Please, allow me to (excitedly) introduce my new business partner for Quilt Dash, Quilt Block Dash and Mystery Quilt Dash – Phyllis Dobbs!

Phyllis Dobbs is an designer, artist, and illustrator with a professional career of 24 years of creating patterns, licensed artwork, product design, books, textiles and needlework . She is known for her whimsical style and bright colors.

Phyllis loves creating art images for surface designs that is driven by her passion for color and shows her sense of whimsy. Her art is licensed for fabrics, gift and garden products, kits and other products. Her fabric collections are produced by Quilting Treasures (a Cranston company) for sale by the yard.

Phyllis began a creative career 24 years ago, designing in the needlework and crafts industry. She focused on textile patterns and created over 2000 designs and patterns for product lines, books, magazines and kit licensing. Her pattern designs are for quilts and home decor – table runners and place mats, pillows, aprons, Christmas tree skirts and stockings and more.

For 2 years, 2004-2005, Phyllis worked as a designer for a manufacturer, creating textile product lines that were sold worldwide. She commuted to China several times a year to oversee the the manufacture of product samples.

Phyllis has extensive computer skills in the use of Photoshop and Illustrator for manipulating and formatting her art for product use. She creates patterns, drawings and line art for product and textile design.

Phyllis also keeps a close watch on the latest trends which keeps her art images fresh for the design market. Her ability to spot trends has allowed her to serve on trend committees for several years, as well as serving on the Craft and Hobby Association Designer Trend Team and currently as the Trend Team Leader.

After growing up in Mobile, Alabama, Phyllis received her formal design training at the University of Alabama where she graduated with a BS in Interior Design. She creates her design magic in her Birmingham, AL home studio that feels like a tree house since it overlooks the trees and a creek below her home.

Some of Phyllis’ career highlights include –

• Designing needlework for the fashion industry by creating custom needlework designs for vintage clothing for Polo Ralph Lauren.
• Numerous television appearances showcasing her designs and techniques as well as promoting the crafts industry.
• Winning the Plaid Horizons Award in 2003, a prestigious grant to use for career educational purposes.
• Designing fabric, since she has always loved and bought fabric, for any reason – color, design, or texture, just because they caught her eye.

Visit Phyllis’ blog, www.phyllisdobbs.info for the latest on fabrics, art images, project designs and much more.