By Gail Scogin
Originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, Brian White performed as a singer and dancer in musical theater productions for many years―on both national and international stages. Currently a real estate agent, Brian remains involved in the local theater scene, recently portraying Mr. Laurence in the Marietta Theater Company’s musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel, “Little Women”.
In 2008 after moving to Atlanta, Brian began renovating the home on a small Canton farm once owned by his dad. During the renovation, he needed Internet access for business purposes, and one day happened upon a YouTube video of Jenny Doan (founder of Missouri Star Quilt Company) demonstrating the “3 Dudes Quilt” block. Fascinated, Brian was soon propelled into the world of quilting, and over time, made several variations of this quilt design.
Inspired by the lectures and classes available from nationally-known teachers, Brian joined the ECQG in 2015. He appreciates the guild members too, of course―and especially likes “being around people who know what they’re doing.” With the resources available in a large guild, it’s a bit like “attending Harvard rather than going to community college.”
In time, Brian taught his own classes on a variety of quilt techniques―at locations such as Sew Main Street Quilt Shop in Woodstock and Red Hen Stitch Shop in Marietta (both now closed). One class featured his original pattern, “Pomp and Circumstance,” a paper-pieced design creating depth and movement using graduating colors. Brian also taught another favorite technique―the kaleidoscope-like One-Block Wonder―in a two-day mini-quilt workshop.
Brian working on one of his “3 Dudes Quilts”
“Pomp and Circumstance”
Several years ago, in another use of the One-Block Wonder, Brian created a quilt for Mailchimp, a popular email marketing company. Mailchimp commissioned a “billboard-like” quilt to decorate their new Atlanta office located at Ponce City Market. For what he calls his “brush-with-fame quilt”, Brian designed a motif based on the company’s logo―using Kaffe fabrics and his Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen to create the 114” by 54” quilt. To Brian’s surprise and delight, the company also put a photograph of his quilt on an actual billboard in East Atlanta.
Brian’s Quilt for Mailchimp headquarters
Brian’s Mailchimp quilt on a billboard in Atlanta
Another of Brian’s favorite quilts is the one for which he won a third place ribbon in the 2019 ECQG Georgia Celebrates Quilts. This original piece, named “Time Portal”, progressed from a simple sketch on paper to a finished product featuring an improvised technique Brian calls “Improv Paper Piecing.”
Regarding his quilting influences, Brian says, “Everyone I take a class from influences me. I love the different approaches and methods available, and I don’t focus entirely on a single technique. I learn each one, then make it my own.” He recently found inspiration from Sara Bradshaw after taking her ECQG class in May. At about the same time, he took a class on “working in a quilt series”―a way to more fully experiment with new techniques. The result is the series of reverse raw-edge applique quilts.
Brian rarely faces a creative block. At any one time, he has 12 to 15 projects in various stages of completion. “When I start a project, I think through the whole process.” If the work doesn’t go exactly as planned, “I may set it aside for a while. I organize it so that I can put it away and easily work on it again later.”
“Time Portal”
Brian is currently working on a quilt using a “super-technical” process. The details will emerge at the next ECQG quilt show, but meanwhile, it’s been a learning experience. He’s enjoying the “tedious”, meditative steps and is making use of a newly acquired tool―a hand-held wooden implement for pressing seams.
When considering what he’d like to do in the future, Brian contemplates publishing a book of 10 to 12 quilt patterns. This idea started when Sew Main Street asked him to design a medium-difficulty quilt pattern to put in their Shop Hop swag bag. So far, he has self-published three different patterns, including the 12-page booklet with photos, professional graphics, and instructions for his “Pomp and Circumstance” design.
As for a quilting ‘rule’ he no longer follows, Brian remembers a conversation he once had with a quilt show judge. “I was always taught that a quilt entered in a show must have a hand-sewn binding to win a ribbon. But one year, I was assisting a judge at an ECQG show and noticed that he didn’t comment negatively on a quilt’s machine-sewn binding. The judge explained, ‘Most people don’t know how to machine bind a quilt properly; the corners and top-stitching must be meticulous. If the machine binding is done correctly, I may not add points, but I certainly won’t deduct them.’”
Brian further reflects on the so-called quilt police. “We all subject ourselves to a list of perfections we keep in our minds while we work in the privacy of our own studios. Quilting can be a lonesome process, and that’s why guilds are so important. We need to be able to talk with other quilters about our work. I always discouraged my students from pointing out the mistakes they found in their own quilts.” And as for the many wonderful and expert quilters in the world, “really, the only thing they’ve got on me is time―the time they’ve put into getting to the level they’ve achieved.”
Brian’s series of quilts using Sara Bradshaw’s technique
A Quilter’s Story is an ongoing series of interviews with ECQG members. If you’d like to suggest a member for a future A Quilter’s Story, please email the Communications Committee.