Designer Spotlight: Monique Jacobs

Quilter, fabric designer, educator, and entrepreneur, Monique Jacobs has carved out a corner in the quilting world filled with beautiful fabrics and quilt designs. She recently took some time to discuss her latest fabric collection, Hello Autumn, and her exciting plans for the year.

Hello Autumn features fall-themed medallions, colorful pumpkins, playful dots, and a festive border stripe, capturing Monique's favorite season. She drew inspiration from apple colors and a local apple orchard to create a seasonal color palette that reflects her home in Illinois.

“One of my favorite fall activities is visiting our local apple orchard,” she shared. “It's a happy place for me, especially during fall and Halloween when it's beautifully decorated. They serve apple pie, apple cider, apple donuts – everything apple!”

Monique designed several projects to go with her collection, including a new BOM Autumn on Parade and the Hello Autumn Quilt (pictured above) a free quilt pattern. This clever pattern allows the quilter to choose 12 of the motifs in the running yardage and practice mitered corners with the border stripe.

“With the running yardage, I made sure that there were several options for finishing sizes,” she shared, "and in the free pattern you can chose the motifs you want to feature in your quilt."

The border stripe features four identical stripes across the width of the fabric and is cut along the length. For those unfamiliar with sewing mitered borders, Monique has created a helpful  YouTube video (the instructions start at 7:30) to teach beginners or serve as a refresher.

She is planning a free quilt-along for her Hello Autumn Quilt free pattern in July and will be sharing details on her website and social media. Make sure to sign up for her  newsletter for all the fun details! 

Earlier this month, Monique stopped by the Maywood Studio booth at the h+h Americas show in Chicago. She demonstrated different ways to use the blocks in the running yardage fabric from her collection and shared her new  Aurifil thread set she designed to go with the collection.

In addition to designing fabrics, Monique keeps busy running Open Gate Quilts, her successful quilt-focused pattern and subscription business. Her designs cater to quilters of all skill levels, from beginners to those seeking more challenging projects. Additionally, Monique has launched a new quarterly  Tilted Charm Club, which showcases fabrics from her collection in one of the four 12" x 40" wall hangings she designed.

Monique expressed her gratitude for the support she receives and her passion for her work. Last year, she shared her journey and offered advice to aspiring quilters. Her beautiful collection has started shipping to shops, and she looks forward to seeing the creative projects that will emerge from it.