From the moment we were first introduced to Karen Lewis, we were captivated by her quiet brilliance, her deep reverence for craft, and her unmistakable creative voice. As the artist behind Karen Lewis Textiles, she has built a career defined by intention, exploration, and a beautiful balance between tradition and innovation. With a background in print-making and a keen eye for pattern and color, Karen has carved a path that bridges time-honored techniques with modern design sensibilities.
Whether she’s carving printing blocks by hand or layering delicate stitches with care, her work radiates thoughtfulness, warmth, and an enduring sense of purpose. From quilting and appliqué to EPP, hand-stitching, Sashiko, Boro, and couching, she continues to inspire us with her versatility, curiosity, and masterful execution.
A founding member of The Thread House, alongside fellow creatives Jo Avery and Lynne Goldsworthy, Karen has long championed community, collaboration, and the joy of creative exploration. It’s been a true honor to support her over the years—as a maker, a teacher, and an ever-evolving innovator.
Today, we’re thrilled to celebrate her latest accomplishments: a new fabric collection with Andover Fabrics (Conway Cottage) and a stunning coordinating thread collection with Aurifil. In the conversation that follows, we explore Karen’s creative roots, her love of surface design, the thought process behind her curated thread palette, and what’s next in her colorful journey.
HOT TIP: If you’ll be at Festival of Quilts next week, find Karen on Friday afternoon! She’ll be at the Menopause Makes Lounge next to Aurifil’s stand at 4pm!
Hi Karen! Thank you so much for taking the time with us today! Can you take us back to the beginning? How did you first discover your passion for quilting and print-making?
Way back when, about 20 years ago now, I had a company called Blueberry Park where I curated handmade products from artists around the UK. My passion for fabrics from a young child around my grandma’s sewing room meant I was particularly drawn to the textiles I was finding. One thing led to another and the more I was looking at all these textiles, the more I wanted to actually create my own pieces rather than just buying other peoples’ so my quilting journey began. Whilst veering down the ‘handmade’ rabbit hole I found and fell in love with hand printed fabrics and I decided I wanted to have a go. It didn’t take long for printing and quilting to turn into a passion, one that has stayed with me for almost twenty years now!
Was there a particular moment or project that made you realize you wanted to turn this creative passion into a career?
Naïvely I never really gave it much though! It seemed a natural progression from sourcing and selling other artists’ work to making and selling my own. I guess I had the audience from my Blueberry Park online marketplace and the gradual shift to selling my own creations seemed like a natural shift. If I had stopped to think about it I probably would never have thought I could do it!
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced early on in your journey, and how did you overcome them?
I think my biggest challenge was to work out that not everything I wanted to make was commercially viable. If I was selling pieces, or having projects in magazines and they took forever to make, that really wasn’t a good business decision. It does turn the ugly monetary conversation on creating but in order to go down the route of making a business out of what I loved, I did have to be thoughtful about the decisions I made.
Your work is known for its stunning use of hand-printed designs. What drew you to print-making, and how does it influence your approach to fabric design?
Thank you! As previously touched upon, in the early days I came across a lot of screen printers, predominately in Australia for some reason. I have never quite found out why that was the case! I loved the simplicity of these fabrics, in both design and colours. This was the style of fabric design that I was drawn to and the fact that it was such a tactile method made it one that I really wanted to have a go at. With screen printing you can create an overall design with one pull of the paint on the screen in just one colour. I am not one for overtly fussy in both design and colours and using screen printing as a design medium complemented my design aesthetic.
Can you walk us through your creative process—how do you go from an initial concept to a finished textile design?
This has changed over the years as I have become slightly more technically adept! My first designs, and the ones everyone knows from my initial Blueberry Park collection, were all hand drawn. I would sit and hand draw an A3 (approx 12” x 16”) piece. If I made a mistake I would have to start again! I actually loved this process and still do hand draw my designs but what I do now is hand draw in Procreate and then use the technology to copy and paste, resize etc. It has meant I can get more complex with my designs if I want.
What are some of your favorite techniques, and how do they show up in your latest work?
I love anything by hand with my quilting. Hand pieced, hand quilted with hand printed fabrics…the whole shebang! I find it so mindful and it makes me appreciate and enjoy the process rather than racing to get to the finish line. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting to the finish line but it is so important to enjoy the process to get there.
Congratulations on your new partnership with Andover Fabrics! What has this collaboration meant for you as a designer?
Thank you! It has been very exciting. They are such a great company, so enthusiastic about my design aesthetic that has enabled me to work on exactly I want.
Can you tell us about your latest fabric collection, Conway Cottage? What was your inspiration behind it?
Because it was my first collection with Andover and because I get a lot of “Please bring back Blueberry Park!” we decided it would be fun to reinvent some of the familiar designs from that collection but with a fresh new twist. Blueberry Park was obviously very colourful and I wanted to announce with Andover more of the muted almost hand dyed looking palette that I am known for with a lot of my work so people could recognise me in this launch collection.
What do you hope quilters and makers will feel when they work with Conway Cottage?
I hope they will feel the nostalgia in Conway Cottage, coming full circle from my first commercial fabric collection and also I hope they will love the calm mindful colourstory that I hope will inspire them to sit peacefully and mindfully creating by hand.
You’ve curated a stunning Aurifil thread collection to pair with Conway Cottage. Can you tell us about the colors and weights you selected?
I selected colours that blend in seamlessly with the fabric collection and weights that can be used for not only hand piecing and quilting work but equally on the machine. I think the collection not only crosses over the different techniques we use but also the more neutral and muted colours would work with a variety of other fabrics, not just Conway Cottage.
Why was it important for you to include three different 100% cotton Aurifil thread weights, in addition to our 12wt wool?
I wanted people to have everything they needed for a variety of techniques. I use both 80wt and 50wt for hand piecing and then 12wt cotton and wool for hand quilting to give more definition. Whilst these are all my go tos for handwork they can equally work in the machine, making them such versatile threads.
How do you envision using these different weights within your own creative process, and what recommendations might you have to share with our readers?
I have been using them all a lot with my recent projects. I love 80wt for needle turn appliqué, which if you really pressed me would be my favourite hand technique. But don’t press me because I love them all! The thread is so beautiful to work with and with applique it would be easy to see the stitches with a different weight but 80wt just melts into the background like magic. 50wt is perfect for EPP and also hand piecing. It is stronger than 80wt and where the stitches are less noticeable it is a more preferable weight to use when sewing by hand. The 12wts are just perfect for hand quilting. The definition they give is sublime. They work equally well in the machine, with regular 50wt in the bobbin. I love using all the 12wts in one project, highlighting different parts of a quilt and adding more contrast.
If you had to choose one must-have thread from the collection, which one would it be and why?
That’s a really mean question! You know how hard it was for me to get down to just ten! With my sensible hat on it would have to be one of the 50wts as you can do everything with that and I would choose 2915, the Very Light Brass as this would work well with the whole Conway Cottage collection as well as lots of other fabrics. With my unsensible hat I would choose 80wt 2725. It is such a beautiful Light Wedgwood and with its gorgeous wooden spool it would sit idyllically on my desk making me smile whenever I see it!
From both a professional and creative perspective, what are you most excited about in the coming months?
I will be back teaching at Quiltcon in February. It is my favourite event of the year. Being surrounded by all the creativity and amazing quilting community, I find it so uplifting and inspiring. Seeing all the quilts, teaching so many wonderful students and generally being with fellow geeky quilters is such a joy. And of course I get to catch up with you all too!
What advice would you give to aspiring fabric designers or quilters who want to develop their own unique style?
I would say put blinkers on. Take yourself off somewhere quiet with a sketchpad and pencil and draw what comes naturally and what resonates with you. It is so easy to see all the inspiring work around us on social media but to create your own style you need to not feel the influence of that.
Finally, where can our audience follow your work and get their hands on the Conway Cottage collection and coordinating Aurifil threads?
Well you can get the thread set from me! As for the fabrics, try your local go to store first and if they aren’t stocking it, first of all ask why not! and secondly reach out to Andover, or Makower here in the UK and see if they can send you a stockists list. As for following my work, you can find me on Instagram @karenlewistextiles and over on my website karenlewistextiles.com. For more information on The Thread House, visit academy.thethreadhouse.co.uk and @threadhouseuk.