Today we are welcoming Debbie Maddy to our inspiration and resource center. Debbie is a fantastic designer and teacher and will inspire you with her designs. Debbie's patterns - TIORI DESIGNS- come in various sizes, making it easy to make the quilts fit your need, whether a wall hanging, throw, queen, or king size.  We hope you enjoy learning a little about Debbie as she shares her design journey and Blockheads 4 pattern- Evening Star.

My block is called 'Evening Delight' and reflects my love of stars. I love all kinds of stars in quilts. The first quilt pattern I designed is called 'Carpenter’s Star," and it is still one of my best-selling patterns. I am making my blocks with my Kawa line of fabric that will ship in September. It is reproduced from my hand-dyed shibori fabrics. The grey and rust colors were added as some authentic options for both quilting, apparel, and home goods. The indigo blue is still my favorite. It is the color of the sky and the sea.

This is my first time participating in the Block Heads fun. The group members are avid quilters who can not wait for the following block to come out, which is exciting.  So I won't make you wait any longer; download my block pattern here.

My first real exposure to indigo and shibori was in a class at a local quilt shop taught by Kaari Ming of French General. After that day of class, I searched for more knowledge about the art of shibori. I wanted to continue to learn authentically from the best, so I have been to Japan twice to study at the Japanese Textile Workshops, and I learned with a master stencil dyer there. I have been to England to explore with Jane Callender, who wrote the book Stitched Shibori. I spent a week at the John C Campbell Folk School learning from Gasali Adeyemo, a master indigo dyer from Nigeria. I learned this winter from Aboubakar Fofana, and indigo grower, and from Mali. I have many books that I have read and studied diagrams and practiced the techniques of artists from Japan, the United States, and other countries. I am immersed in the method and love sharing the process with others. I started designing fabric with Moda in 2016, unsure if materials like this could be reproduced to the quality I wanted. The Japanese mills could engrave screens and print my hand-dyed fabrics almost identical.  Here is a piece of my hand-dyed fabric next to a part of my Moda reproduction fabric.  

Moda asked me to share a little more about my journey. I travel extensively, giving lectures at guild meetings and shops about my journey with indigo, and I also do trunk shows for guilds and shops. I teach quilting classes based on my pattern designs and do Shibori / Indigo workshops. 

There is still much to learn, but I am also at a stage where I am confident enough in my abilities to teach others. 

Here are just a few of my upcoming workshops.

 

 

July 13- 16 at  Stitchology in New Mexico.

July 25-27 - KT (Kansas Troubles) and Friends Quilt Retreat in Longmont, Colorado

I am joining my fellow Moda Designer Lynne Hagmeir of Kansas Troubles for two different retreats this summer. One retreat is in Kansas, and one is in Colorado. It is not too late to sign up for those. Call the shop to register. 

July 31- August 6 at John C Campbell Folk School in North Carolina

 I will be teaching a week-long quilt class at the John C. Campbell Folk School in August. Join me for a week of fun with fabrics in the cooler mountain air. I will be teaching my best-selling patterns there; one is my Geese In The Lilies. My Labyrinth pattern is my overall best-selling pattern, and I have people tell me they have made more than one.  

 August 30- September 2nd  at Primitive Gatherings in Wisconsin.

I will be teaching multi-day classes for textile guilds and fabric/quilt shops in several states, so check my calendar or follow me on Instagram to see if I am coming to a place near you. 

 Check my calendar.

 If you have a group of friends, a quilt store, or a quilt guild, I'd love to hear from you if you are interested in a class or lecture. I love what I do, and you will be hooked after one lesson.

As you can tell, indigo is my passion. Designing for Moda has been a highlight of my career, and joining in on Blockheads has let me share my love of dying and quilting with you.  I hope to meet some of you in one of my classes soon.

Enjoy,

-Debbie

 

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