Welcome to Blue Sea Star Designs
I have always loved the phrase ‘Peace, Love, and Happiness’, but for this season of my life, I’ll say ‘Quilt, Love, and Travel’ – which is basically the same thing.
I am passionate about quilting, sewing, and travel. Inspired by my travels, my mission with Blue Sea Star Designs is to create unique patterns and designs. Whether you’re a seasoned quilter or just starting out, I have something for everyone.
Deb’s Story
Due to my spouse’s job, we have been posted overseas since 2013. Moving to a new country every two to three years has allowed extensive exploration of our host countries and phenomenal regional travel opportunities. I initially wanted to design patterns to make myself a quilt that would bring back memories of our travels. Once I got started, I want to share my unique patterns with the world. Blue Sea Star Designs aims to bring together travel loving quilters. My patterns are designed with love and attention to detail, ensuring that every stitch tells a story and brings back travel memories.
My sewing journey goes back a bit further. When I was growing up, during the summers I would spend a week or two at my grandmother’s house. She had what is now described as a mid-century Singer sewing machine with table. I do not recall much of what I made but I do remember getting to play on it. My grandmother also showed me how to cross stitch. My first project she hand drew all the X’s on a scrap of fabric and the stitches were at least a quarter inch/centimeter. Fast forward a few years, her sister was downsizing and I was moving to California. She asked if I wanted the sister’s mid-century Singer sewing machine with table. I said yes! It was heavy – the machine and the table. It had a knee pedal and I had to reteach myself how to use it. As a recent college graduate, it was a nice piece of furniture to have in my spartan studio apartment. I recall using it to make table cloths to cover the rubbermaid bin ‘dressers’ in my studio. At some point, the sewing machine stopped working and was a lovely TV stand. In 2013, when we started downsizing our belongings to begin our overseas moves I sold it at a yard sale (my neighbor that bought it said her boyfriend was able to tinker with it and got it working again). Once we were at our first post, I purchased an entry level Brother machine and mostly made things for around the house (things like table runners and holiday buntings) and I hemmed pants for my growing kids. During the pandemic in 2020, I began sewing more (lots of face masks that year!). Sadly, in 2021, my grandmother passed away at 102 years old!! Each grandkid received a small inheritance. I took part of my inheritance and bought myself a nice Pfaff sewing and embroidery machine. It was at the point, I started dabbling deeper and deeper into quilting making – starting with small projects for our cat and the kids.
In 2024, I received a professional development fellowship to learn quilt pattern designing. I published my first pattern in 2025 and the rest is history!
Why Blue Sea Stars?
Back in college, I majored in Marine Biology, I am SCUBA certified, and I earned my master’s degree studying bottlenose dolphins. I have always loved the ocean. So my favorite posting was when we were living in Fiji. We would try to get out of the capital and go snorkeling or diving once a month. It was my happy place. One of my favorite animals spotted on all of those adventures in the South Pacific Ocean was the blue sea star (Linckia laevigata), partly because blue is my favorite color but also because the color is so unique compared to other sea stars I have seen. So that was my inspiration – something I love.