Please, say hello to the talented Carla Henton from Dodge City, Kansas! Carla has been lucky to be surrounded by talented women all of her life, starting with her mom and grandmother who taught her to sew, and now with the fun online sewing and crafting community. She designs sewing and quilting patterns along with tutorials and has organized blog hops and designed Blocks of the Month. You can find Carla at Creatin’ in the Sticks!

Carla tried quilting in her 20’s and the first project she made was a little baby quilt for her first born. In 2006, when she was working as a hair designer, Carla started quilting and drawing patterns as a side hustle. Her quilting and pattern business has grown over the years, and she spends most of her time in the sewing room these days!

Freelancing quilt, made for the 2019 November Island Batik Ambassador challenge, Tool Time. Carla used the fabric from Island Batik Kaleidoscope collection by Kathy Engle, Studio 180 Design tools, Aurifil thread and batting by Hobbs. To learn more about the quilt, please visit: https://createinthesticks.blogspot.com/2019/11/freelancing-for-island-batik-ambassador.html.

Carla joined the Island Batik Ambassador program in 2019, and every project she has created so far has been a brilliant pop of color: “I am a rainbow lover and if I can put every color in the spectrum in a quilt, I will. I tend to lean towards very bright colors.”

A Day At The Beach quilt, made for the 2019 June Island Batik Ambassador challenge, Try It. Carla used the fabric from Island Batik French Blue collection by Kathy Engle and Aurifil thread. To read more about the quilt, please visit: https://createinthesticks.blogspot.com/2019/06/try-it-day-at-beach.html.

As far as the style goes, Carla loves to take an old pattern and make it fresh either by technique, color, or design: “I love the negative space in Modern quilting, but appreciate traditional styles too!”

Point Me To The Cabin quilt, made for the 2020 February Island Batik Log Cabin Blog Hop. Carla used the fabric from Island Batik Colorpop collection by Kathy Engle, a needle by Schmetz Needles, Aurifil thread and batting by Hobbs. To learn more about the quilt, please visit: https://createinthesticks.blogspot.com/2020/02/log-cabin-blog-hop-with-island-batik.html

Paper piecing is Carla’s all time favorite technique: “I love how precise everything is. If I had more time, I would design a lot more paper piece patterns. There are so many possibilities with it.” She also likes fusible appliqué and design patterns for Thermoweb for the freedom of drawing anything and putting it to fabric. It’s perfect for collage quilting which is another favorite technique of Carla’s.

Weaving Stems quilt, made for the 2019 August Island Batik Beat The Heat Blog Hop. Carla used the fabric from Petal Pushers line by Kathy Engle, AccuQuilt cutter and dies, Aurifil thread and batting by Hobbs. For more information on the quilt, please visit: https://createinthesticks.blogspot.com/2019/08/beat-heat-blog-hop-with-island-batik.html.

Make sure to follow Carla on social media and subscribe to her blog for great quilting ideas and inspiration:

Facebook: Creatin’ In The Sticks

Instagram: creatininthesticks

Website: Creatin’ In The Sticks

2020 Island Batik Ambassadors: https://islandbatik.com/2020-ambassadors