Daryl has been a customer of mine for a number of years and has extremely high standards that she looks for in the patterns she buys. She's the sort of customer I love because she finds all of my mistakes and emails me to correct them, rather than letting me make those mistakes!

Daryl says, "I make mostly quilted wall hangings, bags, small projects like pincushions, fabric bowls etc. and I knit too. I love to play with fabric by embellishing it with paint, pens, embroidery, stencils, textures, dyes, etc. I want to make more bags and quilts that are embellished using one or more of the embellished techniques. I just love fiber and playing".

This bag in particular caught my eye last month and I reached out to Daryl to share some more about her on my blog with all of you lovely readers.

Hyacinth bag - February for Bag of the Month Club '15

I featured Daryl's Hyacinth bag on my round-up of February bags for Sara at Sew Sweetness and commented that she'd used this panel really well. Then Daryl corrected me and told me that she'd created this panel herself. Uh...what?! Seriously?! That was it, I was amazed!

Daryl took some backing fabric (originally beige),  drew the African lady, painted the background, appliquéd the border and then quilted it.

When I found out about this, I was in absolute awe at Daryl's creativity and skill.  It's incredible!

Daryl offers a free Craftsy tutorial Painting on Fabric with Crayon Pastels if you want to learn some of her skilled techniques yourself.

Painting on fabric with crayon pastels course by Patchouli Moon Studio

 Daryl has also made two Companion Carpet bags so far, here's the first, really bright and happy.

Companion Carpet Bag

The second she used a light floaty see through fabric, applied interfacing then quilted it to give it some structure. Here's a close up. It's Daryl's creative use of materials which really draws me to her.

Companion Carpet Bag 2

She doesn't stop there though, here she's made a plethora of zip bags from scraps.

Scrappy Zipper pouches

And my eye was immediately drawn to this Faith crosses quilt on her blog.

Faith crosses quilt

 I took the opportunity to ask her some questions and here are her answers.

How did you start sewing? 
I learned some from my mother and I also had Home Ec in high school, where we learned to sew for half the school year and learned to cook for the other half. My mom always sewed and made many dresses for my sister and me when we were young.

When do you sew? 
I sew almost everyday and whenever I am in the mood. Sometimes I will sew in the morning and sometimes the afternoons. I rarely sew at night because I tend to get sleepy and that's when mistakes can happen, lol!!!

What's one thing you struggle with when sewing? 
It would have to be when making clothes, which isn't often, I have a hard time if the pattern doesn't fit me right and I am not savvy enough to know how to fix the problem.
Another thing that can be frustrating to me is if I am following a pattern for making something (clothes, bags, etc.) and the directions are not clear. I had purchased some patterns and books in the past that were pretty bad. Then I discovered some wonderful online designers such as Christine Welsh of ChrisW Designs, Janelle from Emmaline Bags, Sara of Sew Sweetness and several others including of course Samantha of Mrs. H. What a joy to have well written patterns to follow.

What do you strive for when sewing?
I strive for perfectly straight stitches! Maria Vasquez of Mia Creations is my role model for stitching straight, lol!! I also strive for enjoying the process of sewing. Not everything I make comes out the way I want it to, but as long as I enjoy the process of creating and sewing then I am happy. We all have things that don't come out perfectly in the end, but sometimes as with quilting, it's a design opportunity moment to get creative and switch gears and finish it differently. Some of my best quilts are the ones that I made a goof on and had to think creatively to save it.

Tell us a random fact about yourself ;)
I think this might be the hardest question, lol! A random fact? Hmmm....okay I got one. My very first job I got was working in a needlework shop where they sold needlepoint, cross stitch, embroidery, crewel and bargello supplies and patterns. Then about about 5 years later my mom opened a quilt shop and I worked for her. The shop closed after a year. Everything back then was done by hand. If mom had only hung in there for a couple more years the rotary cutter and ruler and mat would have been invented and that might have helped to keep her shop in business. Who knows, I may have ended up with my own quilt shop handed down to me from my mom if that had worked out. But of course I probably wouldn't have met my husband and my life would have been completely different. I am happy with the life I have and so I am glad things happened the way they did.

Here's where Daryl works when she's crafting, it's packed full of makes and inspiration. I love that hot air balloon in the corner there!

The Patchouli Moon Studio

Thanks for letting us get to know you a little better Daryl, it's been a real pleasure!

Daryl lives in New Mexico, USA. She loves creating colorful handmade items such as quilts, purses, bags, totes, & knitted items. You can see more Patchouli Moon Studio makes on the her blog or Flickr  and see the rest of her patterns, many free on Craftsy.