Today I’d love to introduce the queen of scraps, the connoisseur of remnants, the savant of snippets…I give to you Deanne Eisenman of Snuggles Quilts! Deanne has been a creative professional for nearly 14 years. She writes patterns and teaches classes on “scrapping” and wool applique. I’ve definitely gotten some great insight into her business and some great tips from her many years of experience, let’s get started!
How did you get started with sewing?
Deanne learned to quilt 30 years ago and it all started with a quilting class. She was newly married and looking for something to do while her husband played softball once a week. The instructor told them to pick a pattern before the class began, being new to the quilt word, Deanne chose to start with a queen size LeMoyne Star quilt! To add to it, she then found out that the class was all hand piecing. Yikes! Deanne recalls, “Once I was done with the quilt and the class, I was hooked. But I did go out and buy a sewing machine!”
When and how did you start Snuggles Quilts?
“Around 2002, I got the courage to try my hand at writing patterns since I had been creating my own
designs since I learned quilting. I knew what I liked about some patterns and what I did not like.” Deanne remembers that she wanted her patterns to have lots of diagrams. She remembered the challenges that came with patterns that only had written instructions and wanted to make sure she didn’t do that to other quilters. Snuggles Quilts was born shortly after that (about
2004) when a quilt shop owner who was a good friend offered to feature her patterns as a trunk show in her shop. She also encouraged Deanne to vend at a few retail quilt shows and eventually worked her way up to the Minnesota Quilters show. In 2005 she attended her first Quilt Market in Kansas City. Since then Deanne has been attending at least 1 Market a year and have marketed her patterns through direct sales and distributor sales.
You’re all about those scraps! What is your favorite part about scrappy quilts?
Deanne enthusiastically replied, “My favorite part of scrappy quilts is putting colors together that you think would not normally go
together. Once they are in a quilt with several other colors, it really all comes together and looks great. I think scrap quilts have a vibrancy that I don’t find in quilts with a strictly planned color way. Of course, those are beautiful in their own way. The ‘riot’ of color keeps my eyes moving. I also like to include secondary designs in my quilts and set those off with a single color to play up the pattern.”
Any tips for those of us that struggle to use up our scraps?
I have a hard time using scraps, whenever I do I’m so glad I did, but getting started is just tough for me. So, I asked Deanne for some tips on whipping out those scraps and using them up!
“Start out with small projects to play with scraps. I save a lot of 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 strips. If you have made a test block for a quilt that is just laying around in you UFO pile, pull out scraps and make borders to turn it into a mug rug or small wall hanging. That’s what I did with an orphan block of mine.Also, Log Cabin quilt blocks are great for scraps. If you sit with a stack of scraps and use a different dark and light for each “log”, you will get used to putting colors together that you would normally not.”
Lots of my readers are quilters. What levels do your patterns require?
Deanne has a range of pattern skill levels, her patterns range from beginner to intermediate and a few advanced. Patterns with appliqué and/or blocks on point do take some skill and are better for a quilter who is more confident. Deanne adds, “I do have several patterns like #101 Long May She Wave, #205 Weekend Runners, Too and #207 Scrappy North Stars that are completely pieced and would work for a beginner.”
What is your favorite thing on your site?
Deanne offers all of her patterns on her site and says that her favorite patterns are both large lap quilts that are a variation of
Log Cabin blocks and have appliqué in the borders.
“One has a black border (# 222 Crisscross Cabin Blooms) and one has a light background (#229 Hugs & Kisses). The design of the Log Cabin block in each quilt is subtly different,” She explains.
What do you like to talk about on your Blog?
“On my blog I like to talk about what I do in my studio when I am creating a new quilt. I will show progress on them, share quilting tips for certain techniques and also sometimes ask for help in naming a quilt. I also use my blog to promote my wool appliqué BOM. This is my 3rd year doing a BOM and it’s been a lot fun!”
What’s your favorite thing right now?
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Deanne’s favorite tool is the Quilt in a Day Triangle Square-up ruler. “I love it because a lot of my designs contain half-square triangles squares and this tool makes trimming them less of a chore.”
I’d like to thank Deanne for taking the time to hop on over to the blog today and for letting us in on her story! I’m so inspired to get after my scrap pile mountain now! What inspired you about this interview? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below or over on Facebook! If you want to see more of her work, you can find any of Deanne’s awesome patterns on Craftsy and download them instantly!
Join us next week for an inspiring interview with Sue O’Very of Sue O’Very Designs!