Quilt designer turns hobby into business

PITTSFIELD – By day, Karen Pratt works full-time as a software engineer for General Dynamics.

For the past 10 years, she has spent much of her spare time working on her business, QuiltLily Designs, creating, speaking, teaching and hosting quilting retreats with a partner, Kate Mitchell of Kate Mitchell Quilts.

Ms. Pratt, originally from East Bridgewater, has been quilting since the mid-‘90s. Her sister, Kim, also a quilter, encouraged her to get into it. She attended her sister’s quilting group, Brown Baggers.

Their mother, Caroline, now of Florida, has always been an avid seamstress. Consequently, Ms. Pratt has been inspired to sew since childhood.

In the beginning, Ms. Pratt jumped right in, she said. Quilting was a hobby for awhile and evolved into a business 10 years ago.

“I still enjoy it very much,” she said, since it lets her use her creative side whereas engineering is quite logical.

Still, quilt-making requires accuracy in measuring and a computer software program assists with designs, so Ms. Pratt has the best of both worlds.

When creating a new quilt design, she said it starts with an idea and then evolves.

“It takes effort to construct it and get it right,” she said.

Designs patterns for quilts

Part of her business is to create and sell patterns for quilts. They are sold in quilt shops all over the country and Canada.

Some of her designs are “Garden Terrace,”  “Home Again,” “Joyful Season,”  “Moose Crossing,” “Pool Party,” “Step It Up”  and “Star Passion.”

QuiltLily Designs offers pieced quilt patterns as well as Redwork. The latter contains stitchery patterns with artwork that looks like embroidery done by another quilter, Cindy Riggs-French. Ms. Riggs-French also happens to be an engineer at General Dynamics.

The two quilters, working together, offer more than 40 different designs of Redwork. For instance, Ms. Riggs-French drew owls peeking out from their perch on a branch as well as a line of colorful, pieced-together, eye-catching sheep.

Ms. Pratt’s job brought her to Pittsfield, where she owns her own home. She even had a handsome addition put on it so now she has her own light-filled quilting studio. An attached closet is filled from top to bottom with hundreds of quilting supplies.

Quilts used in home decor

Plastic bins filled with masterfully-done quilts in every imaginable design and color can be found in the studio. Ms. Pratt also uses quilts as wall hangings and on beds in the home.  Everywhere one looks there is something unique and colorful to see.

For example, an electric blue and purple quilt livens up a wall in the kitchen.  Visitors cannot help but stop and feast their eyes on such a creative and meticulously done piece.

The amount of time it takes to complete a quilt depends on the complexity of it, she said.

She also does finishing work for other people who have completed quilts. Some people dislike adding the batting and sewing it all together, so that’s where Ms. Pratt can take over.

Ms. Pratt and her partner attend shows throughout the northeast.

Some upcoming shows where their patterns and quilting notions will be displayed and sold are the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XIX, the Bennington (Vermont) Quilt Fest and Q.U.I.L.T.S. Quilt Show in Schenectady, N.Y. They are going to have a very busy fall season.

Spring is also a busy time for quilters, she said.

Despite what some non-quilters think, it’s not hard to quilt, she said.  A good quilt simply requires accuracy in cutting, sewing and pressing, she said.

Quilt designer likes batik

Ms. Pratt tends to use batik fabrics in the quilts she makes.  She likes the hand-dyed fabrics that steer away from specific patterning.  Batik is a design method that uses wax to create various colors on fabric being dyed.

The wax prevents the fabric underneath it from being dyed. Once removed, the resulting design remains the original color of the fabric.

Batik designs are eye-catching. Indonesian batiks are particularly beautiful.

She said she goes through different color phases, including black and white. Quilt colors can even vary seasonally.

Posted by Susan M. Wicker Guerrero on September 6, 2012. Filed under Arts and Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry