Today we are excited to introduce you to Riley Blake Designer, Stacy West!
Let’s let Stacy tell us a little about herself:
I was born and raised up North amongst the oaks and the apple trees in the state of Minnesota. I was fortunate to be raised surrounded by generations of my family. Growing up in the same yard as my great grandmother Lily and my grandmother Avis allowed me to learn and enjoy the creative process of handwork and sewing, just like my mother did years ago. I was blessed beyond measure and inspired at an early age to create and inspire others by using & sharing my talents with others.
Through the years, I have enjoyed working in various mediums, but have grown to love working with wool and fibers. More recently I have also fallen in love with quilting (as I collect quilts and orphan blocks) and the creative process of designing fabrics and wool. I tend to like traditional colors and small civil war prints that are found within my quilt collection. I am not afraid to go out of the box and mix cottons and wool in my designs! It really adds more interest and dimension. I also am fond of yarn dyes and homsepuns. Those tend to make great backgrounds for my block of the months and again, add a fun twist to any project!
I also LOVE to travel, teach and share my passion with. There is no greater joy than seeing others learn your technique and fall in love with working with wool, for example. Seeing them bring you their finished pieces just warms my heart. I truly am blessed!
I am married to my college sweetheart, George, and we have two darling young girls! Hannah is my oldest and is a Sophomore in college at the University of Minnesota. Grace is 16 and is in 11th grade and recently made both Jazz and Kick on variety and got inducted into the National Honor Society. My husband is a corporate guy but is my biggest fan! We don’t have much down time, but we both love basketball and are season ticket holders for the Minnesota Timberwolves and have a blast getting out watching them play!
Stacy’s upcoming collection, Lumberjack Aaron, features a traditional color palette with a whimsical, woodsy aesthetic.
As we pour over pre-production fabric swatches, we can’t help but be drawn to these fun little sketches highlighting Lumberjack Aaron and his tools of the trade.
You will LOVE the woodgrain prints which will be available in three different wood tones. And these itty bitty checks are too cute!
In order to get to know Stacy a little better, we gave her a list of words in alphabetical order to which she could give any reply that came to mind. Enjoy this fun and refreshing look at life from Stacy’s unique perspective!
Annoying: My youngest cat, Henry is “annoying” when he jumps on my bed with his stick toy and wants to play before I’m even awake!
Begin: I can’t “begin” to tell you how excited I am to be a part of the RBD team!!!
Can’t: “Can’t” is not a word in my vocabulary!
Don’t: I “don’t” do mornings! Lol!
Excited: I’m SEW “excited” to be teaching at the Garden of Quilts show at Thanksgiving Point in September!
Family: My “family” consists of my sweet husband, George, daughters Hannah {who is in her Sophomore year at the U of MN} & Grace {who is a junior and doing PSEO at a local college} and our 5 cats, Wilma, Bella, Oliver, Oscar & Henry!
Go: I LOVE to “go” junkin!
Hero: When I was young, my FAV “hero” was Wonder Woman!
If: “If” only I was skinny!!!!! Haha!
Jokes: I don’t know any “jokes” and rarely get the punch lines anyway!!!
Knowledge: I have a lot of “knowledge” about my cats!!! That’s a good thing, right?
Lost: Before Christmas I “lost” a model. My husband just recently found it behind the couch. My cats must have pulled it out from underneath!
Monday: “Monday” starts a new creative week at the Basin!
Next: I’m already working on my “next” line which is going to be soooo pretty!!!
Open: My shop is “open” weekly in the Twin Cities in MN!
Project: I rarely have one “project” that I’m working on… usually it’s a bunch!
Project: I rarely have one “project” that I’m working on… usually it’s a bunch!
Quilts: I enjoy collecting antique “quilts” & sewing notions!
True: “True” fact: I LOVE Diet Coke!
Unique: My style is “unique” in the fact that I enjoy combining, cottons, wool & hand dyed fibers in my designs!
Vacation: I’m not a fan of camping, I’d rather go on “vacation” and hit the spa!
Window: When I look out my “window”, all I see is SNOW!
X-ray: I’m very thankful I haven’t had to have an “x-ray” in, like, forever!
Yes: “Yes!” I loving meeting all my BB peeps! You guys are just the best!
Zodiac: My “zodia sign is Sagittarius!
What fun answers! Thank you, Stacy, for allowing us to get to know you! Lumberjack Aaron is expected to arrive in stores in August 2019. Be sure to pre-order yours today, and while you are at it, pick up some of our fabulous Wool to pair with her beautiful fabrics….
….Or hop on over to our Riley Blake Designs Instagram feed to find out how you can win this FREE mixed bundle of Riley Blake Designs Wool!
Happy Sewing!