MEET JACKIE MACDONALD

Jackie, a self-described “Virginia girl” who grew up in a close family, didn’t have a chance to get to know her grandmother Marian, who passed before she was born. Instead, she learned about her grandmother through her charm bracelet. “That charm bracelet was a way to know my grandmother’s story,” Jackie says.

Just like each of the charms on that bracelet are symbols that tell her grandmother’s story, Jackie weaves symbolism and iconography in her fabric collections to give quilters and sewists the chance to tell their own stories through her fabrics.

Jackie’s story begins with her love and appreciation of domestic arts, even as a child. “My paternal grandmother, Margaret, was a ‘fabric and domestics’ lady at the local department store,” she says, and brought home fabric swatches for Jackie to play with. In college, Jackie majored in home economics. "It helped me learn ways of being self-sufficient and creative.”

Gardener's Heart  Pattern Stock # SFR 0023 

Her professional career began with stints working in merchandising for furnishing and home goods catalogs before transitioning into product design. After moving with her husband and young son from Virginia to Maine, though, she switched gears and started her own design business – Sweetfire Road. “I wanted to create art that took you on a journey home,” she says, explaining the genesis of Sweetfire Road. “’Sweet’ comes from my mom and grandmother always leading with love and kindness – I wanted to honor that. And ‘fire’ represents creating art with passion.”

Evoking an Experience

Throughout her life and career, Jackie has sought to connect with people and evoke an experience – for others and for herself. She began sewing by making pillows, curtains, and bedspreads out of a desire to create a warm and welcoming home. “[Sewing] let me create a home that expressed ‘me’ even when my job didn’t.”

But it was a surface design immersion course that spurred Jackie to start designing fabrics that let quilters evoke experiences of their own through her designs. “Fabric design saved me,” she says, describing the process as “product development the way I dream it should be.”

Starting With a Story

“A story provides the backbone for a cohesive collection,” according to Jackie. When it came time to design Enchantment, “I had been watching way too many Jane Austen movies!” she laughs. Jackie loved how Austen’s heroines found creative, unspoken ways to express themselves and became fascinated by the hidden meaning of things, especially the secret language of flowers that was so popular in Edwardian and Victorian culture.

With Enchantment, “I imagine our heroine taking notes about her garden,” Jackie says. “For the bouquets in Enchantment’s focus floral print, I chose to draw flowers with specific meanings.”

The supporting prints in the Enchantment collection continue the romantic theme. Paper Butterflies is a nod to lacy Victorian valentines, while Diary Keys depicts ornate keys that reference locking away treasured secrets. “Winged Messenger is my favorite print from Enchantment,” Jackie says proudly. “It’s something that that I’ve been wanting to draw since I first started designing.”

Just like the story creates the foundation for Jackie’s collections, it also informs the color palette she chooses. “I’m obsessed with color!” she chuckles. “I find color combos that I love and keep notes on them,” explaining that she’ll pull from those saved combinations when she’s developing each collection.

Creating Connections

With Enchantment, Jackie hopes to give quilters a language in fabric to tell their own unique stories. “I would love to see people feeling like they can embellish my fabrics and try new things – like adding bits of lace to their quilt blocks, like I did for one of my Blockheads blocks, or fussy cutting the prints to pull out things that have meaning to them,” Jackie says, adding that seeing her fabrics used in quilts and sewing projects “tickles me to bits! It creates an instant connection with a person that I don’t even know.”

Connect with Jackie via her social media channels on Instagram and Facebook (@sweetfireroad) and on her website (sweetfireroad.com).

Moda's Designer section

To view Enchantment and additional fabrics in stores now, view PIECE, Issue 61.