Interview with Elizabeth Barton

Posted by Deirdre Quirk on Mar 13th 2017

Please give a warm welcome to today's interview subject, Elizabeth Barton! She is the author of two books on art quilting, Visual Guide to Working in a Series and Inspired to Design.

Where do you find your quilting or sewing inspiration?

My life ... what I see, what I feel .. my reactions to places I've been.

Who has inspired your creativity?

No person, rather places...

How do you stay up-to-date on new trends?

I don't ... I think as an artist you have to follow your own path.

What is something we might not know about you?

I'm crazy about learning the piano!!! And I see so many parallels between art and music.

What was your favorite part of the book writing or production process?

I enjoy writing and the research that goes into it ... I wasn't any good at the tedious editing...

What are your go-to colors?

I love chartreuse, and apparently it's the Pantone color of the year for 2017.

What projects are you working on right now?

Another black and white series ... but I'm inspired by the idea of chartreuse!!

What’s your favorite project that you’ve made?

A quilt called Farne Islands, which was all about different patterns on the surface of water.

Where do you shop for fabric?

For my quilts, I don't ... I just buy 100 yards of white cotton and dye or print it myself. But for sewing clothes, I go to Mood, the famous fabric shop in the garment district of New York City.

Can you share with us one quilting or sewing tip?

A little bit of hand sewing can go a long way. You can do the basic stitch-in-the-ditch to hold everything together and then enjoy yourself with beautiful LARGE stitches on top, by hand.

How did you come up with the idea for your book or product?

My two books were based on classes I had taught for several years.