Designer of the Month

May is upon us!  And you know what they say about May, right?  April showers bring May flowers.  Blooming is one of the things our intrepid leader does best.  This month our own Patricia E. Ritter shares with us her "Best of ..." and her bio.  Her creative genius takes it roots in the world around her.  So, without much ado, we give you Patricia in her own words.

Zoey, Patricia's MVP

Best quilting tool?  My imagination.  But it can also be my own worst enemy ... especially when I can't seem to execute what I imagine.

Best inspiration?  Anything and everything ... from a trip to the hardware store to the pattern on a sheet of paper towels.  Design and patterns are all around us, and it's hard for me not to visualize them as quilts, applique or quilting designs.

Best time to quilt?  Mornings.  I'm one of those crazy people (that you hate ;-) who loves waking up and getting started with their day.

Best project ever?  Whatever project is next. I'm always evolving and always trying to think "outside the box", so my best project has yet to come.

Best day off?  Hummmm ... this is a tough question.  I feel like I'm always "on", even when I'm sleeping.   I can't tell you how many times I've woken up from a dead sleep with a really cool idea. 

Best advice you ever received?  Strive to be the best at whatever you do. 

Best advice you’ve ever given? When it comes to designing, don't "marry" your original idea.  You're only dating.  See where the design leads you before committing.

Best road trip?  I don't think I can pick a best road trip.  I once drove from Florida to California and back, and that trip was amazing.  I also lived and worked overseas for 7 years and pretty much every weekend included a road trip that's worth noting.

Best place to visit?  My house and studio ... LOL ... just ask any of my friends!

While pursuing her degree in Fine Arts, Patricia E. Ritter established her artistic voice as a ceramicist. Soon her talents expanded to include working with metals and bead work, and for the next 15 years she worked creatively and professionally as a jeweler and gallerist.

Her relationship with quilting bloomed out of a need to strengthen her fine motor skills through needlework. With quilting, she found an art form that was simultaneously useful and ornamental. Her quilting experience quickly grew from dabbling on a domestic machine to acquiring her own longarm machine and sketching the pantographs she envisioned yet found did not exist.

Inspired by the foliage and flowers within and around her native Miami, her original pantograph designs multiplied into a library of designs. It was a natural step to start a pantograph business, Urban Elementz, first selling to local quilt shops and soon after selling internationally online at her site www.urbanelementz.com.

Now Urban Elementz's product line has expanded beyond pantographs to include original patterns, stencils, design boards, applique and fabric.  Patricia's multifaceted artistic experiences and entrepreneurial resolve ensure that Urban Elementz will continue to flourish alongside the ever-growing creativity of machine quilting.

Welcome to our new series called The Best Of ... !

Every month we'll introduce to  you one of our designers, and they'll share their very Best's.  To kick off our first month, we are thrilled to acquaint you with, Valerie Smith and her "best of" list.