CHARLOTTE SCOTT
Why this particular craft? I love to work
with my hands and so quilting satisfies this
as well as my love of colour, my fabric
obsession and my joy at putting together
something that is completely unique to me.
Have you tried plenty of others? Yes, some;
I’ve dabbled in garment sewing and I’ve done
a bit of sketching and painting.
Any funny stories along the way? Let’s not
talk about all the half-sewn garments stashed
away. I seem to have a mental block when
it comes to finishing them. I swear I’ll never
start another clothing item, then I’ll see a
gorgeous pattern and some beautiful fabric,
and oops, I’ve done it again!
If you weren’t doing this, what would
occupy your time? I’m a midwife by trade but
that doesn’t satisfy my creative side much.
If I weren’t able to work with fabric, it would
still have to be something tactile and textural,
so I think I’d give mixed media a try.
Who taught you your crafting skills? Mum
always sewed, so I absorbed a bit by childhood
osmosis. We lost her when I was 16, so when
I wanted to learn patchwork, I took a formal
beginners’ class. That was 11 years ago, and
I haven’t put down needle and thread since.Any good stories from those lessons?
Ilearnt the importance of the social side
of craft. A friend and I who took these classes
together kept meeting once a week for the
next eight years until she moved countries.
Conversation flows easily when eyes and
hands are busy. You can take the time to
ponder questions and answers – it’s easier
to share troubles. Basically, craft is a cheap
(and productive) form of therapy!
What does this craft mean to you? It’s
carried me through the good times as well
as the bad times. When I’m happy, I love to
transfer that to fabric. And when I’m stressed,
spending some time free-motion quilting
is very Zen and relaxing.
Is it hard to find time to do your stitching
or is it a profession? If something is
important to you, then I believe you’ll make
the time for it. I’ve just got myself an out-
of-house studio, and it’s wonderful because,
when I’m there, there are no distractions,
no housework calling my name!
Do you think of your craft as passion or a
spare-time-filler? A passion, definitely. I want
to show everyone how wonderful fabric and
thread are for self-expression, and I know
that I can talk about it until my victims get
a little glazed in the eye.
From where do you draw inspiration?
The natural world is a particular inspiration.
After all, Mother Nature is the original artist,
and she has quite the superior colour sense.
Why this skill – and this style? Patchwork
and quilting are so diverse. Once you’ve
learned the essential basics, you can take
them into so many areas that it’s hard to
get bored. You can make useful items like
bags and quilted pouches, through to
traditional bed quilts, modern minimalist
pillows and then onwards into art quilts
that are purely decorative.
What are your favourite materials to work
with? I dye a lot of my own quilting cottons
and I love to work with natural linens. I also
dye and use silk fabrics and silk and cotton
embroidery threads.
Do you ever see yourself stopping or
diversifying? No! I’ve been passionate aboutquilting for 11 years and, although my style
has evolved and will continue to, I don’t see
my love for it wavering any time soon.
Where do you live and work? I live on an old
wooden boat with my husband and two kids.
I used to have a corner of the main saloon for
my sewing machine and various containers
of fabrics spread throughout the boat. But
recently, I’ve managed to secure a studio
space, which I’ve combined with an art gallery,
and it’s open to the public. It’s one minute’s
walk from my boat and has a fabulous view
and lots of space. And I LOVE it!
What’s your family structure? Living on
the boat are myself, my husband, my two
kids, a cat and a dog. It’s a pretty big boat,
but I think you can imagine why I needed
a studio space all to myself! My family’s
great. The kids truly believe that I can do
anything with needle and thread, which
is very sweet of them.
Do you teach your skills to others? I teach
beginner patchwork classes, fabric dyeing
classes and a few other more specialised art
quilting classes. I love lighting the fire of
fabric obsession in others.
How would you describe your style? What
makes it unique? I’m eclectic. I like designing
modern funky items and quilts but I also
spend a lot of time making figurative art
quilts. There seems to be a bird theme
running through my work – they always
inspire me with their familiarity combined
with the mystery of flight.
Any embarrassing botch-ups along the way?
There’s a quilt out there that I gave to an
acquaintance for her new baby. It was only
about the third quilt I ever made and, when
I look back at the photo of it, I can’t believe
how ugly it was! And here’s a piece of advice
from another misadventure – if you are going
to try quilt-as-you-go (QAYG), only use one
QAYG technique per quilt or it gets very
messy very quickly!
What is your advice for beginners? My
advice is to work on small projects to start
with so that you get that sense of satisfaction
when you finish items quickly and regularly.
It’s a real confidence booster.Gett ing to know ...
CHARLOTTE’S
ORGANISATION TIP
Find a way to keep all the supplies,
instructions and materials for a
particular project together. This is
a major frustration preventer and
means that you’re ready to go any
time without having to hunt for a
much-needed item. Zip-lock bags
or shoeboxes work well.CHARLOTTE’S
MAINTENANCE TIPS
Clean (and possibly lubricate) your sewing
machine as instructed in your machine’s
manual and as regularly as recommended.
Replace the blade on your rotary cutter.
Change your sewing-machine needle. Take
the time to do all those little maintenance
tasks that you always tend to put off- they really do make a big difference!
CHARLOTTE’S
ECONOMY TIP Get in the habit
of cutting your leftovers into squares and/
or strips as soon as you’ve finished cutting
the fabrics for a project. Choose a standard
size, such as 2in, 3^11 ⁄ 2 in and 5in squares, or
whatever sizes you most often use. After
several projects, you’ll have a neat pile of
squares or strips ready to go for a simple quilt
instead of a messy pile of irregular scraps.80 HomespunHSP1702_p074-082_Peas Please PROJECT.indd 80 12/14/2015 11:30:53 AM