Aurifil 2018 December Designer of the Month Amy Sinibaldi

I’m Designer, Author, Talk Show host Pat Sloan.

It’s very exciting to finish up the Aurifil Designer of the year interviews and challenge blocks.

I adored this year’s theme  ‘The Places We Go’.  Each designer has such unique and wonderful locations that inspired their blocks.

We are very lucky to have author and Art Gallery fabric designer Amy Sinibaldi as our 12th interview. I can still remember meeting Amy when her first fabric line was released. Her booth was gorgeous.  I had followed Amy’s work and was thrilled she was designing fabric. She is also an incredible photographer so you will want to follow her for constant inspiration.

Listen to our chat HERE on my Podcast.

visit her at nanacompany.com

• Missed a month? CLICK FOR PRIOR DESIGNER interviews
• In January I’ll have a layout for the quilt. If you don’t want to wait, there are layouts from previous years that you can use.
• CLICK for LAYOUTS, you can also pick up blocks you are missing and see the prior years.

Each month we select one random winner to receive a 12 LARGE spool BOX of Aurifil thread for just making the challenge block and sharing it! Details at the end plus last month’s winner!

Let’s get to know Amy!

Where do you live and what is your favorite spot there?

Two years ago we moved from Los Angeles to Williamsburg, VA and we couldn’t be happier here. It’s so beautiful and green and peaceful and it’s been fantastic for our family. I think we’re all really thriving here. I’m a homebody so I love being home mostly but if we go out we generally eat in Colonial Williamsburg and I really enjoy going to Yorktown, which is like a tiny riverside place to eat and and get ice cream.

When was your FIRST quilt sighting? Did it inspire you to start quilting?

I suppose I’d seen quilts my whole life but I didn’t have any appreciation for them until I was in my 30’s and I discovered the fabric shops, the amazing new modern fabrics out there and the craft community on Flickr.

There I discovered men and women making gorgeous quilts in colors and patterns I’d never seen before. I love both traditional and modern styles but everything I was seeing at that time looked so fresh and it was exciting to discover there was a whole world out there of like-minded people who were gaga over fabric (as I quickly became)!

I taught myself to sew and started taking it all in spoonful by spoonful. One of the first quilts I made was a Christmas quilt and I really had no idea what I was doing but– ya know, I did it!

Have you had a ‘light bulb’ moment in making

I definitely had a light bulb moment when I finally gave free-motion quilting a whirl. I had been scared of it for so long but then I got a Janome 7700 and I felt confident with this machine so I removed the walking foot and got myself a glass of wine. Of course I started off very slow, but then I started to feel the freedom of it and I realized there’s probably nothing more zen than quilting.

I’d rather quilt than piece any day of the week. It’s just when your bobbin runs out of thread that really jerks me back to reality!

What does your studio look like, and what would you change in it?

My studio is a good sized dedicated room but it is split in half between my jobs as a sewist and fabric designer– so on one side I have my current collections of fabric and basics and on the other side is my desk and computer for designing fabric.

The closet is completely filled full of quilting supplies and I have lots of Ikea storage for more fabric stash etc. I have at tv for playing movies in the background, a speaker for music, a coffee-cup warmer, a sit/stand-up desk, and ironing station. It’s very user friendly for me and I love to be in here.

Anything else you’d like to share?

My latest collection of fabrics with Art Gallery Fabrics is at stores now and I’m so in love with this collection. It was inspired by my love for Beethoven and his music. Of course Beethoven was reportedly a very passionate, socially awkward genius but how can a man who made such music not become a romantic figure?

So my fabric collection is definitely my latest love and it is called Sonata.

About your block – What location inspired your block?

My husband and I went to Rome for our honeymoon and we stayed in the city for two weeks visiting churches, ruins, and basically eating our way through the city- at cafes, pizza joints and fine dining.

There is one particular square in my memory that came to mind when I sat down to do this Aurifil Designer Block for “The Places We Go”. I don’t have a photo of it sadly. My husband and I walked everywhere and without much plan… this time we entered a charming square and there were a few cafes with the little tables and chairs and umbrellas and a large staircase, like the Spanish steps nearby. I may be combining memories here, but the feeling is what I remember.

We were free to wander, free to discover a charming square, free to sit down at the cafe and drink a glass of wine, to watch passersby, and enjoy this place that looked like a postcard. We’ve always said we want to go back to Rome. It would be a different experience now and I love that I look back and I know we’re more in love now than we were then… on our honeymoon.

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DOWNLOAD Amy’s Roman Square Quilt Pattern

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What is your Favorite Book?

My favorite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and I can’t remember how old I was when I first read it but I was quite young and it seemed so interesting to read a “romance” book that was so dark and held unexpected twists.

I now know that Jane Eyre is a Gothic romance and that is why it wasn’t as flowery and sweet as the books I was accustomed to but that’s probably why it stood out and became my favorite. My husband, one Christmas, bought me a very old and beautiful copy of the book, which of course I don’t read. It’s on display. I have other copies that are for reading and can get coffee split on them.

Visit Amy at:

• Website:  https://nanacompany.typepad.com/
• Instagram: @amysinibaldi
• Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/nanaCompanyblog/
• Art Gallery Page http://liveartgalleryfabrics.com/person/ami-sinibaldi/

All our blocks for 2018 are now complete!  

I will have a setting for this quilt in January.

CLICK TO MY Website for a TIP and to see all my blocks together!

Enter your block BELOW by Jan 15, 2018 to be in the running to win a BOX of Aurifil

This is SUPER EASY to enter all you have to do is make ONE BLOCK.

https://static.inlinkz.com/cs2.js

last month’s winner is below

And  JOIN my fantastic online quilt group with the most incredible  quilt show each day… I’d love to meet you!

******* JOIN our Aurifil Family  *******

EACH MONTH we will pick one random winner that has made a block.. that person will receive a special Aurifil thread prize! Winners are all contacted email

Our RANDOM picker selects the winner, selected  #15-Maureen!  This awesome quilter has been emailed and WON a BOX of Aurifil thread!  .. see all the great versions HERE

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