Designer Tidbits: Lily Gonzales Creed

It's sizzling in the kitchen! We hope you are hungry! Lily Gonzales Creed is here to share more about her Farm to Fork collection for Windham Fabrics. Get inspired and let's get cooking!


Q: Tell us a little about the Farm to Fork collection. What were you inspired by?
A: I am incredibly inspired by the farm to table movement that is happening all over - people are caring more about where their food is coming from and the quality of life of livestock. I truly believe that things raised in a happy environment are more delicious, and that goes for anything from clean tasting beef, rich farm eggs with the brightest yolks you've ever seen, to fresh garden snap peas and heirloom tomatoes that make grocery produce all taste like cardboard in comparison. To the core, I am a meat lover. I wanted to pay tribute to that and offer a part of myself to the public. I limited the colors in this line because I wanted to present this collection more as a news reporter and less like a story; this is what is relevant at this time in history. The grey tones juxtapose the brightness because the farmer's life is not the easy path to take. I wanted to honor the struggle and the balance.

Q: What design trends are you currently exploring?
A: This collection has been described as "Retro Mod" by people. I am personally drawn to things that are incredibly graphic and although I have a fine art background, I am more inspired by the contrast, balance, and simplified shapes of graphic design. I believe that aesthetic will stay true in my design. I am interested in exploring color more with the next collection to offer quilters more choices.


Q: What projects do you hope to see made with Farm to Fork?
A: Bias cut Bacon short shorts! No really, it would be "meat chic". I would love to see everyday things made from it. I carry a steak purse every day and get funny reactions from time to time but mostly, people just think it is an organic pattern.

Of course this line translates well for kitchen decor and aprons; men love the meat prints for BBQ and grilling things! I love using it for pet accessories too. In some of my photos, there is a French Bulldog in a cute little steak outfit. He is my friend's dog and his name is Angus so making him meat apparel cracks me up!

Q: How do you describe your style and how has it evolved over the years?
A: Funny enough, my personal style is completely different to my maker style. Day to day, I live a grey and taupe existence. Those are the colors of my house and my closet. My sewing room however has graphic black and white curtains with splashes of bright putrid chartreuse. I don't remember planning my environment in that manner but it happened anyway. The day to day reasonable conservative Lily likes subdued shades of neutrals, the maker in me is much more wild and bright.

When I was drawing and painting in my younger years, I gravitated towards orange and blue color schemes. Since I have been quilting, those have been very colorful as well. In fact, one of my favorite quilts is blue and orange so perhaps I am more consistent than I think!


Q:What has been your biggest sewing faux-pas to date?
A: I do not sew apparel. For some reason, it makes me more nervous to sew that than anything else. One day this lightning bolt of courage hit me and I was going to make these fabulous shorts out of a great eyelet print. I bought a pattern and started cutting. I wanted to do French seams to impeccably finish them. When I was getting to the final steps, I realized something went drastically wrong. I forgot to account for the seam allowance required for French seams. NO WAY were they going to fit. AHHHH!!! All of that time and work for nothing! I gave them to a skinny friend even though the waistband ended up crooked too and haven't made shorts since. Maybe someday I will try again...

Labels: , ,