Collaborator Spotlight: Crystal Stanworth

Today, we are shining the spotlight on another sewing super girl. (If you missed yesterday's post on Tina Egner, you can link to it here.)

Today, please meet Crystal Stanworth.

Crystal at home in Texas

Crystal is a mother of four, ranging from 2 to 8 years old. Like me, Crystal played volleyball in school, but at a much higher level than i ever did! She was on the volleyball team at BYU-Hawaii, where she earned a degree in biochemistry. She went on to get her master's in biochem and cell biology at Rice University. 

According to Crystal, she picked up sewing after her first child was born in 2007, to fill in the napping hours. Soon after, she started quilting, "after a quilt shop lady said the perfectionist in me needed to just 'calm down' so I could enjoy making quilts." Her works and patterns are available at Frivolous Necessity on Etsy.

Crystal loves bright colorful fabrics (with an emphasis on orange -- my favorite too!), trying new quilting techniques, and all things appliqué. Her main hobbies are volleyball and piano, with a side of gardening, crafting, cleaning, reading, and decorating -- all while holding a diet coke. She's currently injured as she broke her ankle playing volleyball. She wanted me to add that among things she "covets" are a Model B Steinway piano and a Gammill Longarm Machine.

I was fortunate to have met Crystal through my dear friends, Joyce and Sarah Ely (shown below). Their Cleveland quilt shop, JEllen's House of Fabric, had been selected to be a part of American Patchwork and Quiltings' Shop Hop in Quilt Sampler magazine. I had just finished designing Sunnyside, and Crystal kindly agreed to design an exclusive pattern for the magazine feature. The deadline was tight. Crystal was far into her pregnancy. The timing of getting finished fabric to make the sample was a bit frantic. But Moda was so helpful in moving things along swiftly. It turned out that on the very same day that Crystal delivered her twins that everything was completed. Great teamwork made it happen. The photo to the right shows Crystal standing with her quilt "Tile Twist."

Just a few months ago, I reached out to Crystal and she replied to my Quilt Market S.O.S. She whipped up the first Whirlwind quilt , from that pattern which i designed to accompany Aria, my newest fabric collection for Moda fabrics.

Crystal did an ooh-ahh-mazing job!

Janice Roy worked her quilting magic (more about Janice tomorrow). Because the design of Whirlwind reminded me of whirligigs from when i was a kid, i wanted something evocative of a breezy afternoon. Janice had the perfect idea, and i love what she did!

It's a joy to have some of Crystal's work in our home. It reminds me of the team spirit she exemplifies both on the volleyball court and in the quilting community! I am thankful for her help.

Aria will be shipping to stores in February; it's already available in Australia and New Zealand.

Come back tomorrow and meet creative maker extraordinaire, Janice Roy.

Have a beautiful day!

xo,

Kate