Julie Creus is an artist born in Illinois, where many of her foremothers were seamstresses and quilters.
She studied graphic design and fashion merchandising back in the Stone Age at the University of Illinois, then promptly changed careers upon graduation, much to the chagrin of her parental units. It wasn’t until 2008, when she started designing soft craft and quilt patterns, that those skills (investments!) finally began to pay off.
In 1993, she fell in love with an Argentine and Argentina. After a six-month long-distance courtship, she sold almost everything she owned (except her sewing machine) and moved herself, her cat, and seven suitcases to South America. She lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for nine years in a beautiful historic brownstone with patterned tile on the floor and a giant camellia tree in the backyard.
It was there that she joined a small quilt group, and it was amor at first stitch. She found her fellow artists in Argentina to be cultured and extremely resourceful, and those influences continue to shape her work to this day. It was there that her good friend Cecilia gave her the name la todera (a female jack-of-all-trades) and later encouraged her to share her sewing and craft patterns with the world.
Julie’s Midwestern upbringing steered her to create versatile, durable, practical projects. But her years in Argentina honed her skills to create unique, stylish items with clever construction methods.
Julie says that the only thing better than crafting is sharing the knowledge! She loves to teach classes, write patterns, and design fabrics, and she is super emocionada about this book! Visit her at latodera.com.
By this author:
Adventures in Fabric—La Todera Style
Make Pincushions (contributor)
