Sara Brown is new to designing original quilts, and already has a QuiltCon award-winning quilt! She designs her quilts in Adobe Illustrator. Her preferred technique? Hand appliqué!
How did you get started designing quilts? Always an artist, or was there a “moment”?
I have designed two original quilts, so I am very new to the world of making original works of art. That said, there was definitely a moment where I knew I was going to have to challenge myself and create my own original work to express the ideas formulating in my head.
Looking back at quilts I have made, I can see the evolution of my design tastes, the way I approach quilting as an art, and how I see myself growing as a quilter and designer moving forward.
When I first started quilting in 2021, I needed a pattern and I needed someone to tell me what fabrics to use and how to use them. As I grew more comfortable with sewing, I started making my own appliqué templates and quilts using illustrations from my favorite fabric designers.
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Now, I am creating unique appliqué templates and quilts from my own ideas.
I do not know where this evolution will take me, but I know there are more original designs that need to get out of my head and into this world.
What inspires you to create?
I think memories of my family and how things make me feel inspire me the most.
I have had many ideas for quilts that were based solely on how they would look but the motivation to make those fizzles out quickly.
The ideas tied to something that makes me think of my family or tied to my emotions are the ideas that I usually see through to completion.
When was the first time that you remember realizing that you are a creative person?
I have always been a creative person and was aware of that from a very early age.
My mom was a talented painter, cross-stitcher, and embroiderer, so I have always had access to art supplies and the encouragement to make art. I enjoyed decorating school projects more than most of my fellow students in late elementary and middle school, so that is when I became aware of my creativity.
I decided to take the leap into design by getting my undergraduate degree in Industrial Design, but the fear of failure, self doubt and uncertainty about whether I was good enough drove me to pursue a law degree. I regret that decision to this day!
When it comes to creating, are you more of a planner or an improviser?
I am a planner and organizer by nature, so this carries over into my quilt design and making as well.
I need to have my thoughts organized and the images in my head clear for me to be able to envision what it is I am making and if I think it will work out.
Since my favorite form of quilting requires hand stitching and often hand quilting, my work takes a long time. If I am going to dedicate my time to something, I want to make sure that it looks good in the end!
I am able to visualize how something is going to look, for the most part, but planning it out digitally or even just sketching it on paper gives me the confidence I need to move forward.
Do you have a dedicated space for creating? If so, what does it look like?
I am very fortunate to have a sewing room in my house. It is in the center of our home and is surrounded by the hustle and bustle of my young family, so I always feel I am part of the fun even when I am in there sewing.
I have an antique map table that serves as my cutting table and storage for WIPs, a giant storage bin shelf that holds all of my scrap and small fabric pieces, a large table for my sewing machine, and two shelves that hold the larger pieces of my fabric collection.
It is my favorite room in the house and brings me so much peace when I am in there. As a person who is normally very neat and tidy, my sewing room can feel a little chaotic at times.
When I am feeling frustrated with my sewing or overwhelmed, a good sewing room cleaning usually does the trick to make me feel better.
What are the indispensable tools and materials in your studio? How do they improve your work?
While not a physical object, my most indispensable tool is Adobe Illustrator. One reason is that it allows me to visualize my ideas before committing to them and the other reason is that it allows me to make my appliqué templates.
While I love machine pieced patchwork designs, I gravitate toward appliqué for my own original work. My ideas for quilt designs often include curves and very fluid lines, making appliqué the ideal method of sewing. Adobe Illustrator allows me to create those lines and forms and shapes at the actual scale I need, and then I can print them out and prepare my fabric pieces with them.
When I took a college course in Adobe Illustrator twenty years ago, I never would have imagined that I would be applying the skills I learned in this way!
Scraps. Saver? Or be done with them?
English paper piecing and appliqué are my favorite ways to sew, and both methods require small pieces of fabric, so I save any scrap that is large enough to make a 1” hexagon or similar shape.
I am not very neat with my scrap saving, but I do organize by color. I wish I had the patience to save smaller pieces and find ways to repurpose them, but I do not like clutter or holding onto things I know I will not use, so smaller pieces end up in the trash. I love seeing what other creators do with their scraps though!
How do you manage your creative time? Do you schedule start and stop times? Or work only when inspired?
As a mom to a five year old boy, a seven year old boy, and three dogs, I have to schedule my creative time around their lives. I try to get projects with deadlines done on school day mornings when the house is (mostly) empty.
For my own personal sewing projects, I like to do those at night after the kids have gone to bed and on the weekends.
For my quilt All That Follows, I worked on it for three months between the hours of 8 pm and 10 pm. I sat on the couch, decompressing from the busy day I just had, and hand sewed all of the appliqué pieces down. Hand sewing to end my day is the best way for me to relax and recharge for the next day.
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works?
All That Follows came about after I experienced a breast cancer scare last summer. My mom died of breast cancer almost seven years ago and her death has had lasting impacts on everyone in our family. That is where the idea of my quilt came about.
We often think of the grief caused by someone’s death but not the lasting ripples that the death creates- watching your father learn how to live alone after 40 years married to the love of his life, helping your young children process the fact they will never meet their grandma, waiting for your own breast biopsy results wondering if you are going to die too, and so on.
This quilt was also a personal achievement just due to the amount of time I spent trying to figure out how to get it out of my head, onto paper, and then cut out of fabric.
Once I had the idea of what I wanted it to look like figured out in my head, I sat down with Adobe Illustrator and created a 55” x 55” artboard. I then referenced multiple water drops and ripples and started to create a line drawing of my water drop and water ripple. Once I had this created, I printed it out using a large format printer and glued the pages to card stock. Card stock templates are how I form my fabric shapes and fold the seam allowance under for hand sewing.
Once I had the giant card stock templates made, I started prepping the fabric and sewing each piece onto the backing one at a time. Once I completed the quilt top I decided to do very simple hand quilting around each shape because the softness and wrinkles of the fabric reminded me of water flowing. Most show quilts are quilted with very, very thinly spaced lines, but that did not feel right for my quilt.
Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?
I enjoy most parts of the design process but I think cutting into the fabric and starting to place fabric on fabric is the best part. It is when I go “oh, this might actually work!” and that feels amazing.
The actual act of quilting is probably the most challenging part for me because I do not machine quilt much and it shows. Most of the quilts I make are collaborations with companies, I usually have my quilts long arm quilted.
For an original piece, I want to have a part in each step, so I choose to do the quilting myself. I know with time I will become more comfortable with it and I will enjoy that stage as well, but for now it is a steep learning curve! I spent a lot of time looking at how quilts were quilted at QuiltCon and it will definitely be something I focus more on for my next original design.
Is there something that you do to put yourself into a creative state of mind? If so, what?
I think I am almost always in a creative state of mind. In fact, I can usually tell something is wrong with me, physically or mentally, if I am not thinking creatively.
I am constantly thinking about quilt ideas, or a new technique I want to try, or colors I want to work with. I get so much joy in the brainstorming part of the design process that it just occurs naturally no matter what I am doing throughout the day.
I think getting into the sewing room and actually working on these ideas can be challenging since I am being pulled in so many directions by my kids and obligations. When that happens, I tell myself that I will just complete one simple task, like cutting a few blocks out or sewing a few pieces together, and then I usually end up needing to be dragged out of my sewing room to do other things.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
Taking a pause is part of your creative journey.
Sometimes I feel the pressure to make new things constantly and that can be very exhausting. After such an artistic and stimulating event like QuiltCon, I can feel myself retracting from sewing and making because I need to let all of the ideas and creativity I have just absorbed bounce around in my head for a little bit.
I used to be worried that if I stopped sewing that I may never make anything again, but I know now that this is not the case.
What keeps you motivated?
I am very competitive and goal oriented. This is probably the reason that I did not start creating original art until I learned about QuiltCon and the incredible show they put together.
I am often motivated to make something by a prompt, a deadline, or the desire to “one up” myself. As a very driven person, quilting allows me to both express my creative side but also challenge and push myself now that I am out of the working world.
I love seeing how much I have changed since I started quilting in 2021. I am a happier, more confident, more capable person which has made me a better mother, spouse, and friend.
I cannot help but wonder where my creative journey in sewing will take me in five years if I keep applying myself and that is exciting and motivating to me!
How does it feel to be a QuiltCon winner?
I still catch myself staring at my award ribbon in complete shock that my quilt was recognized at QuiltCon. All That Follows is deeply personal to me and I did feel a sense of vulnerability in sharing it with this community.
By recognizing it, the MQG has given me the opportunity to talk to others about the stigma and long term challenges of grief. I feel a great sense of pride in what I have created and the message that was amplified by winning this award. Every single quilt at QuiltCon is spectacular, so just hanging among all of these pieces of art is an honor in and of itself.
Where can people see your work?
Right now I just share my work on Instagram (@SaraBQuilts) but my friend and I are creating a website where we hope to share our projects and creations and give back to the amazing quilting community.
Interview posted March 2025
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