Spotlight: Daisy Aschehoug, Modern Quilt Designer

Meet Daisy Aschehoug. She is a modern quilter who has embraced curves in her quilts. Inspired by the artistic and functional aspects of quilts, she shares her insights into perfect curves in her new book Quilting Curves.

Environmental studies to full time quilt designer and teacher. Tell us more about your journey to be an artist. How did you find your creative niche?

The combination of a move across the country (US) and being a new mother created a gap in my career that I filled with sewing and blogging. When I moved from the US to Norway in 2017, I continued working with quilt pattern magazines. I found that structure to be super supportive of my growth. Agreeing to deadline after deadline kept me productive.

Curves and circles. When did they begin to appear in your work?

During the summer of 2014 or 2015, I attended a Kaffee Fassett exhibition. One of his small knitted blankets had half circles in a colorful arrangement of lines. I remade the arrangement of half circles using quarter circle squares, and I was hooked. Quarter circle squares felt like a versatile design unit to use in quilting. Years later, I’m still inspired by the possibilities that this building block can create.

What is the most important takeaway you want readers to gain from your book(s), especially your new title, Quilting with Curves: 20 Geometric Projects?

That curves are awesome! The beginning of the book contains everything that I teach in my workshops. I hope that people are inspired to try sewing curves if they haven’t before. I expect some people will make the patterns exactly as I designed them. Others will use the designs as inspiration and modify them to fit their own aesthetic. Overall, I hope that the book helps people feel confidant and satisfied with their curved piecing skills.

What inspires your work?

I’m inspired by the artistic and functional aspect of quilts. I think it falls squarely in the Danish concept of “hygge” or the Norwegian concept of “koselig.” In English, we don’t really have a single word equivalent, but it’s a convergence of ideas that includes but isn’t limited to cosiness, warmth, intimacy, happiness, satisfaction, and comfort. I’m inspired to find the center of that Venn diagram each time I make a quilt.

When it comes to creating, are you more of a planner or an improviser?

Definitely a planner. That’s changing with recent projects. I’m finding it’s profoundly difficult to attempt new strategies as I create. I believe it’s important in my development as an artist though, so I’m persisting. My goal is to be as comfortable with improvising as I am with my planned projects.

How do you manage your creative time? Do you schedule start and stop times? Or work only when inspired?

Elizabeth Gilbert has great advice in her book Big Magic about approaching creativity like a job (whether it pays or not). As the parent with a flexible job in our house, I don’t exactly schedule start and stop times. I show up whether I feel like it or not. I’m terrible at letting my dread over administrative tasks eat away at my creative time, but I also structure my creative activities with external deadlines so that I work whether I’m inspired or not.

Do you have a dedicated space for creating? If so, what does it look like?

I have a gorgeous studio in an old hospital that’s been converted into almost 60 separate spaces for players in the art and culture industry. There’s one large room with my computer desk, two large tables with storage underneath, and large wooden shelf unit for storing fabric.

There’s a smaller adjacent room for the long arm that also stores shipping materials for the acrylic template part of my quilting business. I also have another space in a separate part of the building where I operate a laser cutter to make the quilting templates.

What is your favorite lesser-known tool for your trade? Have you taken something designed for another use and repurposed it for your studio?

I don’t think it’s really a lesser-known tool, but I’m a huge fan of antique irons. I like hot, dry, heavy irons. Many commercial irons today don’t fit that description. I also believe modern irons aren’t meant for sustained use. After going through an iron every 6 months for a few years, I decided that I needed to do something else. I went to an antique shop and found some irons from the 70’s. My hope was that if something could last several decades, it would last a few years in my studio. So far, so good!

When you travel, do you create while on planes and in waiting areas? What is in your creative travel kit?

I love travel. I feel lucky to get to do as much as I have since Covid. My kit mainly contains a moleskin dotted notebook (not lined), a pencil, and a pencil sharpener. I always pack hand quilting because I love the idea of being able to “produce” while I travel. I don’t bring it out while in transit – it’s too much of a hassle. I find this amazing creative freedom in those moments where I feel physically trapped (like on planes and trains). It sounds awful and dramatic, but I don’t mean “trapped” in a scary way. The act of being forced to sit still has always brought out a desire to create and play with ideas in a sketchbook.

Tell us about a time when you truly stretched yourself as an artist.

I’ve been invited to participate in an exhibition touring art galleries in Australia this summer. The exhibition, title “In Conversation,” includes seven Australian artists paired with seven international artists to create works inspired by the connections between each pair of quilters. My partner and I are both inspired to break the habits of our “designer-for-hire” quiltmaking. My piece was entirely improvised and utilized a variety of sustainably sourced materials.

How has your work changed over time?

I started with improvisation because I couldn’t achieve the level of precision required for traditional quilt making. Overtime, I enjoyed the game of getting more and more precise. Now I’m trying to go back to some of the freedom I felt with improvisation. It’s hard. Sometimes it feels like I’m singing off key with the imprecision, but I find the work so interesting.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?

“Don’t try to find your voice as an artist. Just make a quilt. Then make the next quilt. And the next quilt…” Alissa Haight Carlton, one of the cofounders and former executive directors of the Modern Quilt Guild, said something to that effect during a forum on becoming an author in the quilting industry.

Do you lecture or teach workshops? How can students/organizers get in touch with you to schedule an event?

I love to teach. I live for that moment when someone’s face lights up at the realization that they can do something they didn’t believe they could do. My website has a contact form for inquiries on lectures and workshops.

Tell us about your blog and/or website. What do you hope people will gain by visiting?

I’m not a big blogger. My ideas trickle out in words and images on Instagram (@warmfolk), but on my website, people can shop for quilt templates, patterns, on-demand video workshops, and register for quilting retreats. I’m hosting my first travel retreat in Amsterdam this October. During our week together we’ll naturally dye our own material, piece it into a simple quilt top, and begin the process of hand quilting. I’ve also got a schedule of all the places I’ve been invited to teach either virtually or in person.