1. Tell us about you!
Hi! I’m Ebony and like Jennie, I live in the far northwest suburbs of Illinois, up near Six Flags. I characterize my day job as allowing me to be a “social butterfly” – I work in information technology, but my role involves building relationships between the business folks & the techies to solve business challenges. Since that’s pretty fuzzy… let’s just say I’m a fabric addict who works to support her quilting habit. 🙂
2. When/How did you get into quilting?
I got into quilting in a bit of a roundabout way… my sewing background is in garment & accessories construction – specializing in evening gowns. Well, once you make a few of those, you end up with these odd-shaped pieces of really fabulous fabric, and I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away. So I started stashing fabric scraps from my creations… eventually I got to the point where I was collecting more fabulous fabric than I could handle, which leads to the need to do something with it… and my quilting career started.
3. Show us a couple of your projects.
This is a baby quilt that I was commissioned to make… it was for a couple expecting the birth of their firstborn son, but they hadn’t chosen a nursery theme yet. When I make baby quilts, I tend not to use a lot of pastels!
This is another commissioned project – it was a lot of fun making a Bargello quilt, and also doing a continuous work in separate panels. This is hanging in Madison, WI in a private collection.
This is an example of what happens when I get tired of working on a particular project. I’d been working on an abstract wall hanging made from old pants that had been donated to a garage sale. The wall hanging was about halfway done, and I couldn’t picture myself finishing it. So I chopped it up and made two giant tote bags!
4. What (if any) other crafty activities do you enjoy?
In addition to quilting I also crochet & bake, but I think my most favorite crafty activity is designing & making handbags. Sometimes the quilting leaks into this, but for the most part I do not make a lot of quilted bags. Go figure! I also am a staff writer for HandmadeNews.org where I publish a series about quilting, and I also write for my own blog.
5. What quilt or item you’ve made are you most proud of and why?
Before last week, I would have selected a totally different item, but I think right now, I am totally in love with my interpretation of a 35mm film canister and film strip, using a vacation I took back in 2000 as the inspiration. (It’s something I recently completed for Project Quilting.)
6. Who inspires you most in your quilting?
I don’t think I can narrow this down to any one individual. I am inspired daily by the people I meet, the objects that I see, the places I go, and the things I experience. I also am amazed at other quilters and artists who are out there, and just the sheer ingenuity that people have. It’s fascinating how you can cut up something & stitch it back together again, but the number of combinations & possibilities are endless!