To begin with, just a note that if we look slightly bleary eyed in this film, or our voices are croaky it is because we spent many hours in a karaoke booth in Edinburgh the night before, belting out tunes and having a wee drink or two! It’s exciting to meet virtual friends in real life – and to talk a lot, and the Stitch Gathering last weekend brought many creative people together, thanks to Jo Avery.
Lucy Engels popped into my life via osmosis, just as quilting filtered on to her creative radar. Lucy’s prints, textiles and quilts are modern, with clean lines, colours I love, and a hint of retro. Essentially Lucy makes very cool objects I could happily live amongst. This year she is also an Aurifil Artisan, and has worked with Janome for a number of years – recently making the best quilted jacket and dancing with it on, and leg warmers (check out her Instagram to find it).
It’s great that Lucy’s quilting journey came from the lack of an inspiring bedspread for her to buy in a retail shop – and to be honest I imagine this could be a pretty common motivation. I made my first curtains because I couldn’t find any I wanted to buy.
The way in which Lucy’s former job as a social worker in addiction services has impacted her quilting process is really interesting. She had to be creative to work with her clients – but went on to strive for order and precision when sewing, something that couldn’t always be achieved in the day job. Also, the ability to see a project through to completion makes quilting satisfying. We don’t always get that luxury in our professional or personal life. Humans can be messy but control can create calm, as well as beautiful objects like the Jumbo Paperclip Quilt. All of these motivations are food for thought.
I admire Lucy’s determination to change her job to follow her artistic dreams, and I totally agree that setting boundaries in a making project doesn’t have to be restrictive at all. Its simply a shift in mindset.
Finally, if you do find yourself in Edinburgh with a hangover I can highly recommend The City Cafe all-day fried breakfast to get you back on track!
Follow Lucy on Instagram @_lucyengels
Buy patterns and fabric at https://lucyengels.com
Thanks as always for stopping by x
What a lovely interview! That quilt is amazing!