Behind the Scenes With Designer Sharon Wasteney
Quilt designer Sharon Wasteney knows how to put beautiful fabrics—both pre-loved and new—to good use. She collects vintage ties and linens and overdyes them as inspired to suit her unique quilt design visions.
We invited Sharon to give you a behind-the-scenes look at her quilt design process. You can find complete instructions for her Blooming wall quilt design in the Love of Quilting March/April and May/June 2024 double issue, or as an instant digital pattern download. Read on for Sharon’s insights.
Making of My Blossoms Quilt
Blooming, designed by Sharon Wasteney, quilted by Heather Dodd, patterned in Love of Quilting March/April and May/June 2024 double issue.
I love designing with nature in mind. This project began as a search for designs that would make use of the fabric available in a necktie, along with my hand-dyed vintage linens as background, keeping a nature theme in mind.
Inspiration
My inspiration block from EQ8 Library, and drafts of my simplified blocks.
I use Electric Quilt 8 for many of my design inspirations, and I identified the block shown as a possibility, but it needed to be simplified. The first image shows my inspiration block from the EQ8 Library. I made several drafts before I settled on the final block.
Arrangement and Color Choices
I used one of my simplified blocks to lay out a quilt design in Electric Quilt 8.
Next, I designed a quilt layout using one of my simplified blocks.
A design idea to use my collection of neckties and dyed vintage linen napkins resulted in this arrangement; detail of a completed block.
My collection of neckties and dyed vintage linen napkins resulted in this arrangement. Then came the call for submissions for Love of Quilting, and it seemed like a viable idea to make this quilt in bright spring colors and leafy greens.
Computer rendering of my accepted design for Love of Quilting.
After playing with variations in EQ8, submitting my design, and receiving acceptance for using my collection of batiks and hand-dyed fabric, including the fabric I overdyed to get the green I wanted, the quilt was made.
I machine appliquéd using various threads.
One of the fun techniques was to use decorative threads for the machine appliqué, including variegated, metallic, and contrasting threads.
Auditioning the Final Layout
A large area on a floor or table can work for previewing your quilt design.
My design wall is not large enough for previewing, so I used the floor to finalize the layout before adding the sashing.
The Finishing Touch: Quilting!
The final touch is the quilting by Heather Dodd of Quiltology.
The final touch to my Blooming quilt design is the beautiful custom quilting by Heather Dodd of Quiltology.
A version of my Blooming quilt design using fabric from vintage neckties and hand-made yo-yos.
For your enjoyment: the necktie quilt ready for hundreds of fabric yo-yos (it’s not going to be finished for a while).
My Workspace
Sharon Wasteney’s quilting workspace.
My mode of operation for quilting projects is to have at least five active projects going and a plethora of others waiting in the background. Here are photos of what was immediately on my sewing table and on the design wall after sending off my Blooming quilt for Love of Quilting March/April and May/June 2024.
Sharon Wasteney, happily piecing at her sewing machine.
And here is me at my machine with another project to be finished on design wall in the background.
An inspiring bowl of threads in Sharon Wasteney’s quilting workspace.
And lastly, did I say how much I love threads?
Learn more about Sharon Wasteney and her designs at somethingstitched.com.
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