The Five Favs Series with: Lisa Fuller of Millie & Bun Designs
Episode 1
The Story behind Five Favs
This series developed out of my love of movies, and specifically, movie lists. Critics and film geeks alike spend hours pouring over lists, ranking everything from best movies of the year (pretty standard fare) to top five music documentaries (getting a little more granular) to top five movie characters that shaped who you are (pretty personal and specific!). I thought it would be fun to play with this idea in the quilting world. Since we spend so much time in our sewing spaces, they contain interesting snapshots of who we are as creators, and can offer a sneak peek into other aspects of our lives, too. And so- the creation of The Five Favs Blog. This is a top five of the guests favorite items in their sewing space. And for the debut of The Five Favs Blog, I thought I should be the one to kick start it! I hope you’ll enjoy reading a little more about me and where I spend so much of my time!
The cats help with most parts of my business, including photoshoots
About Lisa
“Hi! I’m Lisa, Founder of Millie & Bun Designs. Focused on designing modern geometric quilts, I am inspired by nature and architecture and love bringing clean and minimal design elements into my work. I started Millie & Bun Designs in 2023 and since that time I’ve been featured in Modish Quilter magazine, Make Modern magazine, and Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine.”
Where Lisa Works
“My sewing space is in my apartment that I share with my husband, Gary, and our two cats, Millie and Bun. We live in Nesbru, Norway, about 18 kilometers outside of Oslo. Our house is just a few minutes walk away from the Oslofjord- the perfect place for quilt pictures (I take pictures there all the time) or a quick swim in the summer (if it’s hot enough- it rarely is for me though!). I sew in an office Gary and I share, a space which I have slowly been taking over since we moved here a few years ago. The light isn’t great and the space is often cramped (I find myself having to shuffle things around to make them work), but I am grateful to have a dedicated space.”
Fav 1 - Cat Objects
“My love of cats can be seen scattered through my work space. I have little mementos that give me joy and remind me of where I got them or who I received them from. There’s the Mofusand kitties that Gary brought back from a vending machine in Hong Kong. There’s the vintage kitten tin my friend bought for me that now holds scraps. There’s the print that I received while cat sitting. There’s the pin that was included with a print from a dear friend. And so many other little happy kitty moments. And of course when my own cats join me in the sewing room, I love that too.”
Cat mementos sprinkled throughout the space
Fav 2 - Scrap Corner
“This little corner indeed does hold most of my scraps, but there are some special objects too. There’s a nice balance here of the sentimental and the practical that I think should be present in every space you spend time in. The scraps are unceremoniously shoved into some jars, but it’s a nice visual reminder for me to ‘maybe make something with those??’ There’s more practical items (thread jar, crochet hook jar), cozied up alongside things that remind me of family and friends (pictures of my mom and grandmother, Russian doll gifts from my mother-in-law, a memento from a European summer road trip a few years ago). This little tableau that sits in the corner of my space just makes me happy.”
Scrap corner- a mish-mosh of practical and sentimental
Fav 3 - Fabric Organization
“Working in a small space (and sharing that small space) means it’s important to be organized. And it’s especially lovely when that organization looks very pretty. My fabric stash is something I’ve slowly been adding to over the years (adding a bit more fabric more recently since I’ve started designing my own patterns). I have Kallax units from Ikea that house everything. Yardage is wrapped around foam boards cut to 7.5” x 10” and pinned in place, further organized by prints vs. solids, then color organized. Smaller cuts are in a drawer, and scraps stuffed into jars. I know that technically fabric should be kept away from light, but (unfortunately) it’s so dark in this room that my fabric never has direct light hit it. And besides, I love seeing everything laid out, and thinking about the limitless creative possibilities that are at my fingertips.”
Fabric organization, and the necessity of being neat when working in a small space
Fav 4 - Walk
“I only have a small book collection here, and Walk by Jacquie Gering is the one I refer to the most. Since I quilt almost everything myself on my domestic machine, the guidance and inspiration included in this book are really key for me to actually finish projects. I just purchased Walk 2.0 but haven’t dived in yet, although I’m sure it will be just as informative as the first book.”
Walk is a must (IMO) for anyone quilting on their domestic machine
Fav 5 - The Art of Pants Print
“This is technically in the ‘makeup’ section of the office (I can’t stress enough how multi-functional this space is!), but it makes me giggle whenever I see it. This is my second Art of Pants print and honestly I would just cover my whole house in them if I could (maybe I just will?? Who is stopping me??). This is definitely one of those things that’s funny because it’s way too real, but I also love the L.L.Bean shout out (it’s headquartered 15 minutes away from my hometown and a brand I grew up with). If you’re into silly weird humor, definitely check out Art of Pants.”
Hey thanks, it’s a Bean