Member Spotlight: Nancy Dougherty

This is a Q & A series to get to know our members. Today, Nancy Dougherty talks to us about her experience as a quilter.

Where are your from and how long have you been in our guild?

I currently live in Fort Lee, New Jersey. However, my day job as a pediatric dentist brings me to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan every day. I am also on the faculty of the NYU College of Dentistry.

 Although I was born in NJ and returned there as an adult, as a child my family moved frequently throughout the Northeast U.S. along with a period of time in California. Back in what now seems like another lifetime, I attended Pratt Institute and the California College of the Arts as a graphic design major. I worked in the magazine business for about 5 years before making a sharp turn career-wise to become a dentist (hey, it’s like doing “arts and crafts” in people’s mouths). Although I left the “professional” art world, I never stopped drawing and painting. I eventually came to quilting via my long-term interest in surface design.

I started quilting less than a year ago and quickly fell in love with the whole process. I am drawn more to “modern” designs than traditional ones and attended my first Metro Mod meeting this month (December 2012). I was so happy to find this group – the first meeting was loads of fun, and I especially enjoyed the welcoming and sharing environment.

 

Where do you sew?

Wish I could say I had a beautiful workspace, but my cutting mat and sewing machine get set up on my dining room table. Now that my 2 sons are in college, maybe I can start claiming their bedroom as a workspace? (although it’s such a mess, I’m usually afraid to even open the door to that room).

 

What type of fabrics do you use most often?

 I enjoy working with blocks of solid color (as opposed to prints), especially rich, saturated color. My favorite fabrics so far are KONA solids. I also like the Cherrywood suede-look fabrics, although I haven’t completed any projects with them yet. Japanese indigo dyed and ikat fabrics are also favorites. I have some of those fabrics, and I love them so much that it’s almost painful to contemplate cutting them up. I have to just go for it!!

 

Who or what inspires you most in quilting?

I just bought a book by a Japanese quilter, Keiko Goke. Love her stuff – incredibly creative, free-form designs with beautiful vivid colors. (She has a website, www.keikogoke.com. The text on the site is in Japanese, but you can get a good look at her quilts). Also, I am continually inspired by going back over and over to look at Amish quilts. The simplicity of their designs make them look modern, even if they’re over 100 years old.

What are you working on now?

So far, I have only done fairly small wall hangings, table runners, etc. I would like to tackle some larger size projects in the coming year. The pictures I have attached are of projects that I brought in for “Show and Tell” at the last meeting, but they’re the only ones I have photos of right now – I’ll have to get working!

At the moment, I am again working on some small projects to give as gifts: quilted iPad covers and handbags.

 

(Thank you Nancy!   If you would like to be interviewed for this series, please fill out the questionnaire and email it to jessunderquilts at yahoo dot com)