2022 PWA Scholarship Recipients

I was thrilled to be able to offer scholarships to the Pattern Writing Academy this year. To learn more about this year’s scholarship recipients, read on!

 

Vickeidy Plybon

@Sewspicious

My name is Vickeidy Plybon. I'm the face behind Sewspicious. I am a high school teacher and a mother to an 18 month old toddler who keeps me on my toes. I've been quilting for about 4 years now and I love it.

Around two years ago, when I was searching for a pattern to make a quilt for a friend's baby, I was looking specifically for pattern designers who are people of color and realized that there weren't many to pick from. This is why I am so excited to be part of the Pattern Writing Academy: I want to help expand the quilting community by representing the value and talent of people of color, showing that we make beautiful quilts, too! I want to learn how to create patterns that are accessible to people of any background while also being representative of my culture.


 

Amanda Eastmond

@seamrip_seamstress

Hi! I'm Amanda and I'm a self taught sewist that, since becoming a SAHM, has fallen in love with quilting. I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to learn more about creating quilt patterns and to say that I'm excited about being a recipient of a scholarship seat to Amber's PWA is an understatement!
I'd love to pay it forward by working to create patterns that can be used to fundraise for, or to support, social issues when the needs arise as well as to create community building or bonding swaps.
I've always felt that pattern writing was just outside my grasp when I took into consideration the expense of programs like Illustrator and the time and money it would take to learn by trial and error on my own. I look forward to being introduced to free or affordable design tools through the PWA, being able to spend time with each module on my own schedule (which usually means when my little one is fast asleep), and to the live components for additional support and making some new friends! I can't wait to get started!

 

Josée Tewen;nate Sunday

I'm Josée, a Mohawk woman from Akwesasne. I started quilting long ago with my grandmother, and have come to know quilting as an art and as a means of sharing stories, and family traditions.

I started Wild Apple Quilts in 2020, as a business to fill the void of Indigenous quilting, and create quilts that share my family histories, and express the beauty of the Kanien;kéha culture.

I'm looking forward to bringing my designs to life through this pattern writing course, and to create space for Indigenous quilters with patterns that reflect us, in our quilts.

Niawen;kowa to Amber, for offering this scholarship through which I am able to participate in this course. It is one that I had my eye on last year, but would never have been able to participate without her generosity and accomodation.

 

Christine Phillips

@moderncraftcreations


Hi! My name is Crissy and I'm a wife, mom of 2, who loves to craft and run. I started quilting May of 2020. I don't know anyone that quilts let alone sews so learning how to has been a fun self taught journey. I have made 19 quilts in the past 21 months and currently working on quilt number 20. The 2nd quilt I ever made was my first attempt of creating my own design. Since then I've created more custom designs and have a notebook full of pattern ideas.

I'm excited to be in the Pattern Writing Academy to learn all the ends and outs of pattern writing to be able to share my ideas with the world. It can be intimidating to jump into something like quilting and I hope I can help others feel comfortable, confident, and inspired.


 

Lucille Zarifah

@luluzarifah

I love quilting with all my heart. I have always struggled with feeling connected to my ancestors and two years ago I saw a quilt show at the folk art museum and felt an instant connection to the craft. Quilting is a legacy project, every stitch is a memory, history, and labour of love. I am drawn to how quilts are a living example of heritage that you can hold in your hands. It requires a knowledge of textiles, pattern, and technique, generally passed down through generations. Black people and quilting are linked, from the beautiful designs of pre-contact Africa ; from enslaved people in the Americas - my ancestors - piecing together what they have, to make beautiful mosaics, to talented contemporary artists who use this craft as a form of self- expression. Quilting is a way of bringing our identities into the world. With quilting I want others to feel this connection. I want to share how a single quilt holds these memories and lineages within it, while also being the comfiest coziest item you own. I want to offer patterns and designs that create joy and translate into quilts that people can pass down for future generations to cherish.  


 

Vanessa Griffin

@_vanessa.griffin_
Hi everyone! My name is Vanessa. I'm a wife and mother of 2. I have no hobbies other than quilting. I started quilting at the beginning of the pandemic in May of 2020. My mom has been a quilter for 25 years and she not only taught me but gave me ALL the tools. It’s been full steam ahead ever since. I've been a pattern tester since the beginning of time testing over 50 patterns. The goal was to learn all of the techniques. It has helped me greatly but intrigued my interest to design and write my own patterns.

When I tell people I quilt, I get the look of "you don't look like a quilter." My goal in being part of this community is to change the perception and introduce quilting to younger generations. I wish I would've began seeing long before I was 40! I would like to use my pattern writing skills design patterns to fund a quilting academy for younger generations in my community.