Made in Iowa: Pattern perfect in Marion

Vanessa Christenson could be considered a local queen of quilting.

Christenson, 37, of Marion, creates quilt and handbag patterns, which caught the eye of the sewing machine manufacturer Bernina. The company selected Christenson as one of its expert contributors on WeAllSew.com.

In her new gig, she gets to “create things and have them featured on their site,” she says.

“I also get to travel and teach techniques and projects.”

Christenson started chronicling her sewing projects on a blog - VanessaChristenson.com - while her husband was deployed in Afghanistan.

“I wanted to show him the things I was making around our house to make it a home,” she says. “But as the year progressed, my blog was getting more and more hits from all over the world from people who wanted to see the things I was making.”

Then four years ago, Christenson launched her first online downloadable pattern. Today, as V and Co., she creates patterns found in stores and online, has her own line of fabric with Moda fabric (a second one - Simply Style - comes out in July) and has written a book “Make it Sew Modern: Pleats, Twists, Gathers, Ruffles.”

“A lot has happened from the time I started a blog to now,” she says.

Q&A:

Q: What three words best describe what you do?

A: Creative, fun, timeless.

Q: What inspires you?

A: A lot of it comes from textiles and the fashion industry. A lot of the time I look at how colors go together or how some design looks on a textile, and a quilt comes alive in my mind. Other times I look through fashion magazines and an ad will catch my eye and I will incorporate the colors that caught my eye or the design somehow.

Q: What's the best part about being a crafty/creative person?

A: Being able to think of something and then creating it into reality. It's thrilling to see something that you see in your mind in real life.

Q: Do you remember your first craft project?

A: My mom has my first drawing I did when I was a small child. It was a face of a little girl all drawn in blue. Blue is still one of my favorite colors.

Q: When you become rich and famous for your work, then what will you do?

A: Ha! That's funny! I just hope to be cool in the eyes of my kids and husband with the things I create.