DESIGNER PROFILE
With a fabric collection for Northcott Fabrics hitting stores in April, Brett Lewis (AKA Natural Born Quilter) is making his mark on the quilting scene. We talked about creative journeys and fabric design
With a fabric collection for Northcott Fabrics hitting stores in
April, Brett Lewis (AKA Natural Born Quilter) is making his mark on the quilting scene. We caught up with him to talk about creative journeys and designing fabric
What made you decide to create your first quilt back in 2016, and what was it like?
When I became a dad, we were gifted a baby quilt from my sister in law. I am not from a sewing or quilting family, so I was pleasantly surprised at the stylish fabrics she had used to create the quilt. My mother in law said she would make our son Damien his next quilt for when he moved out of the crib, so I visited a quilting store and was instantly drawn to all the amazing colours and designs available. I had no idea what a fat quarter was, and the fabric was sold by the metre, so I ended up buying a total of eight metres of fabric for a twin size quilt. The fabric ended up sitting with Nana for some time so she encouraged me, as I was curious about quilting, to sign up for a beginner quilting class at my local quilt shop. I signed up for a baby quilting class, but no one else did. Instead of cancelling the class the shop owner provided me with three private lessons during shop hours. The quilt was very monochromatic with greys and black and simple quilting on my domestic machine.
How many quilts have you made since then?
Since 2016 I have finished 37 quilts, and most of them have been gifted. Like many quilters, I have a large pile of WIPs as well!
Do you have a particularly creative background?
I have always been passionate about colour and art, and I grew up in a family where we were encouraged to try many art forms. I always enjoyed photography, which you can probably tell from the numerous quilt photoshoots I have done in the countryside. I was also always interested in interior design. The rooms in my house feature vibrant colours (bold greens, blues and turquoise), with decorations such as birch branches, damask wallpaper and handmade crystal mobiles with driftwood in the windows.
How did you choose the name Natural Born Quilter?
The name was bestowed upon me by my sister Catey. When I first started getting into quilting and decided to create an Instagram account dedicated to quilting I posted a photo of me and my friend… she said we looked like the characters from the Oliver Stone cult classic movie Natural Born Killers. She then gave me the name Natural Born Quilter in reference to that film as a play on words, and because she thought quilting came so naturally to me. I stuck with it!
Your debut quilt collection, Stag and Thistle is out in April 2020! Tell us about how this opportunity with Northcott Fabrics came about.
It is all very surreal still. I was actually on an Alaskan Quilting Cruise in August 2018 when I got an email from Northcott Fabrics enquiring if I would be interested in becoming a fabric designer for them. I guess they had been following my website and my quilting journey on Instagram and liked my use of colour and contemporary fabric choices. Fast forward to just a year later and I already had sample yardage of
my debut collection, Stag and Thistle, in my hands!
The collection is a blend of nature and quilting motifs. Where did the inspiration come from for this?
I have loved nature since my childhood, growing up on a hobby farm in Summerland, British Columbia. A lot of my inspiration comes from growing up with a close bond to nature, appreciating the earth’s diverse array of plants and animals. When I was a kid, I would take non-fiction animal books out from the library when friends were reading fictional chapter books. Each SKU from Stag and Thistle has something significant from my childhood, from the focal stag reminiscent of the deer in the woods behind our farm in my Deer Ridge print, the nesting magpies which were prevalent growing up in the country, to the dogwood flowers reminding me of the tree I planted for my mom on Mother’s Day when I was a child. I decided I wanted to blend my lifelong love of flora and fauna with my newfound love of quilting, so I felt that placing sewing notions throughout the prints would be a fun homage to quilters and sewists.
Tell us a bit about the actual fabric design process.
While I am not a classically trained artist, I did hand draw out my art concepts. I am super fortunate that my sister is an artist, and she did redraw some of my designs and fine tune them. I collected numerous photos as inspiration art, making notes on how I wanted to see my prints come to life, and referencing colour combinations by playing with paint colour cards from the local hardware store. I also worked closely with Deborah Edwards, the Design
A lot of my inspiration comes from growing up with a close bond to nature, appreciating earth's diverse array of plants and animals.
Director of Northcott Fabrics, who worked her magic combining all my ideas and inspiration into a realised collection of prints.
Who are some of your biggest influences for design and quilting? I would say my sister is one of my biggest influences when it came to
developing my fabric collection. While she isn’t a quilter, she really exposed me to art during my childhood. Growing up she was always creating the most amazing artwork, from paintings to graffiti she spray painted on the old shed on our farm. She encouraged me to nurture my newfound love of textile artistry when I discovered quilting, and to develop my own fabric collection. When it comes to pattern design influences, I am a huge fan of Chris Jurd, and Carl Hentsch – curves and Foundation Paper Piecing!
What was your first Quilt Market as a fabric designer like?
It was a truly surreal and exciting experience. It was so amazing to see my booth come to life after dreaming and drafting the concept up in my head. My amazing team and friends Crystal and Michelle helped me create a whimsical woodland parlour that debuted Stag and Thistle beautifully. I was so fortunate to have such amazing pattern designer friends that made projects in addition to my own quilts to showcase in my booth. I absolutely loved interacting with Quilt Market attendees and telling them all about both my quilt journey and my debut fabric collection. A good friend gave me the sound advice there is room for everyone in this industry.
Your quilt designs are very modern, but often play with some quite complex, traditional techniques. Where would you put yourself on the modern/traditional scale?
I describe my quilting style as bright, bold, and eclectic. A little contemporary, mixing modern fabrics with classic patterns.
We’ve spied that you’re a big fan of fussy cutting. What makes you love this technique so much?
I am often drawn to fabrics that have motifs that you can fussy cut and make a focal point when piecing a quilt block. More recently I have gotten into English Paper Piecing, and love that when you fussy cut a repetitive motif in a print, you create a completely new and amazing secondary print with the fabrics. What I called "splice fussy cutting" is also a favourite technique I use, sewing together a fabric that is in two colourways to create a complete image that is ‘spliced’ together.
We’ve also spotted that you like to use two layers of batting in your quilts, why is this?
I like to joke that living in Canada we need two layers of batting to add that extra warmth, but in truth I always use two layers of Hobbs Batting to showcase the quilting. I usually have
my quilts custom quilted, so using a layer of cotton or cotton blend with a second layer of wool really just makes the quilting pop!
How do you juggle working and parenthood with your quilt career? Do you have any top tips?
Very little sleep and a very supportive husband! Quilting has become a full time job, so I do feel like I have three full time gigs on the go. I make lists of priorities when it comes to the business side of quilting, and usually sew from 9pm to midnight during the week or on weekends. I do take time for some selfish sewing and sew dates with friends. I also like to get my son involved in the creative process, letting him do a fabric pull when the two of us sew a project together. He is a little pedal to the metal when it comes to sewing, so at five years old I let him sit on my knee, guiding the fabric… and then I turn the speed way down.
You put a lot of love into your quilts, all the way to the labels that you decorate with roman numerals and quotes. Why is this so important to you?
It is important to keep record of the quilt, from the pattern designer, maker and quilter. Using roman numerals is my way of numbering my quilts and keeping track not only of how many I have made, but also a reference. If I look back at quilt number VII versus XXXVII I can see how much my skills have developed. I hand write all my labels, as I find it more personal, often framing them in the fabric selvedge, and including a quote either related to the fabric choice used or in reference to the person I am gifting the quilt to.
Can we expect more fabric collections in the future? Most definitely… I am currently creating my second collection!
I like to get my son involved in the creative process, let ting him do a fabric pull when the two of us sew together. He's a lit tle pedal to the metal!