Julie will be teaching #1002 Tiny Dancer on Monday and #2002 Snack Time on Tuesday
“One girl on a mission to make life better with fabric.”
Julie Herman is the most energetic quilter you will ever meet. Julie brought her Jaybird Quilts for the first time to the vendor floor last year. She is back again this year and will also be teaching.
Julie was introduced to sewing by her mom. At first, Julie was “not even vaguely interested” in sewing. She was very crafty but sewing just wasn’t on her list of things to do. When her mom’s old machine was in need of replacing, she got a new machine that was much higher tech than she was used to and it made her nervous. She asked if Julie could go with her to take classes on how to use it. Julie soon realized how easy it was to use a sewing machine and how quickly you could create something. After those classes, Julie ended up “borrowing” her mom’s machine to make some decor for her dorm room. She often had the TV on while studying and fell in love with the show, Simply Quilts, on HGTV. From there, she bought a book on quilting and just took off. That was 11 years ago and she never did give back her mom’s machine.
Julie’s mom, Sandy, considers it was a small price to pay, particularly after all the quilting and designing Julie has gotten in to. She loves how her daughter has taken her interests in math, science, and art and turned it in to a quilting passion. In just a short period of time, Julie has become a quilt-maker, designed over 30 quilt patterns, invented an innovative quilt ruler (Hex N More Ruler), written a book (Skip the Borders), and now travels on both coasts, teaching her quilt techniques.
Jaybird Quilts was started as a means to sell Julie’s wares directly to distributors and quilt shops. While Julie “does everything” in the company (design, graphics, photos, patterns, full color pattern books), her family is right there by her side cheering her on. At Road 2013, Julie’s mom and brother were right there, helping out in Julie’s booth.
How does Julie spend a typical day? Designing, creating and blogging. Her Hex N More Ruler cuts four shapes in four different sizes and is a featured tool in her classes.
Newer fabrics that are solid colors and have architectural shapes, are the key to Julie’s modern quilt designs. Many of Julie’s patterns come with these fabrics precut and are beginner friendly. It is important to her to encourage younger, new quilters. She never wants to see quilting go away. There is no way that is ever going to happen. Not if Julie Herman has anything to do about it.
You can visit Julie at http://www.jaybirdquilts.com
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Tags: Hex n More Ruler, HGTV, Jaybird Quilts, Modern Quilting, Simply Quilts, Skip the Borders
