Interviewed by Elizabeth Townsend Gard

Date February  2018

 

Seth Hackler suggested we interview Raymond, and he was so right!  We talk about symmetry quilting.   Here is his bio:​

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"I am largely self-taught . . . I took up sewing on a dare in high school. My first project was a hand-stitched velvet buccaneer shirt that fell apart the first (and only) time I put it in a washing machine. I began my first quilt in 1976 (America's Bicentennial), not because I thought quilting was Patriotic but because I felt it was Americana.

 

In 1994, I learned about Symmetry, the underlying structure of all patterns. I developed a method to generate patchwork designs which I taught online at Quilt University (now defunct). (At Quilt University, I held the distinction of being the first Black instructor and the first Male instructor.) I designed a patch that I use exclusively in all my patchwork.

 

About eight years ago, I started working with large scale Celtic knot appliques. Initially, I cut individual shapes placed next to each other. Now, I cut the paths of the knots separately and weave them together. I am completing a book of templates for simple knots.

 

Last Christmas, I bought a game that inspired me in several new directions of knotwork (even hexagonal)."