making it fun: Introducing Michael Miller Fabrics Brand Ambassador

We are so pleased to introduce our third Michael Miller Fabrics Brand Ambassador - Mel Beach!

We appreciate Mel’s modern, bold, fun style. Her quilting and teaching experience (plus award-winning designs!) are a perfect fit with Michael Miller Fabrics.

Mel Beach is a San Jose, CA based quilt artist, teacher and lecturer, who breaks away from tradition by adding her own modern, beautifully textured and colorful twists. She loves stretching her creativity through her completion of 70+ quilt challenges at the local and international level. Many of her challenge quilts have been exhibited locally, juried into national quilt shows and traveling exhibits, published in books/magazines, earned awards/ribbons, and selected as Finalists.

She is an Aurifil Artisan and a Featured Artist on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims (episode 2112).

1. What was your first sewing project?

In my last year of graduate school, I decided to make my first quilt out of a stack of t-shirts. I didn’t know about stabilizer, stitching with ¼” seam, quilting, or binding. I had much to learn, but I absolutely loved the process and that quilt traveled with me for several years. Once I finished my T-shirt quilt, I went out and purchased quilting cottons, and haven’t looked back since!

2. What other hobbies do you enjoy?

My other hobbies include fabric dyeing, sketching, and photography. I have two dogs, aka Studio Assistants, Panda and Susie Q, who enjoy going for walks, snuggling, and keeping watch over the studio while I create. For the past 2.5 years, I’ve been taking comedy improv classes and performing in shows similar to Whose Line Is it Anyway with my classmates. Not only are these classes loads of fun, but they help me to think quick on my feet, embrace mistakes, and be a more confident public speaker.

3. What is your favorite color?

I love working with vibrant colors!! Some of my favorite colors include teal, raspberry and lime! I enjoy incorporating pops of black and white prints. I rarely work with brown but keep challenging myself to incorporate more brown fabric into my stash and quilts.

4. Where is your dream vacation?

I would love to travel abroad more, with France and Australia at the top of my Must-See List!!

5. Who taught you how to sew?

As a child, both of my grandmothers introduced me to different needle arts. I remember entering some of my work into a 4-H/County Fair competition. Many years later, my mother introduced me to using a sewing machine and helped me assemble my first T-shirt quilt. Initially I learned a lot about quilting from reading books/magazines and watching Alex Anderson on Simply Quilts. Once I moved to California, I started to enroll in quilting workshops through my local quilt shops and quilt guild, and I am eternally thankful for all the amazing artists/teachers who generously shared different techniques, tools and tips that are part of my quilting toolbox!