Camille Roskelley Sets Sail

Nantucket Summer is Camille Roskelly’s first solo line for Moda, but it won’t be the first time she’s bravely stepped out on her own. The fabrics pay homage to the summer between Camille’s freshman and sophomore years of college when she flew across the country from 

her hometown in Idaho to work on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

“A friend had worked there the summer before and said, ‘Oh, you should go next summer, and it was an immediate ‘Okay! Why not?’ like you do when you’re in college,” she says. “Needless to say, my mom wasn’t thrilled about the idea, but away I went, all the way across the country on my own. I didn’t know anyone there.” 

A Maritime Adventure

Camille worked close by the sea in that picturesque setting, setting up charter trips on a hand-built wooden sloop and occasionally helping on the boat as needed. “I’m not a first mate by any means, but I learned so much about sailing that summer,” she says. “You can’t be around sailboats all the time and not fall in love.” Chartering a sailboat by day and scooping ice cream at night was a dream come true for Camille. 

Life in Nantucket also influenced Camille’s color palette. “I became truly smitten with navy and white that summer,” she says. Nantucket Summer reflects that love and also includes a range of maritime blues and greens, colors that she describes as a “fun departure” from Bonnie and Camille's lines.

Her newest Thimble Blossoms patterns keep the oceanic theme going, inspired by sailboats and lighthouses. She’s also designed a traditional navy and white quilt, a scrappy star quilt, and a big, easy-piecing star pattern. “I love quilts you can whip up in a day or two,” she says. With these, Camille says she’s published 163 designs in addition to those she’s done for magazines and her three books. 

Smooth Sailing Amidst 

Waves of Change

Camille and her mom always designed patterns independently (Bonnie created under the name Cotton Way) but worked together on their Bonnie and Camille fabrics. They started designing for Moda nearly 14 years ago, and Camille is building on their many beloved fabrics in her upcoming collections. 

Bonnie had been thinking about retirement for a couple of years, and though they’ve loved working together, Camille is excited for her mom. “She’s worked so hard doing this for 32 years and deserves to work in her garden and sew at a leisurely pace and spend time with her mom and grandkids,” says Camille. Those grandkids include Camille’s and her husband Jarom’s own three boys, who kept their parents exceptionally busy during the pandemic. “They had been home since last fall, and it was a little chaotic,” says Camille with a laugh. “They are just as happy as we are that they’re back in school, and things are starting to return to normal.”

That also gives Camille more time to focus on creating fabrics and patterns that will continue to delight Bonnie and Camille fans. And though designing on her own will be different, Camille’s not worried. She looks back fondly at striking out on her own in Nantucket and remembers all she learned. “That summer was definitely an adventure,” she says, and clearly, she met the challenge. We can all look forward to seeing where this next adventure leads her. 

 

 

Camille's patterns are available now. Ask for all things Moda at your favorite independent quilt retailer.

Hideaway

Stock # TB259 63" x 63"

Also available as a Moda quilt kit.

  

Flower Girl pattern

Stock # TB151  78" x 96"

  

Sail pattern

Stock# TB 260.   70" x 80"

  

LIGHTHOUSE  Pattern

Stock # TB261  80" x 80"

   

 A fun little zipper bag using Moda's mini charms/Moda candy. This project sheet is available at your favorite quilt store or as a download here.

Visit our catalog page to see the Moda lookbook, PIECE 51 with Nantucket Summer, and 21 other collections coming to stores soon.

Enjoy, 

Thank you for choosing Moda Fabrics.