Shannon Leigh Roudhán and Jason Bowlsby (Shannon & Jason) have been wowing us with their mad skills for years. They are wildly creative and multitalented, working with quilting, stitching, crochet, photography, graphic design, and more. We’ve loved following their story and feel endlessly inspired with each new project. They are accomplished authors and educators and always find the perfect way to connect with their students, whether in person or online.
We kicked off our official collaboration with their debut thread collection, FAB Sashiko Essentials back in 2019, followed by The Mighty Ten (now retired)& Kogin Essentials. We love that they are consistently pushing creative boundaries and aren’t afraid to experiment with Aurifil threads to see just what might be possible.
Their latest book release, Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza, hit stores earlier this month. With a focus on improv piecing and a range of quilts inspired in part by the film Auntie Mame, this book is both engaging and educational, and we cannot wait to see how readers make these patterns their own.
In honor of this creative milestone, we’re excited to unveil the exclusive Aurifil Companion Palette, available only at Shop Aurifil. Packaged in a custom grid vinyl project pouch and featuring five large spools of our premium 50wt thread, it’s the perfect companion for your scrappy wonky quilting journey. As a special token of appreciation (and a show of their beautiful generosity), Shannon & Jason are offering a complimentary quilt pattern, which can be easily accessed via an included QR code with purchase. These sets are available NOW in limited quantity via the button below.
We’re delighted that Shannon & Jason humored us with an interview to share all the details– a little history, a little inspiration, and ALL the creativity. Huge thanks to these two wonderful makers — we just adore working with you!!
We’re so thrilled to welcome you both back to Auribuzz and extra excited because we get to introduce a brand new Aurifil collaboration AND to share news of your new book. Before we get into all of that, we always love to start out with a bit of background to fill in our readers who may be meeting you for the first time. Can you tell us about yourselves and how you got started in the world of textiles, fibers, stitching, quilting, & design?
How we got started? We’re going to have to go way back for that beginning! Picture it, the days of cosmic chaos and the birth of the cosmos… oh, wait, Jason says that’s too far back.
Fast forward to a time about fifty years ago, where creativity wasn’t a hobby, it was just, ya know, what we did every day. We both were raised in households where ‘DIY’ wasn’t a trendy acronym; it was a way of life. Jason in a bustling metropolis of 6,000 people (for Wyoming, that’s a bustling metropolis), and Shannon on a farm in Ohio where the nearest “town” had a population smaller than most high school graduating classes. Our rural upbringing was a crash course in self-sustainability: growing food, making clothes, quilting, and hoarding every doodad and thingamajig just in case it might come in handy someday. We blame it on the Great Depression survivors in our family trees, wasting anything was a cardinal sin!
Shannon took the plunge first, ditching the nine-to-five grind to design crochet and knit patterns full time. Craft fairs were conquered, magazines were courted, and before they knew it, we were bona fide crochet connoisseurs with our names on books.
Not to be outdone, Jason found his niche in graphic design and accidentally stumbled into professional photography. Relying on our combined talents and a sprinkle of serendipity, we have created our own craft business empire, one stitch at a time.
You’re very prominent in the quilting & stitching world these days, but you came from a strong career in the fiber arts. Do you find that your overall style crosses from one medium to the next? Do you incorporate bits and pieces of your inspirations from the fiber world with this one?
Everything we do informs everything else. Art, life, cooking, crochet, knitting, quilting, photography, graphic design, its all woven together with a single thread… see what we did there? With our work one thing informs and inspires the other. Sometimes its like dominoes, other times, Jenga!
You’re both natural educators and have been for years in various mediums. What do you love most about passing your craft and your passions along to other creatives?
Thank you! We have worked very hard for years to become effective communicators and educators.
Our enthusiasm comes, very simply, from that fact that we love what we do and love seeing others find their own passion. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have the ability to help folx learn new skills, increase their own knowledge base, and explore their own creative chaos. It is a kick when we see those gears start turning and simple information turns into usable knowledge which in turn becomes creation. There really isn’t anything more satisfying than that… Except chocolate.
You’ve developed an incredibly rich library of virtual classes, available both through partners and on your own. What do you love most about this platform and do you find you’re able to reach a wider audience this way?
Yes, we have a LOT of online classes, with more on the way. When we started teaching virtual workshops, we quickly realized we can reach anybody at any time and any place… without ever packing a bag or getting on a plane. This was during the pandemic so travel for us was not an option. But as the travel restrictions lifted, we kept in mind that there were a lot of folx that simply can not travel due to physical, work related, socio-political, or economic reasons. Instead of focusing on live one-time workshops at events we decided to spend our time (and money) teaching through virtual platforms. This way we are able offer all our workshops to any student in a fun and safe learning environment.
Your classes range from quilting to crochet, sashiko stitching to kogin and more – do you have a favorite, or do you truly just thrive when given the opportunity to share all of your passions in once space?
All of the above… we thrive and love all our projects. Our passions run the gamut and run hot. When we are in quilting mode, we lower our heads and quilt for days/weeks until that need has been met, then we move on to the next exciting thing. We’d say it’s like crafting ADHD but don’t all crafters have a touch of that? Just us? Thought not…
Can you tell us a bit more about your patreon account and what followers might expect to find there?
Yes, thanks for asking! We just created our account on patreon.com this year. It’s patreon.com/shannonandjason
We are lucky enough to work as fiber artists at home for ourselves. We are also unlucky enough to work as fiber artist at home for ourselves… it’s a double-edged sword. As self-employed artists we rely on our website sales, workshops, and classes for our day-to-day living. Patreon offers one more way for folx who have the means to support us to do so in a truly tangible way. We have three account levels of support on Patreon from $5.00 a month to $30.00 and we are appreciative of anyone who supports us at any level for any period of time.
A patron can be defined as a social or financial sponsor of an event or artist. It also means a person chosen, named, or honored as a special guardian, protector, or supporter. We take that seriously and for their support, we offer our patrons access to our online workshops, special patterns, chats, and special events. We give them an unfiltered look at our creation process and behind the scenes glimpses. More often than not we include out unfiltered opinions about the crafting world in general… and we can be very unfiltered!
Your latest book, Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza (C&T), has just been released – give us all the details! Why is this our new must-have quilt book?
We are so freaking excited about this book! It’s been in the works for a few years now and to see it finally in print is a dream come true. This book has 12 blocks and 13 patterns to suit every level of maker from first timers to those with years of experience. Most of the projects in Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza can use any of the blocks in their construction… It’s like a choose your own adventure book from the 80’s. You know the ones? Only at the end of page 121 instead of the monster in the closet there’s a fabulous new bag waiting for you.
We were raised as sewists and quilters and as such we know how overwhelming the process can sometimes be. “Cut 128 strips 2 1/4″ by 4 5/8″ then sew those to the 128 other pieces with 3/8″ seam allowance.” The placement has to be perfect, cuts perfect, color choices made for you, the idea to make everything look absolutely identical… for us the fun gets lost.
We wanted to show people there is a way to use existing fabric scraps to create pieces based on classic quilt blocks in a simple way that disregards the “rules” and allows you to follow your own creative flow. No two blocks are going to be identical… or even close to identical. That’s part of the charm.
It is our sincere hope that everyone who picks up a copy of Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza walks away with the feeling that you don’t have to be an expert to try creating any of these blocks. Over the years, we heard a lot from makers who said they were too self-conscious to dive in and try the new thing. They assume they must be experts at stitching and cutting to make anything that looks like… anything. That is where scrappy wonky quilting comes in. No templates, no perfectly cut pieces, no color matching… just having fun at your sewing machine creating something beautiful! Readers should feel empowered to try something new; especially with this technique, imperfection is the goal! The takeaway is: Yes, you absolutely can do it!
You have an impressive range of courses available through Creative Spark that go along with your Scrappy Wonky technique. How is this new book a great partner to these classes?
The classes were created to support the book. Insider info: the book was under development when we started teaching those workshops. Those first workshops were a way for us to see how the subject would be received. Long story short, it was very well received!
There is SOOO much more in the book that we were not initially able to film. The workshop on Creative Spark currently (as of us writing this) has 6 blocks (two of which were cut from the final manuscript) and finishing instructions. We are in the middle of updating those workshops now, adding in the remaining blocks and updating the language. Enrolled students will automatically receive all the updated chapters as soon as they are loaded and can purchase the new ones if they want.
Do you have a favorite project to share from the book?
That’s like asking us who our favorite child is… we love them all for different reasons.
The projects ended up as a look inside our heads at our moods when we start crafting and creating them. We can’t separate the simplicity of the placemats and coasters versus the dazzling colors in the She Knows quilt. To us they are all family (and like family, secretly we do have favorites). Also, some of the names of the projects tell very personal stories so each one is highlighting something in our own lives that we wanted to explore and express with fabric. How do you pick a favorite in all of that?
Where can we find the book and what fun events are upcoming in celebration of the release?
Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza can be found on our website, shannonandjason.com as well as all major and independent booksellers (e.g. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indibound) If you get one from us though it’ll be signed…just saying.
BLOG TOUR C&T has put together a blog tour beginning the week before the release starting June 18th and going through June 29th. We will highlight each one of the folx in the tour on our Instagram at @embracethecreativechaos so be sure to follow along there. There will be giveaways and all kinds of surprises.
LIVE RELEASE PARTY Our publisher has also scheduled a live release party to stream on theirp Facebook page and YouTube channel on June 25th at 5:00pm Pacific Time. Both are @CANDTPUBLISHING. We will have a live video chat including behind the scenes stories… and a giveaway if you are into that sort of stuff. We’d love to see you all there!
PATREON For our patrons we have a Patreon launch party on the 22nd. Again, Live video chat and behind the scenes stories… and a giveaway. Because everyone loves a good giveaway.
LIVE PARTNER EVENT Cherrywood hand dyed fabrics (a favorite of ours who’s fabric appears throughout the book) will host a live event on Facebook as well June 27, 5:00-6:00 Pacific Time and, again, a giveaway will happen there as well.
There are a lot of other events happening in there as we go along, giveaways and behind the scenes. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram @embracethecreativechaos or our newsletter and you’ll stay in the loop.
Our new collaboration, designed to specifically complement Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza releases on Shop Aurifil today! We’re certainly excited about it and absolutely love that you are the first to work with us on a companion palette. Where did these hues come from and why are they your must-haves for projects in your book?
We are thrilled to be working on this companion palette with Aurifil! The companion palate is a sampling of the most commonly used colors in the book for the various blocks and projects. Since we use scrappy quilting here, we needed a couple of good neutral colors for piecing, dark neutral and light neutral. We then added a few standout colors for quilting and, well, because they are beautiful and belonged in the collection!
The main idea was to be able to sew the blocks and pieces together using an easy neutral, then choose how flashy you want the quilting to stand out. If your fabric does all the talking, keep the quilting quieter… but if you want the flash, make go bolder!
Desert Island thread – which ONE of these spools is coming with you if you’re stranded on a (fabulous) desert island?
One? Just one? Who made up that rule?!? Nope! We’re taking All of them… you’re not the boss of me.
In addition to the spools and the snazzy little Aurifil grid-vinyl pouch, you’re also offering access to a free quilt pattern. Tell us a little more about this pattern and why it’s a favorite?
Yes! We created a free project to help folx get started in scrappy wonky quilting. It is called 3 Beekman Place and new created it to be a wallhanging companion to the Upson Downs quilt in the book.
Like its companion piece, Upson Downs (shown below), 3 Beekman Place is named after one of the iconic locations in the film Auntie Mame… the Rosalind Russell version… of course. 3 Beekman Place is the home of Auntie Mame herself and the site of all of the twists and turns that is the life of the colorful, flamboyant lead and her compatriots. As such, we designed this wall hanging to echo those abrupt changes in plot point. Choose your colors and choose your own pathway in life… but be sure to dive right in. As Mame says herself: “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!”
The PDF is a free bonus project to accompany our book, Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza. It uses the Entwined block from the book, full instructions for making both the block and wall hanging are included.
Okay – because we love hearing real reviews… what is it that you love so much about working with Aurifil threads?
Quality makes a difference (and Erin as an enabler). Really, Aurifil is truly made for for what we do, garments, quilting, mending, embroidery… the list goes on. You have a weight and color for everything we need! We started using 12 weight for our sashiko work then added on 50 weight for machine sewing, then 40 weight, then the 80 weight… you see the pattern here. Between the 270 colors and the amazing quality there’s not much more to say.
We tried using other thread… true story here… Earlier this year we were preparing to send a quilt off for a show and needed to add a quilt label. Since we have the embroidery attachment for our BERNINA B790Plus we opted to just have it do the hard work. We also have a very large box of thread we inherited from Jason’s mom. This thread was bright, shiny, and free… great combo, right? Wrong! After Jason spent literally hours fixing breaking thread, tangles, nests, and whatnot we decided to just try a 50 weight Aurifil thread. 15 min later it was done. Lesson learned, Aurifil won!
As makers who work with a variety of thread weights, do you find that you gravitate toward one over another or does it depend on technique?
100% the technique. Not that we are averse to trying a different thread for a technique. But each thread weight has a moment to shine… those are the ones we reach for first.
What is your absolute TOP TIP for someone just getting started with their own maker journey, in need of a little expert guidance?
Just make something… that’s all. It all starts by making something. It does not have to be perfect, just sew 2 pieces of fabric together, learn the basics of crochet… no one else has to like it. You’ll be making it just for yourself. Be selfish! Make it and enjoy it so long as it makes you happy. Jason has photos on his computer as screensavers that are for his enjoyment alone. Are they perfect, to him yes! Shannon has small pieces of fabric sewn together that may, or may not, one day end up in a quilt… but for now they bring her joy by just setting by her computer and sewing machine.
Creativity happens when we stop putting limitations on ourselves about what creativity is. We, as humans, are born with incredible creativity. Children given a pack of crayons and some paper will create entire universes of color and light. It’s not until they are told something like, “No, clouds don’t look like that” that the creativity well begins to run dry. Everyone has creativity in them; whether they tap into it or not has to do with whether they are in an environment that nurtures that creativity or allows the creativity to come forward. Too often, creativity is put forth as some ambiguous, unattainable THING that only certain heady individuals can achieve. That’s just gatekeeping pure and simple and it is nonsense. Everyone can create and be creative. Such gatekeeping is done by individuals who feel threatened and see other folx’ creative success as a threat to their own. And that’s not how creativity works… at all.
Other times, we have been conditioned to believe that creative endeavors are frivolous or only for those with leisure time on their hands. A lot of that comes from a toxic environment created by a society that fears creativity. Creativity leads to free thinking and to the discovery that not everything has to remain the way it is… that new environments, new ways of existing and of being and of seeing our world are possible. Those new ways of thinking and new paradigms challenge the status quo and break down the systems that keep systemic oppression in place so they are dangerous to those who would hold on to that power.
Still at other times, it is we ourselves who get in our own way of being creative. We have bought into the message of the gatekeepers and the system overlords that we must be productive and that we are silly and ridiculous if we think for even a moment that WE could create anything worth being. It is exactly that kind of audacity… the belief that we are capable of creation and of creative thought that we encourage and that we hope to inspire with our work. – slowly steps off soapbox
Where can we find you for the rest of the year? What is up in the S&J world?
Right now, the big thing is recording more classes and working on a new book. We have lots of filming planned for this Summer and Autumn including new crochet classes, sewing classes, and more. Here are just a few we have in the pipeline for the next few months.
- Abstract Art Quilts – Visualization and Beyond
- “Non-Stick” Crochet Lace: Broomstick Lace Without the Broomstick
- Get To Know Your Sewing Machine:
- Face It, Bag It, Bind It! – All the Finishing, None of the Guilt
- 7 Hand Sewing Seams You Should Know and Love
All of these are recorded classes that will be available for purchase on shannonandjason.com as streaming classes and are free to our Patreon subscribers at the embrace and beyond levels.
The next book we can’t say much about yet other than there will be a LOT more Aurifil featured in it. Front and center one might be able to say.
You can find everything about us and our new book on shannonandjason.com. Follow us on social media – Facebook and Instagram @embracethecreativechaos. Sign up for newsletter – https://www.shannonandjason.com/contact-and-subscribe.html.