Meet a Member: Ivy Bagnall

August 18, 2016

Check out our very first Member Profile! The Historian Council has started creating a Member Directory and will be interviewing and featuring a different SFMQG member each month.

First up is Ivy Bagnall. Ivy Bagnall has been a member of SFMQG since our formation in 2015, and was active in our informal meetings from 2011-2015. Ivy served as the first President of SFMQG in 2015.

Ivy, how long have you been quilting?

I started quilting in 1998, when my younger daughter (now 18) was born. A co-worker made a quilt for her and I was just so intrigued. I knew I wanted more and the only way to get more was to start quilting myself, so my co-worker taught me. I took a couple of classes, I read a lot of books, and I asked a lot of questions online. I did take a seven-year break from quilting, so I would say I’ve been quilting for 11 years.

How would you define your quilting style?

I would like to just call myself a quilter, no labels. But I think I veer towards modern traditional. I love modern fabric, modern designers like Sarah Watts and Carolyn Friedlander, but I also love traditional patterns. I love straight-line quilting and more modern free-motion quilting. I didn’t know this until I took up quilting after my break, but I stopped right when the modern movement started, right when blogging was taking over the Internet, right when modern fabric was being introduced. At the time, I just wasn’t inspired. I stopped loving my fabric. If I had known what was going on, I doubt I would have stopped at all.

Are there other crafts/arts that you're into?

I’ve always wanted to learn to crochet and I would love to get a loom and start weaving, but so far quilting is it for me—the be all and end all.

What are your favorite fabric lines? Any designers that you can't wait to add to your stash?

I’ve been severely limiting myself in terms of fabric purchases for at least the past few months. I absolutely love Carolyn Friedlander, Yoko Saito, Melody Miller, Sarah Watts, Kei, Kokka, Suzuko Koseki, and Lotta Jansdotter.

What is your preferred method of quilting (i.e. machine or hand piecing, EPP, applique, FMQ, etc)?

I love to machine piece and English paper piece. I think you should always have a hand project going for those times you just cannot get to your machine. I think I would have gotten a lot more quilts finished by now had I continued English paper piecing even for those years I dared not go near a sewing machine. I haven’t really dipped my feet into FMQ, but I do love straight-line quilting, especially with 28- and 12-wt thread. If only I could afford to quilt a large quilt in it, but using especially 12-wt thread in the bobbin gets expensive. My all-time favorite thread is made by Superior and it’s about 18-wt, but I discovered it when it was being discontinued and I haven’t looked for alternatives. My favorite brands for my Juki are Aurifil and Wonderfil. I love Mettler for my Kenmore, which can’t handle threads that are too thin or too thick.

What is your favorite part of being a member of SFMQG?

I just love feeling that I’m not alone in this crazy obsession of mine. I love the friends I’ve made through the guild.

How do you personally contribute to our guild (or how would you like to be involved in the future)?

I moderate our Facebook group. I let people in if they join—if they’re guild members. If not, I send them a message on how to become guild members. Sometimes I’m inundated with requests, and sometimes it’s very quiet.

What is your quilting kryptonite?

Quilting Kryponite? What isn’t? I am a perpetual beginner. I am constantly looking up tutorials and videos on how to do something I’ve forgotten how to do because it’s been so long since the last time I did it. And one video or tutorial isn't enough. I have to watch 10 videos, read 5 tutorials. I think it’s all Kryptonite to me. Also, I am godawful at following instructions or patterns of any type. BOMs, QALs, patterns in books, tutorials on blogs, it's all just too much. Maybe that's why I kinda like improv and simple EPP. My strength must be my fabulous taste in fabric ;)

Where can we find you on social media?