At Aurifil, we believe in the power of collaboration to elevate the artistry of quilting. That’s why we were so excited to develop a partnership with Cherrywood Fabrics, a company renowned industry-wide for its exceptional hand-dyed, suede-like cottons.
Our story starts a few years ago, with a meeting at QuiltCon to discuss an exclusive kit to complement the 2023 Poppy-themed Cherrywood Challenge. A few months and a few hundred kits later, we were celebrating Cherrywood’s success and plotting our next adventure.
For those new to the event, the Cherrywood Challenge is an iconic annual competition that has captivated quilters and textile artists for the past decade. Known for its use of Cherrywood’s distinctive fabrics, it encourages participants to create imaginative and original pieces inspired by a specific theme. Over the years, the Cherrywood Challenge has grown into a celebrated worldwide event, showcasing talent and creativity while pushing the boundaries of textile art. Each year, the submissions are transformed into a traveling exhibit, allowing audiences across the world to be inspired by the diverse interpretations of the challenge’s theme.
This year, as Cherrywood celebrates the 10th anniversary of this incredible competition, we couldn’t be more excited to join them in marking this milestone by introducing the very first Cherrywood Designer Collection. The collection features 12 large spools of Aurifil’s iconic 50wt thread and draws on key hues from all 10 years of the challenge. It is truly the perfect set for the Cherrywood enthusiast, ensuring that each of those fabulous hand-dyed hues has a complementary thread.
If that weren’t exciting enough, Cherrywood also created a new exclusive set designed to go along with their 2024 Cherrywood Challenge, Abyss. Ten small spools of our 6-strand divisible floss in deep sea hues ensure that challenge participants are prepared for all types of hand embellishments on their challenge quilts. We’re ecstatic and cannot wait to see what beautiful works of art result.
Today, we’re delighted to celebrate all of these collaborations by getting to know Karla at Cherrywood. She was kind enough to chat with us a bit, to talk about how she got started and just why the Cherrywood Challenge always feels like such a wild inspiration, particularly when it comes to her ever-changing hair color!
HUGE thanks to Karla! And please, if you’re joining in the challenge this year, share your makes and be sure to tag us AND Cherrywood Fabrics so we can cheer you along every step of the way.
Hi Karla! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today! Before we dive in, we’d love to hear a little more about your background. What got you started in the textile industry and was there something in particular that first sparked your passion for fabric, quilting, and color?
I have been sewing since I was a little girl trying to keep up with my older sisters in 4-H. My mother taught me all sorts of crafty things, but it wasn’t until I went to college to study Graphic Design that I taught myself quilting. When I was introduced to the founder of Cherrywood Fabrics in a guild meeting, the stars aligned. All my background in art, color theory, sewing, and marketing came together to send me on a life-changing journey.
What inspired you to join Cherrywood Fabrics? Was there a specific moment or experience that pointed you to the world of hand-dyed fabrics?
Twenty-six years ago, the founder of Cherrywood, Dawn Hall, asked me to help with marketing materials for the business, so I invited her to my home. This was before I truly knew what Cherrywood was. When Dawn saw my Double Wedding Ring quilt made by my mother, she informed me that it was made from Cherrywood! That was our first spark of serendipity. When Dawn asked me to work at a quilt show, I fell in love with the industry…and the rest is history.
Did you know: All of the Cherrywood colors are dyed in-house, carefully watched over by their talented dye-master Lorrene based on formulas created by Karla Overland. High quality muslin is transformed into Cherrywood’s unique suede-like texture by a careful process of dyeing, washing, and heat processing.Once the goods are dyed and prepared, they organize by color to get everything sorted and efficiently shipped out.
Congratulations on 10 years of Cherrywood Challenges! Can you share with us how the idea for the Cherrywood Challenges first came to life? What inspired you to turn this into an annual tradition?
I always enjoyed looking at The Hoffman Challenge at shows. I started thinking about a theory from art school – “gestalt.” Gestalt is a German word that roughly means “configuration – something that is made of many parts, and yet is somehow more than or different from the combination of its parts. The parts don’t need to be identical, but simply share one visual trait such as color, shape, or size to be perceived as part of the same group.” Since I have a unique product, I thought I would take it one step further and come up with a theme to guide quilters. A quilt event in NYC, a meeting with a quilter who works in the costume department of Wicked on Broadway, and a blessing from the stage manager and I was on my way! As soon as people saw that first Cherrywood Challenge, they were asking how to be involved in the next. After taking a year off to recover (and physically move the business), we continued with Lion King on Broadway for the second challenge.
Looking back over the past decade, what are some of your most cherished memories or standout moments from the different Cherrywood Challenges?
I had expected a handful of quilters to know about the first challenge, but I had NOT planned on filling my van at the post office with over 100 WICKED quilts. The first exhibit was hung in a gallery space, and when the lights turned on the whole gallery glowed lime green. It truly took my breath away because it matched the vision in my head perfectly. I knew I was on to something. Sharing the challenge has afforded me opportunities to travel and meet so many people from different industries. I hung Lion King quilts in the Minskoff Theater in Times Square and toured the Disney Theatrical Group studio. I was recognized as the “quilt lady” in the elevator of the theater by the man who played Mufasa in the musical. I hosted a tour for 40 people through Europe following the footsteps of Vincent van Gogh. We spent two days soaking up the limelight at BOHIN France where the Exhibit was on display in their gallery. The same year, I traveled to another hemisphere to share the van Gogh exhibit with the wonderful people of Australia. I photographed art quilts outside of Paisley Park. I toured the Bob Ross Experience and saw his original works, with the quilts on display just 100 feet away. I collaborated with a graffiti artist from L.A. I heard countless stories of people who are raising monarchs. I have seen generations of quilters working on challenges together. I have seen the twinkle in young people’s eyes when they make the connection between quilting and expression and decide to take the challenge.
Documenting the early years with photos has been such a joy to reminisce about.
The Cherrywood color palette is iconic in the quilting world. How has your signature use of hand-dyed fabrics evolved over the years, and what role has it played in the success of these challenges?
The overall palette has expanded quite a bit since the beginning. The pandemic spurred me to re-vamp, tweak and add colors to offer a full range of colors. We went from 40 yardage colors to 200. Now we are dyeing bright colors alongside our traditional earthy colors. As the Challenge progresses, I have experimented with single color families to larger groupings of color. No other fabric line looks like Cherrywood, so the Challenge will always be unique.
Each year, the Cherrywood Challenge has had a unique theme, sparking incredible creativity from quilters. How do you select the theme for each challenge, and what has been your favorite theme so far?
I have long lists of ideas in a notebook, and believe me, lots of people have shared their ideas. I look for a strong theme that is associated with a specific color, has global recognition, is a short word, and has a variety of ways to interpret the theme. I am working on the next theme as the current one is announced to give us enough time for research and development, as well as working with Sponsors such as Aurifil. Oftentimes, I narrow it down to two ideas that I can’t choose between. Then something happens (like the Monarch being listed on the Endangered Species List) and the choice becomes obvious to me. My favorite theme changes almost daily, but I think the van Gogh Challenge holds a special place in my heart because it allowed me to personally share it around the world.
This year’s theme, “Abyss,” is both powerful and mysterious. What led you to choose this evocative concept for the 2024 challenge, and how do you hope quilters will interpret it?
I knew I wanted to do dark teals and blue-greens. I played around with different words that never seemed right. Ocean was far too large of a concept. Same with Aquatic. I wanted it to be more focused. My son suggested the deep, dark part of the ocean and the word Abyss. That is exactly what I hope to see – creatures from the deep. I hope people do research, and learn about these creatures, and watch BBC documentaries, and expand their knowledge base.
Can you tell us the thought behind your exclusive challenge collection for Abyss, featuring 10 Small Spools of Aurifil’s 6-strand divisible floss?
This year I decided to go with a collection of floss after seeing so much hand quilting and hand embroidery on The Poppy Challenge. It is obvious that handwork is popular with quilters. It also gives you more control to create tiny objects. By providing 10 matching colors, I hope to see experimentation like adding texture to objects, depicting bumps and spines and tentacles on creatures, etc. I love that you can divide the floss to try different weights. And I especially like the wooden spool for a Cherrywood Challenge!
The Abyss theme presents an exciting artistic challenge. What are you most excited to see in the submissions this year, given this theme’s potential for bold and emotional exploration?
I am excited to see how people will interpret Creatures from the Deep in fabric and thread. How are they going to portray translucency and bioluminescence? How will they depict creatures with no skeletal structure? Or change color for camouflage? Or grow eyes on the top of their head so they can see fish above them against the faint light of the surface?
With the Abyss Challenge now open for submissions, what advice would you give to quilters hoping to create a standout piece? Are there any specific techniques or approaches you’d love to see in this year’s entries?
Don’t go into this challenge with the pressure to win. In fact, this year we are awarding ribbons for Juror’s Choice, Staff Choice, Sponsor’s Choice, etc. but we are not awarding ranking ribbons. Instead, we have wonderful products from our generous sponsors to be given to random Finalists. This takes the competitive nature down a notch and sends the message that this should be a personal challenge to create something from your imagination that excites you and makes you grow as an artist.
In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Cherrywood Challenges, you’ve launched a special collection. Can you tell us more about this collection? What makes it unique, and how does it honor the 10-year milestone?
It is hard to believe that Abyss marks our tenth anniversary! I selected a spool to match each challenge. In the early challenges, black was always included in the bundle for that people had contrast with the challenge color. When The Diana Challenge came along, we had just added white to our product line after years of searching for the right weight. It was an appropriate contrast to the People’s Princess who was so full of light. So a spool of white and a spool of black round out the Anniversary Collection of 12 colors of 50 wt Aurifil.
As you mark this 10th anniversary, what’s next for Cherrywood Fabrics? Do you have any exciting plans for future challenges or collaborations that you can share with us?
I am thrilled to announce the project we have been consumed with this year – BOLTS! For 35 years we have been limited to 2-yard lengths because of our process and space limitations. However, we have overcome all the obstacles to present 8-yard bolts to our Retail Partners. Our thriving quilting community needs to support independent quilt shops, and we are partnering with several LQSs to take over most of our online business. We will focus on the creation of the fabric, pattern support, and signature bundles, while select stores will provide the hands-on touch-and-feel experience that customers crave. This expands our reach into areas we haven’t been able to access, white providing a unique product for shop owners to work into their existing fabric inventory. We will still have representation at national quilt shows, and offer unique items on cherrywoodfabrics.com. After November 1, 2024, customers will be directed to a list of Suppliers from our website.
For other collaborations, we continue to work with well-respected quilt designers and teachers like Elaine Wick Poplin, Jenny Kae Park, Jane Sassaman, Shannon & Jason from Embrace the Creative Chaos, Karlee Porter, and Lo & Behold Stitchery to showcase the many uses of Cherrywood. And we are already working on the next challenge which will be announced September 2025!
For those who are new to Cherrywood Challenges, how would you describe the impact these challenges have had on the quilting community, and what has been the most rewarding part of seeing so many talented quilters take part?
I have seen the reactions, heard the comments, and listened to the personal stories that have touched people so deeply. I have seen people in tears. I have seen security guards stop in their tracks to get a closer look. I have seen kids squeal with delight. I have seen non-quilters pay admission to a show just to see the challenge exhibit because they didn’t understand what an “art quilt” was…but now they do. THAT is why I started this, and why we keep going. If I were to estimate how many people see the exhibit at each show, gallery or venue (including on Broadway!) or buy the book and share it with their friends, multiply it by 10 years, I am SURE we have reached 1 million people! That is incredible!
Lastly, if you could sum up the last 10 years of Cherrywood Challenges in one word, what would it be, and why?
“BLOSSOM” because that is what I see happening in people’s creativity and in the growth of the challenge!
HUGE thanks to Karla at Cherrywood for playing along with us today and additional thanks and congrats to the full Cherrywood team on hitting this incredible milestone. We are grateful for your partnership!
Awesome!!!
What a great interview and story. I have always enjoyed viewing the challenge shows and now I have learned more about the history. Thank you both Karla and Aurifil.