Lauren Dahl

Meet Lauren

Pellon®: Where do you find inspiration for your work?
Lauren: I am constantly scouring Pinterest, blogs and magazines to find inspiration. I love taking ideas from the past and giving them a modern edge and making them fit into my lifestyle.

P:  What does your creative process entail?
L: I draw lots of sketches! Lots and lots of sketches. I also like designing directly in Illustrator. I typically plan a project completely before actually executing it – for example, I will draft an entire pattern before sewing a garment, making a quilt or knitting a sweater. I love figuring out the math behind the pattern steps.

P: Why do you enjoy sewing/crafting/quilting?
L: I love having beautiful things around me and feeling the pride of having someone compliment my daughter on her handmade outfit or asking where I got my handmade quilt. Creating also gives me stress relief! I have to get my sewing “fix” every few days, or I go nuts!

P:  Do you create mainly for satisfaction, gifts,art or another reason?
L: I create mainly for personal satisfaction and so my children have cute handmade things to wear.

P:  What tips or tricks learned through experience can you share?
L: The biggest things I’ve had to learn are 1) to not take shortcuts! and 2) that done is better than perfect. Since I started focusing on the quality of my work (versus the speed), I’ve been much more pleased with my finished products. But there has to be a balance. Sometimes, good enough is good enough.

P: When and why did you start sewing/quilting/crafting?
L: I started sewing at a very young age – probably about 5 years old. I have sewn off and on throughout my life, but I didn’t get serious about it until I was pregnant with my first child in 2010.

P:  What inspires you to start a project?
L: I get ideas in my head, and I can’t stop thinking about them until I figure out how to create them! Sometimes, it’s late at night, and I have chores to do…but I put all that out of my head and just get started. That initial push gives me great momentum.