Cherri House and City Quilts = A Great Interview and A Giveaway

Hello Everyone,

For those of you who don't know Cherri House and her wonderful work, you must go visit her on her blog! But first a short introduction to her wonderful sense of design and color right here. So sit back relax and enjoy! There is a surprise at the end for you when you are finished reading...

1. Your signature style of quilting is simple and streamlined, which is just beautiful. You also use mostly solids. When it comes to designing your quilts, what inspires you most?

Grids...I just love grids, I see beauty in them, and fortunately for me; they are everywhere. There is no shortage of inspiration for quilts though, I'm always trying to turn whatever I see into a quilt.

2. Prior to your wonderful hit book, City Quilts, you had started a pattern business. Do you intend to continue with patterns that can be purchased singly and if so, will they be themed around something particular like your book?

Yes, I'm definitely continuing with my pattern business...I have several coming out in the next couple of months. I'm kind of at a loss in regards to a theme - I was on such a roll with my city quilts, and I still have so many of them in me, but my daughters have forbidden me from doing any more city quilts. They were afraid that I would turn out something called City Dump, or City Tramp, etc. They thought I should move on while on top! So, I am on a search for my new series.

3. Solids are wonderful to work with and come in a great array of colors. Do you enjoy adding pattern with printed fabric as well? And if so, what is your fabric of choice, i.e. batiks, prints?

I love fabric period...I love it all. Solids work best for me in regards to the results I am seeking - timeless, classic, contemporary, and minimalistic. There are some quilt patterns that work best in combining solids and prints, and I always look forward to the dynamic that creates. I do quite a bit of work with fabric manufacturers, and this gives me plenty of opportunity to work with a large variety of fabric types.

4. When it comes to quilting your quilts, how do you go about determining what quilting design will best fit your quilt design? And what type of thread do you like to use, i.e. cotton, rayon, variegated?

So much depends on the quilt, something like City Aviation required incredible quilting, which was done by DeLoa Jones; because the quilt is so "plain", the quilting is really the star of the show. In other quilts such as City Green, or City Play, the quilting played '2nd fiddle' to the multitude of colors in the quilt. Generally if I am quilting a quilt myself on my domestic sewing machine I use YLI's silk thread...it's my favorite if I need the quilting to blend into the piece. If matching thread to fabric is needed, and I want the quilting to stand out, I use Gutermann 50 weight cotton thread which comes in such a great variety of colors.

5. Your quilts have a dramatic impact and make quite a visual statement. How long does it take for you to design a single pattern and then decide on the colors and fabric to use?

Generally I see quilts in my mind first, then it becomes a matter of translating the vision to EQ, working out the logistics, then fabric, etc. The clearer the vision, the faster the whole process flows. The most exciting thing is when the quilt is done, and it is exactly what I had envisioned some months before.

6. Now a silly question, you have a dog and three cats, do they tend to "help" you when you are quilting? If so, can you let us in on what they do? Or is your studio off limits?

Well, we might have to redefine "help" in order to make that work. My dog Mickey makes sure that I get up to take breaks (to let him go outside for business), one of my cats, Pinecone makes sure that I stop working by a certain hour so that I can sit down on my bed, so she can lay in my lap. One of my other cats, Finn encourages me to keep my desk clean so that when he comes to visit, he won't knock everything down when he decides to lay across every object in sight...so yes, in their own special way - they do help!

7. One last question, how big is your fabric stash?

Not as extensive as I would like! I've worked really hard to keep things managable after watching a few episodes of Horders. Many, many bags of fabric have been donated to the humanitarian efforts through my church. It's so easy to buy it, and so hard to give it away - but it's necessary, and it definitely goes to a good cause.

I hope you have all enjoyed the interview and are inspired by Cherri. Stay tuned for an upcoming Podcast with her at the end of the year!

Now for the Giveaway!! The last two photos are what is up for grabs. Yes, an autographed copy of City Quilts published by C & T Publishing and a Robert Kaufman Hot Spicy Fat Quarter Bundle. There will be two winners!

To enter :

1. Leave a comment on this post for one entry.

2. Leave a comment on Cherri's Blog and then come back and leave a separate comment to let me know for a second entry.

3. Follow both of our blogs and leave a third comment to let me know for the final entry.

Remember, I MUST have a way to reach you (make sure there is an e-mail available). The drawing will remain open through July 4th.

Oh and if you aren't one of the lucky winners, you can purchase both the book (20% off retail) and the bundle on my shop by clicking here. This bundle will make the quilt City Tracks in her book. You will just need to add some Kona Black (also found in my shop)!

Good luck to you all!

Until Next Time...

Cherri House and City Quilts = A Great Interview and A Giveaway