A Chat and a Giveaway!

Welcome, welcome to another installment of CHAT at Ellison Lane Quilts.

So glad you're here!

Today, I'm so happy to be chatting with the wonderfully talented and very sweet Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side. She is a mother, a sewist, a creative thinker, and an author. She's also the other brilliant mind behind the Sewing Summit.

So pull up your comfy chair and let's chat!

ELQ: Amy you are quite a talented and skilled sewist. How long have you been sewing and quilting?
Amy: I learned to sew garments as a girl!  My mom is a seamstress, and I wanted to learn, however, since she’s left handed she signed me up for 4-H so that it wouldn’t be backwards for me at all.  From there I soaked up as much as possible, and had lots of fun.  It was definitely a great place to learn and cultivate a love of fabric and handmade items.

ELQ: How wonderful to have grown up with the skills!

ELQ: Blogger's Quilt Festival is such a happy gathering of creative inspiration.  What prompted you to start it and how has it grown?
Thank you!  It’s so fun to gather the quilting community online into one spot, and watch as friendships are made, and inspiration found.  There’s been a number of people that have started blogs just so they could participate as well - as blogging is one of my favorite things, I love that I’ve inspired people that way as well!  

The main thing that prompted me to begin BQF was the fact that most of us online, don’t have a reason to go to Quilt Market, so I created a diversion!  

ELQ: Love that reason! And I know that when I first found BQF I did not have a blog yet so once I got started, I looked so forward to being a part of the festival. I know it will be something I'll take part in each time.

ELQ: You have a fabulous new book out, Modern Basics.  What was the process like, writing it, creating the patterns, etc?
When I first started blogging (3 ½ years ago), I was so inspired!  I started sketching ideas, and before I knew it, I had a bunch of great ideas. Then I had to figure out how to share them with everyone else.  

Producing a book takes awhile, contract in hand, I was beyond busy for the four months I was given to produce 12 quilts. Thankfully it was the dead of winter, and there’s not much reason to go out (save picking my girls up from school!).  Thankfully I had help with the quilting - Natalia, did a beautiful job quilting all of them, and I finished up the bindings by hand in about 2 weeks.  


Once everything was turned in, we added two more quilts, so I was working on those and communicating daily with my technical editor.  Then it was just a matter of waiting for the other pieces to fall into place, the graphic artist and photographer needed time to work their magic, and 10 months after my deadline -- I had my advance copy in my hands!  It was a lot of work, but in the end very rewarding - I love seeing other people’s fabric choices!

ELQ: Wow! That is a lot of hard work but I am so glad it has paid off for you. Your book is wonderful!

ELQ: Do you have a favorite project in the book, or one that holds particularly special meaning?
That is a really hard question!  I would love to make some of them again and again - I think maybe Knotted Squares, and Graduation would be my top two.  At least at this moment!



ELQ: The Sewing Summit is coming up in 3 months and looks to be fantastic! How did you and Erin come up with the idea?
We both love the online sewing community, and realized the lack of conferences specifically for sewing bloggers.  And so we set out to make an event for those that don’t attend Market, would love to connect in person, and further hone their sewing skills!  I know for myself, the friends I’ve made online are some of the best I have, so having a chance to actually meet them in person - beyond exciting!

ELQ: Those are all the reasons I'm excited about going. You and Erin have put together something sure to be fabulous!

ELQ: What aspects of the Sewing Summit are you most excited about?
Meeting online friends!  And the classes that we’ve lined up.  I hope there’s enough time to sleep!

ELQ: I know- I can't wait to meet everybody, and I don't want to miss anything! 

ELQ: Can you give us any more SS scoop of what to expect or any hints about some fun surprises?
All the classes that we have lined up are going to be fantastic.  We are really excited about the teachers that we have set up!  There are meet ups and networking sessions too.  Something different for everyone!  We do have a few surprises left too; we are finalizing a few more details, then we will be able to share with everyone!

ELQ: Keeping us in suspense I see! OK, we'll I'll try to be patient. :)

ELQ: What is your favorite completed quilt?
This is such a hard question!  Each of my kids have a quilt on their bed that I made for them, those are really special, and the Wonderland quilt that went in with my Modern Basics proposal holds special meaning too.  So five favorites - does that work?  haha  

ELQ: I know what you mean. My favorite quilt is often the one I am working on at the moment- until the next idea takes hold!


ELQ: You inspire others with your talent and skills. What inspires you?
I’m inspired everywhere I turn!  Inspiration really is everywhere!  From the tile patterns in a restaurant or mall, to the artwork my girls bring home from school, I’m constantly telling anyone who will listen “that’s a quilt!”  Since publishing Modern Basics, I also upgraded from graph paper to EQ7, which is fun, because I can immediately see if my idea will work in a quilt!

ELQ: Oh I imagine that would be awesome! So nice to have a great tool like that at your fingertips when inspiration strikes. I am not very familiar with EQ7 so I look forward to checking it out further!

Thanks Amy, for chatting with me! I so enjoyed getting to know you better and am looking so forward to meeting you at the Sewing Summit in October!

Intrigued by Amy's book Modern Basics? Would you like to win one? Well of course you would! (Thanks Amy!!)

To be entered in the giveaway, simply leave a comment telling me why you love to quilt and/or sew. 

(One comment per person please!) The winner will be chosen by random number generator and announced on Friday. This giveaway is now closed.

Good luck!