Elita Sharpe (Busy Needle Quilting) is one of our new members this year! Elita is a longarm quilter and educator, currently dividing her time between Lawrenceburg, Indiana (US) and Geneva, Switzerland. She has been quilting for over 20 years, longarm quilting on an APQS Millennium for most of that time. Elita gives classes in the cosy setting of her home studio, on a variety of techniques, including longarm rentals, and hosts patchwork retreats in the French Alps. She also services sewing machines, both domestic and longarm!

Time for our usual Q&A!

Island Batik: Who taught you how to sew and why did you start sewing?

Elita: It’s a family tradition. All of the women in my family have done some form of sewing but I am the first quilter in 4 generations.  My mother is a lifelong seamstress so I grew up around fabric and machines. My earliest memory of sewing was learning to cross-stitch on a pre-printed panel. 

Do you have a favorite quilt that you have made and why is it your favorite? 

My favourite quilt is one I made for my daughter, when she went to university. It is my favourite because it was the first one to hang in a big quilt show (Paducah) and I really loved quilting it. 

What sewing technique have you tried that you said you never would do then fell in love with it? 

The only one I can think of is a fully appliquéd quilt, like a Baltimore Album. I have not attempted one as appliqué is not my favourite technique, though I have quilted quite a few for others. 

What’s your favorite part of quilting, and why? Least favorite? 

Absolute favourite part is the quilting (longarmers probably always say that! :D) Least favourite is picking papers out of paper-piecing so I tend to use the freezer-paper method instead. 

What is your sewing peeve? 

People who leave rotary cutters open. 

What is your favorite notion or gadget that you use every time you sew? 

Aurifil thread and my curved titanium snip scissors by Famore. 

Do you have any creative organization tips? 

I am a visual organiser so I like having my fabrics stored in boxes I can see through. Most of my storage solutions have come from Ikea so they all work together, no matter where in the world I purchased them. 

Where do you sew? 

A studio, spare bedroom, closet…. When in Europe, much of my apartment was taken up by sewing materials but there wasn’t much space (less than 800sf). Now in the US, I feel very lucky to have two large rooms in the walkout basement of our home. 

What are your other crafty (and non-crafty) hobbies? 

I am an amateur knitter. I have done scrapbooking in the past as well but much less now. I love to downhill ski and in the summer, we try to get on the lake in the kayaks.  

What were your beginner mistakes in quilting? 

I’d say my seams were not always perfect but probably the worst mistake I made in the beginning was choosing a cheap batting. That quilt is now much too thin but I don’t want to take out all that hand quilting to fix it. 

What was the incentive to start blogging or posting on social media? 

To have a record of what I was doing. It is a bit like journalling, where you can easily add pictures. I do tend to overthink the text but it’s a work in progress!

Do you pre-wash your fabrics? 

Almost always!

Do you like to watch tv, listen to music or books while you are sewing and what kind of shows, music, books or just silence? 

I generally listen to pop rock music with earphones while I longarm. It helps me “get into the groove” to block everything else out. I have also been known to rewatch seasons of Big Bang Theory. Since I’ve watched all of them, it’s easy to have it on and not feel like I need to sit down and watch it. If it’s an interesting programme (like Game of Thrones), I get distracted. I have the same problem trying to listen to audiobooks. 

Do you have a pet that “helps” you sew? 

I have a cat (Kiki Bella) who likes to use the quilts on the longarm as her hammock and a German Shepherd (Hexe) who likes to sleep nearly under my feet as I longarm.

Be sure to follow Elita on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to her blog to see what she makes with Island Batik fabric this year!

To see the 2023 Island Batik Ambassador team, please visit: https://islandbatik.com/2023-ambassadors/

Stay tuned as we introduce you to more talented Island Batik Ambassadors and let us know in the comments below what else you want to ask Elita!