Quilts are personal….that’s one crucial thing that I have learned over the past several years that I’ve been in the quilt making business.

So when I started teaching quilt making a year and a half ago at Cabrillo College, I realized that each student was interested in learning the art for very different reasons.

Two places that I keep coming back to are Austin, TX (my literal hometown) and Santa Cruz, CA (my spiritual hometown). Both of these places have a lot of history for me throughout my life. While Austin is truly a fun place to live, I have traded the hot summers for sandy beaches and redwood forests.

What’s your art or craft? It doesn’t have to be quilt making (believe me, I totally get how laboring over a quilt is not everyone’s idea of a good time). Do you draw? Scrapbook? Watercolor? Woodwork? Crochet? Bake? Visibly mend? Create succulent gardens? Make stained glass? Play piano? Pour candles? Dye your poodle’s tail? There are endless endeavors that go into the category of “Arts and Crafts” and many that can be as specific as you are. Maybe you like to create photoshop art posters inspired by the novels you read. Or maybe you enjoy crafting new experimental cocktails and inviting friends over to taste your concoctions?

When it comes to picking the fabrics for a new quilt, I love going to my fabric stash and optioning different colors palettes. Most of it is intuition and my current mood, but I do have some techniques for finding the perfect colors that will work well together in a project.

This information is important for quilt makers, but understanding the techniques for picking a color palette is useful for fashion design, fine art, filmmaking, interior design and many other mediums.

A is for Appliqué

Appliqué is a decorative style used in quilting and is made by cutting pieces of material and applying them to the surface of a background piece of fabric. There are many different techniques for this application, but I use a combination of Heat-N-Bond double sided adhesive interfacing and a zigzag or buttonhole stitch around the edges.

As a quilter, I work in a color filled wonderland. For each quilt, I meticulously select the color of the fabrics and thread that I use. There are many strategies for selecting color, from color wheel theory, color palettes or just intuition. Through my explorations as a Good Witch Quilter, I have tried to look deeply at color to find some deeper meanings behind the shades and hues. And the Color Magick principles in Witchcraft are a great model to provide spiritual guidance when selecting colors in my quilts.

Memorial quilts have been my top requested product this year, and so I feel compelled to educate people on what a memorial quilt is and why they are important. When I first started quilting, I didn’t even know what a memorial quilt was. I had no idea that there was a need for them, but now that I do, I can’t ignore it.

Here are a list of commonly asked questions about Memorial Quilts as well as my process of making them. Plus, pictures of the memorial quilts that I’ve made for clients.

I want to introduce someone who does a lot of work behind the scenes here at Good Witch Quilts: my mother.

I am very fortunate that since I moved back to my hometown, Austin, TX, I have been able to connect with my mother through my business. And she is the original Good Witch herself. If you don’t know the story, here is a passage from my online bio about the origin of my business name:

“My mother’s maiden name is Gudewich - a Polish name - but was changed to be pronounced “Good Witch” upon her family’s arrival in Ellis Island in the early 20th century. I try to be a “good witch” as much as possible in my daily life. I hope my products can create positivity for you.”

Wintertime and quilts go hand in hand: they are like hot chocolate and fireplaces. If you don’t have a quilt, then you will be missing out on one of the best parts of the cold months: getting cozy and warm indoors! While conventional, mass produced, big box store blankets may keep you physically warm, they don’t contain an essential component that is critical to wintertime success. Handmade quilts (by either your grandmother or from Good Witch Quilts) are not only made with multiple layers of cozy batting and soft fabric, but are also made with love. Yes, love! There is something about stitching with love that allows for extra coziness and warmth per square inch.

In our capitalist society, we are constantly being persuaded to purchase all sorts of products. Commercials, billboards, social media ads, and product placement influence our decisions on what to buy and what kind of products we value. The ease of purchase is another factor that determines our buying habits: stores like Target and Walmart or online shopping websites like Amazon rely on our tendency towards convenience. But this trend in our society has forgotten an important and historical tenet of our economy: the artists, artisans and skilled laborers that make up the bulk of small businesses in our country.