SGQ Project Tour: Arianna Caggiano of Quilt Queen's Purifoy Wall Hanging (+ Bonus Project!)

Sep 24

I asked a handful of my favorite quilters, makers and sewists to choose a project from Simple Geometric Quilting and make their own unique version. I love seeing the creative ways people interpret these patterns, choose colors and make bold design choices that reflect their style and aesthetic. I hope these reimaginations will inspire you to create outside of the box with your very own Simple Geometric Quilting projects!

Arianna is the talent behind Quilt Queen, her bold, bright and ultra modern quilted home goods brand. With a focus on improv quilts, pillows, pouches and totes in a bright rainbow of colors, she also has a sense of humor that hits the millennial sweet spot with her fluffy egg pillows and eye masks as well as pouch linings printed with hand drawn avocados and rosé. She just released her first handful of quilt patterns in her shop and on Bluprint and is on the faculty for QuiltCon 2020, finally sharing her unique style with the quilting community.

I’ve admired Arianna’s work since long before she became a full time Quilt Queen - her super fresh aesthetic and non-traditional designs have been moving the needle of how people think about quilts, something I really value and try to do with my own work. After we met for beers in Savannah earlier this year and became fast friends, I knew I wanted to see her put her Kween spin on something from Simple Geometric Quilting.

Arianna not surprisingly chose the Purifoy Wall Hanging, the most improv-inspired and least traditional pattern from the book. She selected a handful of her signature fabric colors to puzzle-piece together and instead of finishing it as a wall hanging, she turned it into a pillow for her new sunroom. I love the way Arianna made this project her own - it reflects her style and works in her space, but is still very much the Purifoy.

And we have a bonus Purifoy Wall Hanging! Paige Anderson of Ponderosa Creative couldn’t choose between the Montara Wall Hanging and the Purifoy, so she made both! She used hand dyed scraps from her stash and quilted around the unusual shapes to create a wall hanging that has a totally different, but equally gorgeous vibe. Read more about Paige, her Montara Wall Hanging and her sustainable, no waste quilting practices in the Journal.

The original Purifoy Wall Hanging was directly inspired by the artwork of Noah Purifoy and his outdoor museum in Joshua Tree, CA. It’s one of my favorite pieces in the book - it was one of those moments of instant inspiration, I really let myself play with the design and finish of the wall hanging, and getting to photograph the finished pieced in front of the sculpture that inspired it gave me all the feels. It’s a great way to use up scraps, experiment with color and quilting, and have a little outside of the box fun!