Pat Bravo

My passion for sewing materialized at the age of 9, when I sat down at my mother's sewing machine for the first time. At the age of 13, I joined a sewing school in my native Buenos Aires, learning everything about fabrics, dressmaking, and patterns. For many years I lived in this wonderful world, until it was time to go to college. I decided to study law and sew on the side, but soon realized that this was not my dream. In 1989, I moved with my husband to the United States and I became pregnant with my son, Alex. My life changed radically after the move. Everything was completely new for me: the people, the culture, the food. It was such an intense period of adaptation, that for a good amount of time I had no energy to do the things that I loved and cherished. That all changed when my husband got me my first sewing machine! With that, I immediately came back to life! I fell in love with quilting, sewing triangles and squares together, eventually teaching myself everything that could be achieved using traditional quilting techniques. Throughout the years, my taste started evolving and I began to cross the bridge towards art quilts. First, I started with landscapes and with time my style became more abstract. I hard a hard time finding color variations in batiks and that's when I decided to paint my own fabrics. I began to see that quilters loved them, and not too long after that, my husband Walter and I founded Art Gallery Fabrics and I began designing my first fabric collection: "Oriental." I never stopped designing fabrics since then, it has become one of my greatest passions. What I feel most excited about is how color can influence design. The colors have their own language and evoke feelings and moods. To start designing, I always need to have a color palette first. It is a great feeling to finally see my fabric designs made into gorgeous quilts and many other projects… and to be able to sew them! The love to create is my driving force! Being a BERNINA owner allows me to create a world of beautiful quilting and sewing around me. My projects always come out perfect, much faster and easier! I'm truly blessed to become part of the BERNINA family because they make the best quality machines you can sew with. 

Website - www.patbravo.com

Blog - "Soulful Eyes" patbravodesign.blogspot.com