Jodie Davis has achieved success in the quilt and crafting worlds through dedication and hard work. She has also carved a niche in both worlds with her cheerfulness, brightly colored projects, and diverse interests.
Roots of an Inveterate Quilter and Designer
Davis was influenced by several women during her life. Her paternal grandmother was skilled in several forms of needlework and painted tole. Unfortunately, she died when Davis was too young to learn from her. Davis' mother encouraged the young artist to explore her creative interests. By the time she was in junior high school, Davis was taking classes from several Rhode Island School of Design professors. Her sister introduced her to sewing. Her first project was a yellow gingham skirt. Quilting came from one of her mother's friends, Ann Hanscom, and her mother still has the first quilt she made.
Despite taking several side-tracks, such as studying engineering, Davis went on to have a flourishing career in design. She has over thirty books to her credit, has been a guest on many quilting shows, and has been the host of three.
Friends in the Bee
Davis' first show was Friends in the Bee. This half-hour news-magazine show had Jodie touring the world, meeting other quilters, and showing viewers how she got her ideas from these diverse locales.
Quilt Out Loud
Davis became the co-host, with Mark Lipinski, of Quilt Out Loud in 2009. This show is an internet show filmed for Quilters News Network (QNNtv.com), which is a website company that is devoted to quilting. The show is a combination of inspirational guests, sewing techniques, and market information. It also strives to show a lighter side of quilting than is usually portrayed in quilt shows.
Quilt It! The Long-Arm Quilting Show
Davis' next venture was a long-arm quilting show called Quilt It! The Long Arm Quilting Show. Davis hosts the show alone. Guests provide information on various styles of long-arm quilting, inspiration for quilters, and new techniques.
Inspirations and Foundations of Jodie Davis' Creativity
Davis is married to Bill Davis and lives in Northern Georgia. She graduated from George Mason University - School of Management in 1985. She is president of QNNtv.com and of her own company Jodie & Company, Inc. She also has a website that's devoted to her love of rubber duckies.
An intensely private person, Davis loves being in her studio and garden. She does travel to teach, however, and to promote her many books. She has also won Telly and Communicator Awards as well as a first place in the Queen of Beer Competition. The latter reflects yet another passion of Davis: beer making. She also collects cuckoo clocks and commissioned a quilter's cuckoo clock, which sold out — twice!
Perhaps her best known passions, however, are gardening and collecting rubber duckies. Both have influenced her art. She has written books about both and even commissioned a special rubber duckie avatar in Second Life. She has also designed her own rubber duckie: one that's quilting.
Despite all of these professional outlets, Davis still has a personal view of quilts saying, "[T]he fact that quilts keep loved ones warm, well, it's like wrapping someone in a hug of yourself" (Planet Patchwork).
Books by Jodie Davis
Quilting in Cotton Country
10-20-30 Minutes to Learn Paper Piecing
Backyard Bird Quilts
Quick Knits with Today's Yarns
Rubber Duckie
The Mini Rubber Duckie Book
Raw Edge Appliqué
Paper Pieced Bed Quilts
Paper-Piece a Curved Flower Garden
Hometown Quilts: Paper-Piece a Village of Memories
Paper-Pieced Curves
Paper-Piece a Merry Christmas
Crafting Lamps & Shades
Quilting Made Easy
Teach Yourself to Make Cloth Dolls
Teach Yourself to Make Teddy Bears
Teach Yourself to Make Angels and Fairies
Teach Yourself to Make Stuffed Animals
A Year of Cross Stitch
The Foundation Piecing Library: Victorian Quilt Block Designs
The Foundation Piecing Library: Hearts and Flowers Quilt Block Designs
The Foundation Piecing Library: Garden-Inspired Quilt Block Designs
Three Dimensional Pieced Quilts
Three Dimensional Appliqué
A Quick and Easy Teddy Bear
Easy-To-Make Teddy Bears and All the Trimmings
Easy-To-Make Cloth Dolls and All the Trimmings
Easy-To-Make Stuffed Animals and All the Trimmings
Easy-To-Make Endangered Species to Stitch and Stuff
Easy-To-Make Fairy Tale Characters
Easy-To-Make Scrap Crafts
Sources
Jodie's Rubber Duckie Website.
QNNtv.com.
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