Developing Her Own Look
Kim’s quilting path includes designing numerous quilts for American Patchwork & Quilting and for three books of quilt designs: Simple Blessings, Simple Traditions, and most recently, Simple Seasons, to be published in November. The latter includes designs appropriate for each season of the year, along with some of Kim’s favorite original recipes. She’s beginning work on a fourth book, Simple Comforts, which will focus on lap quilts. And this coming year she’ll travel from coast to coast, teaching classes in invisible machine appliqué.
“I’ve become a seasoned traveler,” says Kim, who likes to fill her downtime in airports or hotel rooms with small projects that she can hand-quilt. She also uses the time to do prep work for her appliqué pieces.
“I want a personal touch in each of my quilts,” says Kim. “There may come a day when I have to delegate more of my quiltmaking, but so far I’m able to keep up with most of it.”
The personal touch also can be seen in Kim’s designs. As a gardening aficionado, she finds inspiration in vines, leaves, and flowers. But she’s just as charmed by traditional quilts.
“I love old-fashioned blocks such as Churn Dash, Nine-Patch, and Log Cabin,” Kim says. “The jumping-off place for a design may be an antique quilt, but I put a different spin on it with my color choices or by combining it with appliqué. My quilts have a not-quite-primitive, not-strictly-traditional look.”
That look is what makes Kim’s quilt designs truly her own.
“I don’t worry about trying to fit into a different mold,” she says. “If I do what I love, that comes through in my work and people respond to it.”
Return to Page 1: Making Up Her Own Rules
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