At Road to California 2022, Desiree Habicht of Desiree’s Designs will be teaching two all day classes:
A Painting Class on Monday, 1005O – Color Me Quilts – Sunflowers And Roses
And a Design Class on Tuesday, 2003O – Color Me Quilts – Chameleons
On Friday Evening, Desiree will be teaching a 3 hour class, 5071C – Color Me Quilts – Sunflowers Or Wild Roses
Turning Sadness Into Quilting Design Comfort
A dark time in her family’s lives is what introduced Desiree Habicht to quilting.
A drunk driver had critically injured her third daughter. She spent almost a year in the hospital before Desiree and her husband were able to bring their daughter home. Desiree remembered, “Working as an artist and muralist, I had lost my creative mojo and needed to find something I could do that would bring me some comfort during those first few years. It was a time of reinventing myself so I could care for her and still find a creative path for self expression. It was this journey of discovering a new artistic medium in which I could play. I took a beginning quilting class and learned quickly that points and piecing weren’t my favorite things. I wanted to share my art in fabric form and set out to push every boundary and figure things out. I quickly branched out into applique quilts and art quilts. The freedom to design and paint on fabric fed my soul and gave me a new creative outlet. I used my art quilts to tell my story and my murals transitioned into quilts.”
Desiree’s Designs
The first quilt Desiree Habicht made and designed was a baby quilt for a friend’s first grandbaby. She also painted a mural to match in the baby’s room. Desiree was asked repeatedly if there was a pattern for her design, which started her designing and writing patterns. Starting with just 6 small patterns, Desiree and her husband decided to venture out and do a tradeshow under the name of Desiree’s Designs. They got a ½ booth at Spring Quilt Market and had no idea what they were doing! Desiree said they “learned a lot that year and our quilts were well received. I was asked to design fabric a few years later and added machine embroidery years after that. It has been a great journey, a journey of discovery and friendship. I always say I needed a friend and gained a community.”
Desiree finds inspiration for new designs in her garden. She says that their business is always growing and changing; “it’s like a living thing, it can’t be stagnant.” Today, they design between 6-8 fabric lines a year and are focused on their online clubs and in the hoop embroidery where they do quilt projects in the hoop.
Fall Traditions
Desiree Habicht was asked what she enjoyed about the upcoming Fall Season. She replied, “I love the Fall as the colors start changing and the sun casts a wonderful peachy glow over everything… I love to paint and start sewing for the holidays. For the past 15 years, Halloween has been spent in Houston (at Quilt Market) but I spend hours making and creating goodies for our grandchildren to be sent before we leave.”
Teaching at Road 2022
A teacher of both art and quilt classes for over 20 years, Desiree likes to teach unconventional quilt classes that allow the participant to create something special. She only teaches classes that combine art and quilting because she recognizes that “there are enough traditional quilt teachers.” Most of her students have no art training and get so excited seeing what they created unconventionally. Desiree Habicht has taught “painting on fabric, acrylic inks on fabrics, colored pencils on fabrics along with other techniques.” She says that she loves to move people outside of their comfort box into something different and more exciting. Taking the fear away opens lots of doors of creativity.
Desiree is excited to be teaching “live” at Road 2022. “Just seeing everyone again is exciting. We have been locked away too long. Having that one on one contact and interaction with students is really hard to replicate online. Art is always better live. When teaching I am always walking around checking on my students. Giving them tips, suggestions and support. In person I can also spot a perfectionist or a naturally talented and gifted person in a room. I love to see their eyes light up when they see what they can do!”
To learn more about Desiree Habicht and Desiree’s Designs, please visit her website.
