Get To Know Lynne!
We had the great opportunity to spend some time with our friend, Lynne Wilson, on her recent trip to the U.S. Here's what she had to say about her experiences:
Hi, I’m Lynne from Lynne Wilson designs. I live in Australia in the beautiful Southern Highlands just south of Sydney.
Last year I organized Annie’s tour in Australia and the two of us chatted non-stop whilst we travelled through the cities and countryside bringing ByAnnie to enthusiastic sewists.
As we talked, Annie discovered that I design patterns for lots of different pillows and quilts and decided that my designs should be available in the US.
So, thanks to Annie and the team, my patterns are now available through ByAnnie.com.
I have just returned from two weeks in the US with Annie. What an adventure that was!
We started in Puyallup Washington at the Sewing & Stitchery Expo where I had a corner of the ByAnnie booth to show my quilts and other projects.
I thoroughly enjoyed giving a class each day to share my designs and talk about how I use scraps and fabrics from my stash. It was a winner!
It seems we all have a lot of stash we would like to use up, and everyone just needed a bit of encouragement to go home and get cutting.
Next stop was Saint George, Utah where I met all the ByAnnie team.
My husband Peter and I are the distributors of ByAnnie products in Australia, so it was great to meet the people who assemble the products, pack our orders, do the marketing, and sew the models.
I loved seeing the different landscape of the Saint George high desert, too. It is so different from my corner of Australia where it is lush and green with surrounding farmland.
One afternoon I presented a trunk show for all the staff and went over many of my techniques with the sewing team.
They did a great job making a Pleated Log Cabin quilt. It was fun to watch them step out of their comfort zone and use lots of different fabrics in their blocks.
It was a busy but fulfilling week, during which I also worked with the ByAnnie marketing team to film marketing videos for my patterns.
You will soon be able to view these videos on the ByAnnie website.
Finally Annie and I got to sew and I learned some great tips from the master herself.
I’m thrilled to bits with my Ultimate Travel Bag made from Murmer by Valori Wells from FreeSpirit Fabrics.
I am planning to make a matching Travel Essentials and can’t wait to get back to the sewing machine.
Cheers to all the wonderful people I met who made my trip so much fun.
I will be back for the Kansas City Quilt Market in May exhibiting in the ByAnnie booth, so I look forward to meeting store owners from across the country.
Happy sewing everyone!
--Lynne
Get the Inside Scoop
Whenever we get the chance, we love learning more about fellow designers, sewists, and makers. It was fun to talk to Lynne about her wide range of experiences as a quilt shop owner, pattern designer, and distributor.
Here's what we discovered:
Q. How and when did you learn to sew?
A. I got my first sewing machine when I was about 16 and used it to make some clothes. I later took a class at a patchwork shop when I was about 23. That’s when I got the patchwork bug.
Q. What got you into making patterns?
A. I opened my first patchwork shop in 1984 and started teaching and writing patterns in a very simple way. I sold the shop after 19 years and started designing quilts with easy patterns that helped shop owners move fabrics from their shelves.
Q. What do you love most about working in the sewing industry?
A. The people!
Q. Do you see a difference between the Australian and U.S. sewing/quilting market?
A. Yes. I think Australian quilters like to combine different fabrics for a scrappy look more so than quilters in the US. English paper piecing has also been very strong in Australia for quite some time.
Q. What do you know now that you wish you knew in the beginning?
A. I had no idea what I was doing when I started in the quilting industry and that was probably a good thing. I just grew with it and trusted my instincts. I made mistakes along the way, but always tried to learn from them. You have to keep evolving and introducing new things all the time.
If I had known how much work it was at the beginning, I may not have had the courage to be in this industry for 35 years. However, it has been a very rewarding journey.
Q. What is your proudest sewing moment?
A. I am really proud of all the friendships that have been made from customers taking classes and sharing their love of sewing when I had my store. Some of these women are still friends and continue to meet to sew all these years later. That’s a very special thing.
Q. What's your biggest piece of advice for beginners?
A. I think your local quilt shop is the best place to take your first class. They can guide you with fabric choices and teach you all the basics in a hands on class.
Q. What is your favorite pattern that you've designed?
Q. What do you look for when choosing fabrics?
A. Hard question!! Color mostly….but, it depends on what I am working on. I just usually buy what takes my eye knowing that if I like it, it will work somewhere.
Q. What's your favorite sewing tool/notion?
A. When I’m sewing Annie bags is has to be my Stiletto & Pressing Tool. But, where would I be without the rotary cutter to cut all those strips for my patterns? It has to be the greatest tool ever invented for quilters.
Q. What gets you in a creative mood?
A. A deadline!!!
Stay in the Loop:
Be sure to check out Lynne's fabulous patterns on our website, and don't forget to sign up for our email list so you can be among the first to find out when her videos will be released on ByAnnie.com.
You can learn more about Lynne and her designs by following her on Instagram @lynnehqw.
Get to Know Lynne Wilson!