Eye-catching patterns: Utah quilter Julie Popa's designs found all over the world

SMITHFIELD — One day, Julie Popa's phone rang, and a woman from Ireland was on the line.

Would it be OK, the woman wondered, if they used one of Popa's quilts on the cover of their magazine?

They had one of Popa's patterns that they had asked a woman to make into a quilt for the background of another shot. "For the background, apparently they don't need permission," says Popa. "But when they saw the quilt made up and the colors the woman used, they wanted to give it the center of attention. So, it was her color selection as much as my pattern, but still, what a thrill."

Another time, Popa was at her booth at a Quilt Market trade show when a woman from Spain came up. "Oh, I know your quilts," the woman said. "The first quilt I ever made was one of your patterns."

So, says Popa, you never know where in the world quilt design will take you. "I've had so many opportunities come along that I never would have dreamed of."

One of her patterns, one she called "Sunset," features a crisscross design that provides some fun optical illusions. "It was picked up by Clotilde (a catalog company), and it sold like crazy. That was what really started to get my name out there. And once it's out there, other things seem to come along."

Her quilts, pillows, table runners and patterns have appeared in magazines and catalogs and on calendars. She has published three books, two by publisher Martingale of "That Patchwork Place" fame. She has traveled all over the country to teach classes and talk quilts. She has been asked to design a line of fabric.

Who knew? Certainly not Popa, who kind of fell into quilt design by accident. Her first love was actually interior design, the subject that she majored in when she graduated from Weber State University.

She grew up loving to sew. "My mother was the first one to take up quilting, and I learned from her. Then when I was going to school, I got a job at Quilter's Haven in Bountiful and would make quilts for them. That was where I first came up a pattern of my own."

After graduation and marriage, "I tried to stay with interior design, but we moved around so much, it was hard." They lived in Texas for a time, then New Jersey. They now live in Smithfield, in Cache County.

"So," she says, "I started designing some quilts. That was something that could move with me."

At first, it was kind of hit-and-miss. She sold a few quilts and patterns at craft fairs and at quilt stores. "Then, after my son was born (she also has three daughters), I realized that if I was going to do this, I needed to get serious about it. I started pitching ideas to book publishers."