About Lucy
Lucy Engels is a Modern Quilter and Visual Artist, Based in Edinburgh.
With a background in Fine Art and a BA (Hons) in Printmaking from Grays School of Art, Lucy has always been creative. But the real world beckoned, so she side-stepped into the world of social work for a good decade of her life. When Lucy moved back to Edinburgh for her partner’s work, this was her opportunity to step back into her artist shoes. She hasn’t looked back!
Lucy feels that her artistic background helps her bring different kinds of knowledge, skill and inspiration to the quilts and patterns that she creates.
You may have seen some of Lucy’s work exhibited at QuiltCon in 2018, 2020, and 2021 – – where she won an award in the appliqué category for my Naive Melody Quilt. She is heavily influenced by music!
Lucy collaborates regularly with industry leaders such as justhands-on.tv, JanomeUK, Aurifil Thread, FIGO Fabrics, Oakshott Fabrics, Purl Soho, and RJR Fabrics. She also teaches online workshops to individuals, groups, and Guilds, as well as in-person workshops in my Edinburgh studio.
According to Lucy, “I create unique, modern quilt patterns that coax out your inner artist by allowing you to put your own personality and stamp on what you’re making. This isn’t quilting by numbers. You don’t have to follow what I do to the letter. Consider it more as a map to guide you towards creating a stunning piece of art that you can curl up under when it’s done.”
To see Lucy’s designs and limited edition fabric collections, visit her website: https://lucyengels.com/
You can watch Lucy make a colourful modern quilt design using a foundation paper piecing technique that she calls, “controlled improv” in this episode of The Makers Studio series.
Signature Technique
Controlled Improv
Top Tips
- Experiment with colour to create movement in your quilt.
- Map out your design on a wall before cutting and sewing.
- Use music as an inspiration for your quilt design.
- Blue tip needles work a treat for paper piecing. Fine and sharp.
- A single line of different colour thread in your quilting creates lift.
- Fold the freezer paper along template lines to help with your foundation paper piecing.
Videos
Patterns
Posts
Same pattern different quilts.
One of the enduring joys of patchwork I think is that the same pattern, using different fabrics ends up creating such a different quilt and I wanted to share with you my latest favourite scrap quilt. Here it is made up three times and just how different can they be! Their destination is the charity Momentum (based in Kingston upon Thames) who look after and suppport children with life limiting illnesses and their families, and also to St.George's children's ward (where one my students is the nurse in charge!) My thanks to Lynne Goldsworthy for the original pattern which is featured in the Sept/Oct 2015 issue of Quilting for You entitled Sherwood Forest - I did make one quilt using her instructions and then rescaled for the three above down to a 6" block.
How NOT to make half-square triangle units.
As someone who thinks the rotary cutter is the best bit of kit ever invented for patchworkers, I am open to any idea that is quick and easy. BUT that doesn't mean throwing caution to the wind and the current trend flooding the internet to completely ignore the grain of the fabric when making quilts, fills me with horror (and I know lots of quilts that will be horrific too!) The current issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting shows a stunning quilt on the cover designed by Amanda Castor, but when looking at the making instructions all the half-square triangle are off-grain, and then the blocks are set on point, and then the edges are cut - for a beginner this is a nightmare scenario and if you haven't someone to ask, you will wonder why everything goes wobbly when you try to quilt it - and applying spray starch is not the answer.
6th November 2015
It may be Bonfire weekend but the countdown to Christmas [...]