Quiz a Quilter - Samantha Green from For the Love of Fabric

I can’t remember how I first met Sam; I’ve been following her on Instagram for quite some time, and this year I’m lucky enough to be part of the Aussie Blossoms Birthday Club which she runs in conjunction with Sharon (@lilabellelane). I also tested her gorgeous Breeze pattern earlier this year; I’m really looking forward to seeing more patterns from her.

Let’s meet Sam.

Tell us a bit about you?

My name is Sam, and I’m a 30 year old mum of two little ones, and married to my husband and best friend, Simon. We live in a country town, over an hour from Melbourne Victoria, in the Yarra Valley. My husband works at a local Vineyard, Chandon, and we love the space and area we live in. Our two children are Jonathan and Evelyn. Jonathan is just over 2 and half years old, and is full of determination, brilliant ideas, sensitivity and cheekiness. Evelyn, or Evie as we call her, is just over 14 months old, and is a strong, sweet, happy and stubborn miss. I used to work at one of Australias largest Patchwork shops before I had children. I found the experience immensely helpful to develop my knowledge of patchwork and further cement my love for it. I’m not a career girl, and I’ve always wanted to be a mother and a house wife, and I feel so blessed to be both!

Samantha Green with her “Breeze” quilt.
All photos are Copyright Samantha Green and are used with her permission.

When did you start quilting?

My mother taught me to sew when I was 5 years old on her 1970’s Pfaff sewing machine. I loved it and made all manner of dolls clothes and blankets. My Aunty introduced me to quilting when I was 10, and with her help I made my first quilt.

Tells us about your first quilt?

My husband teases me that I never actually made a first quilt as it’s not 100% finished! So, in reality – I made my first quilt top at 10! I’m determined to finish it someday, but it will be an interesting task to quilt a mix of shirtings, op shop thrift fabric, old clothes and heavy appliqué! It’s a simple quilt, made from squares of lemons, pinks, aquas and pale florals.

What’s your favourite part of the quilt-making process?

Well, I enjoy every part, but I particularly love the initial designing and planning stage. I like pulling fabrics to choose from and creating different colour combinations.

Breeze – designed and made by Samantha Green

Tell us about your pattern designing business? How did it come about?

I always designed and made my own quilts right from the beginning, and I used to have a blog where I regularly offered free tutorials and patterns. It was from there that I was approached by Homespun Magazine to see if I was interested in writing patterns for them. I had three quilts published over the next year or two, then took a break whilst I worked as a missionary overseas in Indonesia. When I came back, I started selling Patchwork Quilts to customers worldwide. This led to me writing patterns again, with my Chevron Quilt and Geo Cot Quilt pattern my two best-selling patterns, having sold well over 2,000 copies between them. The business has somewhat evolved slowly over time!

Scooped – designed and made by Samantha Green

What do you love about designing quilts?

When I was younger, around 10 or so, I used to dream up characters and story lines for novels I wanted to write. I’d spend hours creating personalities for my characters, drawing pictures, and being thorough in planning the outcome of the story. I never ended up writing any of the hundreds of stories I so carefully planned. As soon as I had created the characters and plot, I was satisfied. For me, the joy was in creating and envisioning what would happen and I think the same is still true for designing quilts. As much as I love sewing and having a quilt at the end, I find the most fun in creating pages and pages of block and quilt designs, picking colours and fabrics, and imagining what it will look like.

Tell us about the Bonnie & Camille Birthday Club – how did your love of B&C fabrics come about and what led you to create the B&C Birthday Club?

The Aussie Blossoms Birthday Club is run by Sharon (@lilabellelane) and myself. It’s just a simple birthday club for likeminded women who love Bonnie and Camille fabrics. It’s been lovely to see such beautiful gifts sent to one another throughout the year. I’ve always loved B&C fabrics and patterns, right from the start and I find that the colours and prints always appeal to me.

What project are you currently working on?

Project? More like projects. There’s always more than one on the go. I’ve just released a new pattern, Scooped, and I’ve just finished a queen sized quilt top for my next pattern release. That’s currently on it’s way to the quilters, and I hope to have the pattern available shortly. The next project I have planned involves using a scrappy mix of B&C fabrics in navy, red and aqua with a low volume background. I’m also in the process of designing my own fabric just for fun!

What’s next for you – where do you see yourself in two/five/ten years’ time (whichever you feel like answering)?

I think I’d just like to see myself happy and productive, with my husband and kids, living and enjoying life. Whether that is still writing patterns and selling fabric, or not – I know it will involve fabric of some sort!