One of the first designer's work I came into contact with when I started embroidery was that of Sue Spargo. I would say her work was extremely influential in igniting my imagination and starting my process of creating.

I had the opportunity to hear her speak last year at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, but not the chance to meet her. This year, I had sent her an email about We Love French Knots ahead of the show, and did end up meeting her. She is as lovely as you would imagine she is. I hope you enjoy "meeting" her as much as I did.

Bari: Your designs seems tell a story. Can you tell us a little bit about your design process? What inspires you?

Sue: I grew up in South Africa so I definitely think my childhood experiences influence the style and color of  my quilts. Many of my quilts do tell a story of my life. I hope to leave a legacy for my 4 children.

Bari: You are extremely well known for your work with beautiful wools, can you tell us how embroidery and handstitching with wool is different than stitching on cotton or other fabrics? 

Sue: What I love about hand dyed wool is the texture you get from all the layering and stitching. You can not  achieve the same results on cotton. The more layers the more stitching the more depth! I teach many  creative classes now and I love to see how the same project can look so different with each students own creative influence. 

Bari: How do you incorporate embroidery in your designs?

Sue: I use them around my applique as well as filler stitches often enhancing most of the edges.

Bari: Can you tell us how you think your work has evolved over the years?

Sue: It has definitely become more textural as I add many textural fabrics like velvet, silk, cottons as well as all  sorts of fibers from yarns to hand dyed chenilles, perle cottons and beads.

Bari: One of my most favorite quilts of yours is Magnolia. I love the stitching, the quilting and especially the use of color. Can you tell us the story of this quilt, and a bit about the stitching in it?

Sue: There is a wonderful town here in Ohio called Magnolia which I drive through when visiting my friend  Cathy. There is a wonderful old house on a hill which inspired the center block then I surrounded it with  all the flowers that i observed in the gardens in the town. I included many stitches and layering to this  quilt. Once I started it was hard to finish as I get so involve in each piece. I used yarns, ribbons, perle  cottons, chenilles, seagrass and beads to embellish with. The backgrounds of this quilt include wool,  Japanese fabrics, corduroy and taffeta silk.

Bari: What are some of your favorite embroidery stitches?

 

Sue: Bullion Knots, Fly Stitch, Pekinese Stitch, Couching, French Knots and Pistil Stitches.

I do about 50 different stitches on my quilts.

Bari:  Do you have any favorite embroidery books?

Sue:

The Embroidery Stitch Bible by Betty Barnden

Left and Right Handed Embroidery books by Yvette Stanton

Bari: Do you have any favorite tools or materials to work with?

Sue: Yes I love hand dyed fibers they add great depth to my quilts. I seldom use commercially dyed threads as  I find them quiet flat. They threads and yarns I use are more bulky as the finer threads do not stand out enough on wool. My favorite perle cotton is Size 8 Valdani and my hand dyer is The Thread Gatherer. We sell many different fibers and threads on my website.