Swan Sheridan was born in Bend, Oregon in little house on Colorado Street. She currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her super hero husband and artist daughter.
Swan’s interest in all things textile related began when she was very young. She tried everything from spinning wool, to cross-stitch and finally landed in the world of quilting during grad school as she awaited the birth of her first nephew. She dabbled in appliqué with that first quilt in the interests of covering a mistake and thus did necessity become the mother of invention.
Appliqué truly took over Swan’s quilting life in 2004 while she was pregnant with her daughter. Swan had a dream during that time that repeated a magical image of dragonflies rising out of a brass urn and flying toward the moon. Unable to shake the idea that this image needed to become a quilt for her baby-to-be, Swan set out to make this quilt come alive and as a result produced her first large appliquéd scene.
In 2009, with her daughter in preschool, Swan began to refine her appliqué skills always with unique designs. Soon after she took a job with Bella Quiltworks in Tucson, Arizona, offering her the opportunity to be immersed in the quilting world in a whole new way.
Swan began producing patterns for sale in early 2013 and regularly exhibits her work in local and national shows. She teaches in Phoenix and around the country, offering classes in appliqué, color, machine and hand quilting, and decorative stitches.
On any given day, you can find this quilt artist half buried in fabric, brandishing her needle and thread, and otherwise surrounded by implements of creativity.
Program
“Quilting with Context”
Workshop
“Free Motion Quilt Laboratory”
Do you find it difficult to know where to start with your free motion work? Do you have a project that is hard to plan for? Bring a finished quilt top to Free Motion Quilt Lab and get the guidance you need! Learn to make choices about your specific project, discover tricks to make your projects more approachable, and ultimately create a personal plan for the project you bring to class. Swan will help you test your plan, tailor it to your abilities, and help you to organize an order of operations (where to begin and where to finish).