Shannon Fraser Presents a Virtual Trunk Show

Hello, my fellow Canadian Quilters!

I’m Shannon, the modern quilt pattern designer behind Shannon Fraser Designs (https://www.shannonfraserdesigns.ca/). You can normally find me stitching away in my home studio, based in Montreal, Quebec, sipping copious amounts of coffee all while trying to keep Pips (my cat) off my quilts! 

I can’t tell you how happy I am to be connecting with you! 

When I first started my quilt journey back in 2015, I didn’t know a single soul who quilted, and it was a little lonely. Over the years I’ve discovered our wonderful community on Instagram (http://bit.ly/sfDInstagram), through blogs and by joining my local Montreal Modern Quilt Guild (http://mtlmqg.blogspot.com/2019/) – showing up to that first meeting was SO nerve-wracking, but I had nothing to fear! The participants gave me such a warm welcome!

Whether it be through simple comments of encouragement, sharing tips and tricks or participating in one of the many charitable sew-a-longs – our community has a way of making us feel a part of something special. It feels truly amazing to be connected with like-minded creatives who just get our love for textiles and our need to pet them from time to time – ha!

Quilting was honestly the last thing on my radar when I first started sewing. I had in fact discounted it as something I would ever be interested in. That is, until I stumbled upon a YouTube video showing how to make half-square triangles – or HSTs, as I’ve fondly come to know them as. One block led to another, and then another and, before I knew it, I was well on my way to creating my very first quilt – A Study in Half Square Triangles (http://bit.ly/sfDBFQHST). To say I’ve been hooked ever since would be an understatement. It felt like finding my creative home!

Since I found the initial days of my quilt journey to be very overwhelming – from the plethora of acronyms, to the many steps needed to complete a full quilt, to understanding different techniques and finding which was the right fit for me – it all felt like a lot to learn.

Which is why I love sharing my trials and tribulations and a-ha moments with you, so you too can incorporate and benefit from those learnings in your own quilting journey.

One of my favourite ways of doing that is through my tutorials (http://bit.ly/sfDBTutorials). I truly believe sharing is caring and if I can help you avoid some of the pitfalls I’ve encountered or help you nail a technique you haven’t tried before, then I’m ALL for it! I’m all about helping you succeed.

I’m also a firm believer that facing our fears is half the battle – in life and in quilting – there is so much growth on the other side of fear. And that’s why I’m always looking for ways to push myself – push my quilty boundaries to learn, grow and stretch my creative skills.

Here are some of the quilts where I dove headfirst into a new technique and figured it out as I went:

MEDALLION SQUARED QUILT BLOCK http://bit.ly/sfDQPMS 

The very first quilt pattern I ever designed (which also happens to be a free pattern for newsletter subscribers http://bit.ly/sfDNLSF) is the Medallion Squared quilt block (http://bit.ly/sfDQPMS). I had a vision but bringing that vision to life in the form of a Foundation Paper Pieced (FPP) pattern was a challenge! There was lots of hair pulling, cursing and even tears to figure out how to make it a reality. But my perseverance paid off!

WINTER STAR QUILT http://bit.ly/sfDBWSQ 

I’ve now participated in quite a few blog hops and supported several quilty friends in their book releases, but when I was accepted to join Pat Bravo’s Heartland Blog Hop (http://bit.ly/sfDBWSQ) I was only a year and a half into my quilting journey. The initial fabric shipment ended up in an entirely different country and the second shipment left me little time to execute my original plan. It was a great lesson that sometimes mishaps lead to better outcomes, as I ended up designing the Winter Star quilt pattern http://bit.ly/WinterStar (which also ended up being the first quilt pattern I put in my shop!). Not sure she would exist if it weren’t for that experience.

QUILTING

I’m what I believe you call a ‘purist’ in that I quilt all my quilts from start to finish. As tempted as I have been to send them out to a longarmer, I just love the idea of knowing I’ve had my hands involved at every stage. Quilting is an area I am continuously looking to improve on. I’m a long way from where I want to be, but I keep at it. I recently picked up the Walk book by Jacquie Gering (find it here https://www.amazon.com/shop/influencer-f9d96e64?listId=2YY7OGWO2OWCP&ref=idea_share_inf)  and it has been beyond inspiring. The first technique I gave a go was The Orange Peel on my Blossom Double Windmill mini quilt (http://bit.ly/sfDBBlossomDouble). I’m really proud of that one and look forward to exploring more techniques soon!

100 DAYS OF SFD IMPROV http://bit.ly/sfDB100DQ 

As much as I love working with a pattern and yardage, there is something about fabric scraps leftover from a quilt that I find very enticing. I’ve come to realize that I love bouncing between more structured quilt projects (i.e. following a pattern http://bit.ly/sfDShop) and what I call my ‘freedom sessions’ where I let loose and allow the scraps to inform my creativity. There is something so liberating about working solely based on your instincts – without any expectations as to where you’ll end up. My #100daysofsfDimprov (https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/100daysofsfdimprov/) quilt is a great example of that approach. 

DOUBLE WINDMILL QUILT http://bit.ly/sfDBDoubleWind 

In 2018, I set out with the goal of getting my designs published and was overjoyed when the first quilt I ever pitched was accepted AND landed the cover of Love Patchwork and Quilting Magazine (http://bit.ly/sfDBLPQDoubleWindmill). A total pinch-me moment 😉 You can see  more versions here (http://bit.ly/sfDBDoubleWind) and grab the pattern here (http://bit.ly/DoubleWindmillPDF). 

ECLIPTIC http://bit.ly/sfDBEclipticLPQ

I kept hearing rumblings about how scary quilting curves was and so I was a little hesitant when Suzy reached out to ask me to pattern test for her and it was a pattern featuring curves – eek! Turns out I absolutely adore sewing curves! Who knew! I’ve since gone on to design a couple of patterns featuring curves, which will be releasing over the next few months. In the meantime, you can see the Ecliptic quilt that was featured in Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine (http://bit.ly/sfDBEclipticLPQ).  

COMFORT & JOY – PINK LEMONADE QUILT http://bit.ly/sfDBPLQP 

Another key reason why I love to quilt is because I’ve discovered it has helped me deal with some real-life challenges. My Pink Lemonade quilt http://bit.ly/sfDBPLQP came at a time where I had lost my joy and didn’t know whether I would ever find it again. Picking up that quilt and hand stitching her helped me reconnect with what makes me happy, helped me cope with loss and reminded me that there is still so much to be joyful about.

COLOUR EXPLORATION – PLUS INFINITY QUILT http://bit.ly/sfDBPIQP 

I’m a true lover of colour. It’s one of the things that drew me to fabric in the first place – all the glorious spectrums of colours and prints. So inspiring in of itself. And I love that quilting gives us the opportunity to explore colour – even ones we may not think we’d love (I’m looking at you Curry). I’m also surprised at how often I find yellow sneaking into my quilts! When I was invited to participated in the What Shade Are You? blog hop, I initially thought I would make a quilt featuring coral – ‘cause I love coral. But I decided to challenge myself and work with greens – a colour I didn’t usually gravitate towards. It led to the creation of my Plus Infinity quilt http://bit.ly/sfDBPIQP and it’s the one that I snuggle under every night. Who knew green could be so awesome?!

Another favourite of mine where I really stepped up the colour exploration was in my Flight Plan quilt. I hesitated for just a nano second, wondering whether this was too bold? But quickly remembered my motto “Go bold or go home, Shannon” – ha!

MINI QUILTS http://bit.ly/sfDIGMinis 

I already mentioned my ‘freedom sessions’ and my mini quilts all stem from those. What I love even more about letting loose, is allowing myself the freedom to explore new ideas and techniques. The mini format means I’m not committing the time and money required for a larger quilt, so I don’t feel any pressure if the ultimate result is less than stellar. You can see my latest #100daysofsfDminis here http://bit.ly/sfDIGMinis. 

All this to say, I hope I’ve encouraged you to step outside your quilty comfort zone and explore techniques or ideas that you’ve been curious about but hesitant to give a go. What’s the worst that can happen? It’s only fabric after all 😉

Happy quilting!

xo

Shannon

PS Come say ‘hi’ over on Instagram @shannonfraserdesigns (https://www.instagram.com/shannonfraserdesigns/). I always love hearing from you 😊