Meet Your (quilt) Maker: Julie Reuben

This weekend we're thankful for our talented members who share their expertise with the rest of us! December is always a whirlwind for crafters, but this Sunday Julie Reuben and Maritza Soto will teach us a thing or two about s-l-o-w-i-n-g it down and remembering to appreciate the process, with hand quilting and beading. You can read more about the lovely Maritza here.

Now meet Julie Reuben; she showed us this fantastic quilt at our last meeting:

What’s your favorite podcast/music/audiobook genre to listen to when you quilt?

I usually listen to first-person story or documentary style podcasts. Among my favorites these days are "Not by Accident," "Strangers," "The Kitchen Sisters" and "The Moth." 

What sewing skill are you most proud of?

My use of color. 

What skill are you itching to master?

I want to learn how to cut on the grain and sew a consistent 1/4 inch seam.  As you might guess, precision is not my strong suit.  But I am getting better.  There are many more "advanced" skills I would like to master, particularly working with triangles of various kinds. 

Do you sew for a living?

No.  I don't produce nearly enough to sew for a living. 

What kind of fabric are you most attracted to?

I love shot cottons and other cross weave solids.  

The Now Side

Tell us about the quilt that means the most to you and why. This doesn’t have to be one that you made. 

My partner and I have been foster parents.  We had one boy with us for 16 months who loved spiderman.  I wanted to make a quilt that both spoke to me and would be something that was his.  I decided to make a two sided quilt, one side that I imagined he would like as an adult and one side that he would like immediately.  For the adult side, I used a block tutorial that Hilary Goodwin (Entropy Always Wins) wrote. 

The Later Side

How/When did you start quilting?

I am not sure.  Maybe 6 years ago.  I evolved into quilting.  I was teaching myself bead embroidery and I wanted a "platform" to work on.  I really liked the idea of useful things and I made a couple of quilt/beaded table runners with place mats and napkins.  Learning the sewing skills to do these exposed me to the world of quilting and particularly modern quilting.  I learned to sew as a child but I was terrible at it and did not enjoy it (all I remember is ripping out seams when I did not sew right sides together and knots of bobbin thread breaking my needle).  But I so loved what I saw that I gradually started to make quilts.   

From designing and picking fabrics to watching a recipient’s face when they see your quilt for the first time, what is your favorite part of the whole process?

My favorite stages are imagining a project in my mind and then seeing what it looks like as it is actually turned into fabric. 

What do you do get over a hump when you get stuck on a quilt?

Put it aside and work on something else until I feel like I understand how to move forward. 

What kind of other crafts are you into besides quilting?

I started crafting because I love beads.  I wanted to bead on fabric but it was too hard so I took a detour into making bead jewelry.  I still do that some.  Beading on quilted objects took me to embroidery.  Now I mainly combine quilting with beading or quilting with embroidery.   

Where’s your fave place to eat in Cambridge?

Oh my, I'm not sure.  Our favorite splurge place used to be East Coast Grill, but I heard it closed.  We like Dumpling House. 

Do you have any favorite blogs/insta accounts we should know about? And where can we find you on the internet?

I have a IG account, b_plus_q and I upload to Flickr and Pinterest using my name.  I follow a lot of modern quilters and modern embroiderers on IG.  My favorite blog is Stitched in Color by Rachel Hauser.

Anything else you want us to know about you?

I don't have any friends who quilt so its great to get to know some quilters in real life.

See you all Sunday!