By Patricia Belyea
SEQUIM, WA When I met up with quilter David Owen Hastings at his home in Sequim, we paused to calculate how many years we’d known each other. We both agreed — about 30.
Upon entering David’s newly built home in the Lavender Capital of North America, I spotted his studio just to the left of the entry. Filled with quilting, stitching, paper projects, and inspired objects, the space was enviously neat and tidy — just as I expected!
On Instagram, David had recently shared a new project that completely intrigued me: a paper version of the Cathedral Window pattern, featuring peek-a-boo openings that revealed indigo-dyed washi paper. The project was extraordinary.
David credited a one-day Yeouijumun workshop with Youngmin Lee, through Tatter Textile Library, for sparking the idea. His personal exploration took it to a whole new level — shibori dyeing the background paper with indigo, and machine-stitching blocks of various sizes together.
David’s attention to detail shines through in all his work. His love of textiles and texture drives him to combine unexpected materials and colors. His final design solutions aren’t slapdash — they’re refined and quietly sublime.
His artwork graces the walls of the home he shares with his husband, Brian. Pillows by David add a colorful touch to beds, couches, and chairs throughout the house.
Influenced by his time in Japan, David landscaped the backyard as a dry garden. A Katsura tree — a Japanese native — serves as a focal point. David noted that its leaves turn butter yellow in the fall and smell like caramel corn.
While David put the finishing touches on a delicious lunch, we chatted about his quilting journey. He began stitching at age seven.
In high school, David made his first quilt. He admits it was enormous — and quite ugly — in red, blue, and black Civil War reproduction cottons from Hancock’s in Iowa. “I included velvet and sateen to spice it up,” he recalled with a laugh.
The polyester batting, with a 4” loft, was impossible to stitch. David ended up hand-tying squares of folded sateen to hold it together. Eventually, the quilt went off to Goodwill and David headed to the University of Iowa.
With a degree in graphic design, David’s career took many twists and turns. Over time, he began creating stitched-paper art and exhibiting it in galleries. On one hallway wall hung a piece from the late 1990s — featuring mono- and photo-printed imagery on archival paper, finished with acrylic medium to mimic an encaustic surface.
Being a gallery artisan was highly competitive. David did not enjoy the atmosphere of working against fellow artists to gain a tiny bit of attention and acclaim.
When David embraced modern quilting, everything changed. His creative endeavors were celebrated as fresh and innovative. The mutual support of the quilting community buoyed him.
David’s design background and artistic discipline combined to catapult him into the quilting spotlight. Today, he teaches quilting and design workshops online and around the world.
I’ve met many of David’s students. Not only do they admire his teaching — they all say, “David is SO NICE.” And he is!
What a pleasure it was to catch up with David and visit him in sunny Sequim.
To see what David is up to next, visit his website +here.
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ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria host in-person and online creative quilting experiences, and lead textile tours to Japan.
FOLLOW OKAN ARTS ON INSTAGRAM @okanarts
