Have you met Suzy Webster at Websterquilt? She’s been an Island Batik Ambassador for 7 and a half years and we’ve seen lots of amazing quilts she has created in that role! Suzy has been quilting since age eight when she arranged some scrap triangles and told her mother, “You should sew it like this.” One of the things Suzy loves about quilting is that the design possibilities and fabric choices are endless. She has been entering competitions since college and has many quilt show ribbons to her credit including Road to California, Machine Quilter’s Exposition, The American Quilter’s Society Shows, and International Quilt Festival. Suzy loves to piece, appliqué, and free-motion machine quilt, design mystery quilts and patterns, as well as teach and give trunk shows of her quilts.

We asked Suzy a few questions about her creative background. Let’s see what she said!

Island Batik: What motivated you to begin your journey as a blogger?

Suzy: My fifth graders were doing a unit on Digital Citizenship. They had to write down what they would want to find about themselves if they googled themselves in 10 years. They of course made me do it too. I wrote down that I wanted to write a quilt book. One of the publishers suggested you have an online presence so I started a blog. My initial goal was to open the packing on products I had never used and open books I’d never used.

What inspires your design process?

Nature, architecture, Google searches.

What were your beginner mistakes in quilting?

Ripples in the backing. Flat piecing.

What do you love most about quilting, and why? What’s your least favorite part of the process?  

I love piecing and machine quilting my project. I get to be creative. I greatly dislike layering my quilts. I know it’s necessary but just so boring to do.

Did you ever encounter a sewing technique that you initially had no interest in trying, but eventually grew to love?

Appliqué! My mom loved to appliqué and I said I never would but I love it now.

What block or pattern could you make over and over again and not get tired of it?

Pickle Dish!

What is your sewing peeve?

When my points don’t match or I cut one off. The perfectionist in me comes out. That’s why I pin almost everything.

Is there a notion or gadget that you use every time you sew?

My Quilter’s Select rulers that have grip on the back. They are the best.

Is there a particular quilt that holds a special place in your heart as your favorite creation, and what makes it stand out to you?

The most recently finished one tends to be my favorite of the moment. My Storm at Sea quilt I made for a blog hop last year will always be one of my favorites.

What typically fills the background as you engage in your sewing activities?

I like noise that I don’t have to pay attention to. I watch a lot of Star Trek or listen to music.

Do you have any other hobbies?

Reading, beading, swimming.

If you could choose an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I’ve always wanted to go to one of the big quilt festivals in Australia or Japan.

Be sure to follow Suzy on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to her blog to see what she makes with Island Batik fabric this year!

To see the whole 2023 Island Batik Ambassador team, please visit: https://islandbatik.com/2023-ambassadors/

Stay tuned as we introduce you to more talented Island Batik Ambassadors and let us know in the comments below what else you want to ask Suzy!