so you get both!
Bye for now. And I'll see you next week.
Remember,
It’s Never Too Late to Create®
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
