A Basketful of Taupe
Kylie Irvine was born and raised in New Zealand, and has lived in Australia, America and Sweden. She has loved fabric and color for as long as she can remember. When she was a child, she  took oil painting and folk art classes, and learned to crochet and embroider.In her last year of college, Irvine took a patchwork class at a store. After making Log Cabin, Churn Dash and Star pattern cushions, she was enthralled. After graduation, she was an intern at the Chicago Apparel Center. While in the U.S., she visited the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and saw the antique quilts and was inspired by the patchwork.After returning to New Zealand, she worked in textiles and marketing and took up patchwork as a serious hobby, taking a class each week for several years.In 2002, she started a patchwork business, specializing in pretty floral and taupe fabrics. She designed patterns using Taupe fabrics she imported from Japan because they were not available in England at the time. Her flower designs were an instant success with my customers and were the focus of her first book,Taupe Inspirations.She lives just outside of London, in Buckinghamshire, England, with her  husband and two daughters.