Welcome to a new segment for Princess YellowBelly Designs! We’ve shared amazing artists with you before (and we’re about to again), but we’ve realized that there’s another kind of category.
Really we should have figured it out before, because it’s our own category. And it’s artists’ sharing their creativity so other’s can use their ideas.
It’s a beautiful place to be.
And since we’ve narrowed it down, we’ve realized that a lot of these wonderful artists are in the sphere of Etsy. Again, it shouldn’t have surprised us because we ourselves got our start on Etsy.
Yet we didn’t think of sharing our unique product suppliers – patterns, knickknacks, specialty beads, trims, and ideas in general – until we purchased a very special pattern.
How We Met a Unique Product Supplier
And now we at Princess YellowBelly Designs would like to introduce to our first brave, unique, and wonderful Unique Product Supplier: Laura from Slice of Pi Quilts.
What made you start creating your own patterns?
Joining Instagram! A friend encouraged me to join the social media platform to share my quilts. Once I did, I found a wonderful community of other quilters that I had no idea existed! Other people began asking for patterns for the quilts I was making, and it turns out, that was my dream job!
What inspires you?
I’m *always* hunting for quilt inspiration! I take photos of floor tiles, tissue boxes, walls, shadows…anything and everything that catches my eye. I keep those photos in a folder in my phone, then I scroll through them when I’m in the mood to start a quilt!
Why do you enjoy making your own patterns – and inventing your own techniques?
When I made my first quilt, I had no idea what I was doing. I watched YouTube videos and called my mom and grandmothers dozens of times to ask questions. I loved the thrill of figuring it out! I promised myself right then that I wanted to try something new with every quilt that I made!
Biography
I’m Laura! I’m a quilter, pattern designer, deal hunter, and homeschooling mom of three boys! I’m also an ex-math teacher – and with a last name like Piland – there’s a strong love of pi in our house!
I started quilting in 2010, then started Slice of Pi Quilts in 2016. I have made over 400 quilts in that time! I love inspiring others to quilt and am always trying something new!
I live outside of Kansas City, MO.
*We’ve used your Hydra scales pattern ourselves (and it’s awesome!) In fact, hang around till the end, and we’ll give you a glimpse of just what we did with Laura’s pattern…
How did you come up with that one? How many different places/ways have you used it?
That’s such a fun quilt! I had just finished making a quilt with prairie points, and wondered if I could make other shapes instead of triangles.
Turns out, you can!
Teresa Coates of Shannon Fabrics made the quilt using their Cuddle! I think that’s a brilliant use of the pattern! Wouldn’t it be so fun to make each scale with a different textured fabric! What a great baby quilt that would be!
What materials do you use?
I’m always trying new tools and techniques, but I do sometimes use non-traditional fabric too! I have made quilts with selvages, minky, fleece, lace, and even rayon fabric!
How long does it take to design something new?
Sometimes, inspiration strikes and I can’t scribble the design on the back of a napkin fast enough! Other times, it takes months for an idea to simmer long enough to be ready for cutting up fabric.
How many have you made in all (or a rough estimate)?
I have finished 403 quilts since 2010. Yes, I have a spreadsheet! That does not include other projects like pillowcases, zipper pouches, or other non-quilty projects, which I usually have a dozen or so of those each year too.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever made?
It’s not sewing, but I recently made a giant white flower fascinator with cardstock and hot glue for a local Kentucky Derby themed party! I even won first prize for it!
Do you do any selling or displaying at fairs?
I teach quilting to kids in our local 4-H club, and they display their quilts at our county fair! I do not sell any quilts, but I will occasionally take quilts to the local quilt show.
How do your boys and homeschooling affect your quilting passion?
Our days are definitely a blend of school and work! While the boys are doing school, I’m often multi-tasking and filling pattern orders or writing a blog post. The boys are also quick to point out barn quilt blocks, quilt shops, or quilts in books and movies!
Coming soon…
What’s new or coming next for you?
I have three new quilt patterns coming out next month! I’m working behind the scenes now on making the samples and finalizing the patterns!
What’s the best place for our readers to find and/or contact you?
If you’re on Facebook or Instagram, I’m Slice of Pi Quilts there.
And whatever else you do, I highly recommend that you sign up for my newsletter on my website!
Princess YellowBelly Highly Recommends Slice of Pi
Laura is, in our humble opinion, a brilliant artist. We can also tell you that we’ve made her Hydra scales pattern for ourselves. Her pattern style is clear, cohesive, easy to follow, and really a lot of fun.
From all those hundreds of little hydra scales, we managed to adapt and change her idea to suit our needs.
*Incidentally, that’s a great metric for whether or not a pattern is good: it should be easy to adapt.
Now that we have the Hydra Scales pattern, I know that we’ll be using it many, many times in the future. Probably – sorry Laura – in ways that our wonderful Unique Product Supplier wouldn’t even recognize.
If you want to, you can watch the whole interview with Laura, FREE, on our official YouTube channel. If you want to be notified (and reminded) when we next go live with a unique artist like Laura, subscribe to our newsletter! It’s fast, it’s free, and you get a great gift as well.
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