Amy Butler is known the world over for her stunning designs that include fabrics and textiles, sewing patterns, rugs, wallpaper, and fashion. She’s also the author of many best-selling craft books including her most recent, Piece Keeping. Here she tells us how she maintains her work-life balance as she launches her new Soul Mate fabric collection.
Hi Amy, can you tell us what you’re working on right now?
My pleasure! I always have a few things moving in my studio at the same time as I balance my creative hours with managing the business. I’m in a super creative zone right now as I’m working on my new fabric line for spring 2018. Simultaneously I’m celebrating and marketing the launch of my Soul Mate fabric collection as it currently releases to the world. And I’m editing and writing my next issue of Blossom Magazine. Much of my time now is also involved in navigating our upcoming creative retreats and their details as well as carving out creative vision time to design upcoming partnership steps as I collaborate in some exciting new ways. In my evening and weekend hours I’ve been making quilt tops from the many blocks I’ve hand-stitched during my road trips back and forth to our lake house in Tennessee. It’s about a six-and-a-half-hour drive and I’ve been stitching for a year and a half, so it feels super good to combine them into lovely quilts for our cabin guests. I love all that I do and the twists and turns as it all comes together.
Tell us a little about your studio set-up. What are your key tools and equipment, and do you have a team?
This story is from the October 2017 edition of Popular Patchwork.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2017 edition of Popular Patchwork.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Handy Hints For Project Success
If you are new to Popular Patchwork or sewing in general, following a pattern can be confusing. We want you to enjoy making the projects in the magazine, so to help you here are some questions we regularly get asked.
Block Of The Month - Point Squares
Block Of The Month - Point Squares
Novel Stitching
This spring, Jane Austen’s House Museum will unveil a very special quilt to commemorate Jane Austin’s life at Chawton in an exhibition entitled: Piecing Together Jane Austen. Elizabeth Betts describes a year in the making.
Wedding Quilts
Diana Woolf takes a fascinating look at the history of quilt making and the designs traditionally associated with weddings.
Handy Hints For Project Success
If you are new to Popular Patchwork or sewing in general, following a pattern can be confusing. We want you to enjoy making the projects in the magazine, so to help you here are some questions we regularly get asked.
Patchwork Of My Life Ruth Singer
Ruth Singer left a much-loved job in museum curating to follow her heart and has since become known for her amazing talents in stitching and fabric manipulation. Her recent projects have ranged from being an artist in residence and honorary fellow at Leicester University Department of Genetics to extending her Criminal Quilts project, which was originally commissioned for the Shire Hall Gallery in Staffordshire. Here we find out more about this versatile and scholarly artist.
Ruaab - A Producer Company Of Women
How a group of women in India have taken their hand sewing skills into the international marketplace.
Abigail Booth of Forest + Found
Louisa Goult talks to quilter and textile artist Abigail Booth, half of the crafts partnership Forest + Found.
Down By The Riverside Competition
Back in May we launched a group design competition, in partnership with Lewis and Irene. Each group who entered was given a 10m length of the stunning ‘Down by the Riverside’ border print and the brief was to design a quilt to incorporate it. The entries were a varied and gorgeous mix of designs and choosing the winning quilts was a challenge. However, judging by the overwhelming response from visitors to the Popular Patchwork stand at The Festival of Quilts, we are confident in our final choice. Here we talk to the finalists about their experience of working as a group for this design challenge.
Stuart's Surgery
Each month Stuart Hillard answers your quilty questions!