Giuseppe Ribaudo (better known in the quilting world as Giucy Giuce) will be in Australia exclusively for the QuiltNSW Exhibition in September this year. We asked him some questions so our members can get to know more about this exciting pattern and fabric designer and teacher.
“Sewing has always been a big part of my life,” Giucy says. “My grandmother is a talented and prolific seamstress. She worked in clothing manufacturing in the US when my grandparents emigrated from Sicily in the 50s. We lived on the bottom floor of their home in Long Island, NY. Sewing was unavoidable in that household. You could hear the loud, rapid-fire stitching of her industrial Singer at all corners of the house. When I was five, she started to teach me how to sew with finishing techniques on the garments she made.”
It wasn’t until Giucy was in college that he discovered quilting. “I was a knitter and lived across the street from a store that specialised in knitting, as well as quilting. I’d go in for knitting supplies but always spent more time daydreaming in the fabric section, looking at all the quilt samples. It was the first time in my life I’d ever seen a quilt. I had a sewing machine already, so one day I just decided to buy some fabric and take it home. I think it was the endless ways to combine colour that first enthralled me.”
Giucy’s favourite technique is foundation paper piecing and he prefers hand binding his projects, “much to the dismay of my carpal tunnel.” He quilts all his small projects, such as pillow tops but sends out all his quilts to be long armed. “One day I hope to (live in a place big enough) to own my own machine,” he adds.
Giucy reveals his favourite class to teach is tiny piecing. “I just love that moment when the person in class, who is so certain they can’t do it, finishes their first block. I love celebrating that victory with them.”
Many of his quilts feature very finely detailed and tiny foundation paper piecing (FPP). Giucy has many special tips and tricks in his classes to help students master these skills. “I’ve been fortunate to teach tiny piecing for over a decade now. I have made hundreds of tiny blocks with the Mini Series patterns. I have definitely developed some tricks along the way, all of which I share in class. The tricks can be applied to all sorts of FPP projects, not just miniatures.”
Giucy creates not only quilt patterns, but also fabric designs. “At the time I started designing, I worked a 9-5 job for a fabric company. I had started traveling to teach and lecture around the US. In our weekly meetings, when we would discuss the search for new designers, they would always talk about needing to find young quilters who were teachers with an established following on social media. I raised my hand every week saying, ‘I feel like that could be me…’ After 2 years of bugging them about it they finally let me submit my first collection.”
So, what influences Giucy in his surface designs?
“So much of my inspiration comes from movies, specifically of the sci-fi genre. Even if the themes of my collections aren’t always science fiction, so often their style informs designs that I find interesting or compelling. I think it’s because as a genre it’s all about expanding your perspective beyond what you know is possible. That idea is very exciting to me creatively.”
His fabric designs have spanned a wide range, from traditional florals to vibrant rainbows. What can we expect from Giucy’s upcoming lines? “Expect the unexpected! One thing that has always been really important to me as a designer is that you never know what I am going to do next. Colour is the throughline of all my work, but in terms of the themes of my collections, I have many interests and enjoy so many different styles of fabric. So why design the same thing over and over?”
Since this will be Giucy’s first visit to Australia, we asked him what he is most excited to do or see while in Sydney. Not surprisingly, he nominated one of Sydney’s icons. “When I was in the 4th grade, we had to write a paper on a building that we found beautiful and inspiring and I chose the Sydney Opera House. I don’t know where I first saw it as this was before the dawn of the internet, but I have been obsessed with that structure for years. I absolutely cannot wait to see it in person!”
Enrolments in Giucy’s workshops at the QuiltNSW Exhibition will be released later in the year. In the meantime, click here for taste of what you could learn.
You can see more of Giucy’s designs on Instagram or visit his website.
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