Meet Amy of Amy Lou Who Sews!

Hi!

Today I have the privilege of introducing you to another Amy… Amy W. of Amy Lou Who Sews! 

I met Amy at the Sewing Summit. I sat down to talk to her and within about 2 minutes I felt like I’d know her for years!  I’d linked up to her Sew and Tell party a couple of times and it was fun to finally meet her in person.   She said she’d come visit me in Kentucky and I’m holding her to it!

She also just hosteed a mini quilt challenge on her blog with linky party. Some AMAZING quilts got linked up… Stop by and check them out!

Hi my name is Amy, and I like to pretend that I have time to be creative. I have 3 kids, 6, 4 and 1 and 1/2. They are the sweetest things and the biggest frustrations all rolled into one. I live on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina ~ where there happen to be some of the most beautiful beaches just 15 minutes away! I grew up outside of Washington, D.C. in the shadow of my mother, and avid sewer, quilter and crafter.

Q: Favorite Musical group when you were in Junior High… did you have a favorite song?

This is an awesome question because I have a very vivid memory of listening to Tears for Fears, Everybody Wants to Rule the World on a tape (that I had probably taped off the radio) and rewinding it a gazillion times so I could write down the lyrics. So does that date me? Yes. BUT, my actual favorite was their 1st album which wasn’t that popular. AND I got the Cyndi Lauper album (VINYL, people!) for Christmas from a friend and that was my first album ever.

Q: When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a pediatrician. Or a teacher. But mostly just have my own family. I ended up getting a teaching degree and taught school for 5 years until I realized that if I was going to have to support myself for the rest of my life teaching wasn’t going to cut it. I considered medical school again, but then got a decent paying job and then met my husband. Now when I grow up (or out of the little people stage) I would love to do something in the fabric/graphic design industry. Although I have zero training. Just lots of blog reading and sewing – doesn’t that qualify me?!

Q: What’s one thing that you’d love to do but can’t?

Hmmm, this is a tough one. You mean craft-wise? or life? I wish I could buy a house and stay put. BUT, mrlouwho is a Marine. And we won’t be done with the moving around for at least another 8 years. I try to appreciate the adventure in it all. We do usually get to live by the ocean, so that’s a major bonus! Craft-wise, I would love to be a proficient knitter. But I don’t know how to read patterns and can knit but barely purl!

Q: Any hidden talents?

I have mad editing skills. I was an editor/writer for the military healthcare systems web site after I quit teaching. I try not to get annoyed when I see punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors online. I know there are some on my blog too, as I type a lot of things late at night!

Q: When and how did you learn to sew?

I learned to sew when I was 7ish. I remember my mom got me a little chain stitch sewing machine that was yellow. I made some little yellow calico (with little red flowers) drawstring bags with red satin ribbon. I can picture them very clearly in my head.

I was sewing some of my own clothes by middle school and the home ec teacher let me take friends into the sewing room to teach them how to make Jams (drawstring shorts). Anyone remember those?

**crickets**

In high school my mom got me a job at the local fabric store (Minnesota Fabrics, now Hancock’s) so she could get a discount! It was actually really fun! I sewed some samples for them and made a lot of my own dresses. I also attended a one day workshop with my mom around this time where we made a Quilt in a Day Trip Around the World quilt. That was my first experience with quilting. Rotary cutters and strip piecing were brand new!

Sorry, this is turning into my sewing history!
So I guess I mostly learned from my mom. She was always making us things, especially me as I was the only girl, and I would watch her. When I started sewing my own things I would just read the patterns and ask her questions as needed. I still do that!!

Q: What made you decide to start a blog?

I started blogging in 2005 when I had my first baby. I had sort of heard of blogs but didn’t realize anyone could make one. I was reading my sister-in-law’s blog and saw at the top, “create your own blog”. So I clicked the button and within 5 minutes my first post was up! Later that summer I started a separate blog, not inundated with pictures of my baby, to share with family the things we were doing and the projects I was working on. That morphed into my sewing blog in 2008. I wrote all about it here (), if you want to know more about how I discovered the online sewing world.

Q: What are your 3 favorite projects that you’ve posted on your blog?

My mini quilt for the post summit swap. My bird quilt from my first quilting bee. and my LOVE baby quilt.

Mini Quilt

Bird Quilt

Love Baby Quilt

Q: What’s the most difficult thing that you have made and posted on your blog? How long did it take you? Any sewing machines thrown out the window?

The bird quilt was one of the most difficult because it was the first quilt I free motioned on my little machine. SO HARD. The other was my ball gown for the Marine Corps Birthday Ball last year.

Q: Last craft fail

A bag idea I had that my friend tried out – a bow on the outside of a bag that ended up looking like a bikini top!

Q: What fabric do you WISH you had lots and lots of?

Henna Garden by Sandi Henderson in every color. It’s one of my all time faves!

Q: What fabric in your stash can you not bring yourself to cut up?

My Amy Butler Lotus stash. Although, I think I may have found the perfect use for it. :)

Q: What’s the next thing on your sewing “to do” list?

I seriously need to clean up and organize my sewing stuff before I get back to my to-do list. I do have a quilt from the Old Red Barn Co. quilt-along (round 1) that needs to be quilting. I really would love to finish that. Also hoping to make a quick lap quilt for a Christmas gift.

Q: Describe your perfect day.

My perfect selfish day? The house to myself and a day to sew and create and not clean up anyone’s messes but my own.

My perfect I-love-my-family day? Well-rested kids on an outing to the beach with no fear, arguements, or catastophes. Lots of fun and swimming, builiding, running, playing. And good sleep for everyone at the end of the day.

My perfect money-is-no-object-day? A day out with the family visiting the parks and museums of Paris, feasting on treats from local bakeries, cheese shops and markets, returning to our vacation rental apartment.