Living a Creative Life
Mother/daughter team keep the quilting tradition alive.
Creativity is a gift. It is the spark that ignites the passion and courage to transform ideas and dreams into reality. But how is creativity brought to life, embodied and awakened? Is there a secret to living the creative life of one’s dreams?
The mother and daughter duo of Sherri McConnell and Chelsi Stratton know the answer. Not only do they both live life creatively, but they have also worked as a team to spawn a thriving online quilting business. Both are married with families of their own and live near one another in Nevada.
Vibrant and colorful. Traditional with a modern twist. Scrappy and brilliant. Quilts designed by Sherri stimulate the imagination. Her patterns are alive with energy, vitality and seem to leap off the laptop into hearts and homes. Her patterns have enticing names like Pinwheel Posies, Summer Stroll and Beach House Row. Sherri’s life’s work can be found in visual form on her Pinterest page (www.pinterest.com/AQuiltingLife/ created/). At a glance, it’s easy to see her work is chock-full of style and personality.
Sherri’s in-home sewing studio resembles the stuff of a quilter’s dream. It’s a natural, sunlit room with wood floors, plantation shutters and abundant storage. Touches of teal bring in feelings of calm and serenity. Cutting fabrics is a breeze on the central island-style table. Her quilts decorate and warm the inviting space, evoking a feeling of peace and relaxation. It’s the perfect backdrop for creativity!
When Sherri was a little girl, she loved fabrics. “I was blessed with a mother and grandmother who both sewed for me and were my inspiration. At age 10, I received my first sewing machine and took lessons at our local Singer shop. I happily stitched clothing and made home decor items until 1993. A gentle push from my grandmother lifted me up onto the quilting track. I loved it immediately and haven’t stopped since!”
Keeping up the momentum of the generational flow of quilting skills and knowledge is a challenge for all of us in the 21st century. Quilters wonder such things as: Will our craft survive into the future? Will the legacy of our quilting be appreciated by the next generation? Will our daughters and granddaughters (or sons and grandsons) carry on our traditions and learn how to quilt? Sherri lives each day secure in the knowledge that her quilting legacy will live on through her daughter.
“Chelsi was young when I started quilting. She wasn’t particularly interested in sewing, but she was a creative child. She loved to draw and make crafts. As Chelsi grew, she started out intending to work only with fabric design. But as time went on, she fell head- over-heels in love with quilting, and now spends most of her time working with quilts rather than the fabric design aspect of the business.”
Mother and daughter each design their own unique quilt patterns, but it’s no surprise that their styles are similar. White is used strategically throughout both Sherri and Chelsi’s quilt designs, juxtaposed against deep, saturated colors for high contrast. Red shows up often in their work. Traditional quilt blocks such as Log Cabins, Stars, Flying Geese and Churn Dash patterns with lots and lots of half-square triangles, are spun and twisted into a fresh and modern take on the art of quilting. They both honor and celebrate the simplicity and clean lines of the past, weaving in their representation of house, home and family. It’s clear their work is brimming with love.
Quilt design is a process; both Sherri and Chelsi use the same basic method. Pulling out rulers, pencils and erasers, the design is initially sketched onto graph paper. Later, it’s transferred to computer software, Electric Quilt (EQ) (www.ElectricQuilt. com) to be exact. On the laptop, the quilt design can be manipulated, blocks moved from here to there and fabrics and colors can be filled in. Virtually, their designs are fleshed-out and filled-in, springing to life on the computer screen.
Sherri and Chelsi collaborate on fabric design. Both are designers for Moda Fabrics, which is an amazing and tremendous accomplishment. Their fabric collections can be seen at www.modafabrics.com/designers/ sherri-and-chelsi. Names like Balboa, Summer Sweet and Harper’s Garden brand their collections. (Harper is the name of one of Chelsi’s young daughters). Happy Days is their newest fabric line with Moda and is being released in early 2021.
Cathy Stambaugh, a passionate quilter living in Oklahoma, is a huge fan. She says, “One of my favorite quilt patterns is Sherri’s Sea Glass. I made it for my sweet 96-year-old mother-in-law, with fabrics from the Walkabout fabric collection from Moda. She loved her new quilt! I have purchased many of Sherri’s quilt patterns, like Beach House Row, and I can’t wait to purchase some of Chelsi’s!”
Sherri McConnell blogs regularly from a www.AQuiltingLife.com. This is her online home, and it’s the perfect place to begin a quilt journey. There are tutorials, quick tips and access to countless how-to videos. Quilt books she has written, her Etsy pattern shop and her newly minted podcast with her daughter can all be accessed via her website. The podcast is newsy, low-key and wonderfully informative. Their on-camera style is unrushed, affable and easy-going. It’s like they’re having a conversation with their best friend! The podcast can also be directly accessed via YouTube.com.
Donna Danos, a self-described confident-beginner quilter says, “I have been following Sherri’s blog for over five years now. It’s been fun watching her grow from producing YouTube videos and blogging small projects to designing her own fabrics and patterns. I am a faithful viewer of Sherri and Chelsi’s podcast and watch them weekly. It has been a joy to see how they’ve evolved over the last few years.”
It’s no small feat that Sherri and Chelsi manage to remain ubiquitous online. Their family lives are so full and busy, but focusing on productivity and prioritizing their work life helps them to stay on top of it all.
It would seem fitting that one day in the future one of Chelsi’s children will pick up the quilting mantle and run with it, carrying on the family business. It would be an intriguing evolution to watch it unfold. After all, carrying on the tradition of quilting is one of the most valuable ways we can be sure to keep the craft alive.