I have always loved quilts.  I slept under a beautiful wool crazy quilt as a child and an acetate quilt as a teenager.  As the eldest of 7 girls in my family, I don’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t sew.  My sisters and I started playing with my mom’s fabric scraps and designing doll dresses, then we moved onto embroidered pillowcases.  Mom let us use her Singer before our feet touched the floor, we slowly hand cranked it then we moved on to using the “thigh” pedal to sew.    My first quilt is also my first UFO–it was a stamped rose cross-stitch pattern which I purchased in high school.  I still have the 6 blocks which I completed; someday they will go into a quilt.  Most of the quilts which I have finished have been given away—either to nieces and nephews or to charity.  I have kept a few for myself.

My husband was a Foreign Service officer for the Department of Agriculture.  We lived in Senegal, France, China, Poland and Canada.  I really enjoyed learning new languages, new cultures, and new fiber folk art traditions.  Our children traveled with us and their lives were enriched by these cross-cultural experiences.  Now we are learning ‘Midwest’ as we cope with cold Wisconsin winters, a nearby farm which proudly proclaims “Our fields are fertilized with swine manure” (a fact which is glaringly obvious on warm summer days, lol) and life at a slower pace.  As we discovered living internationally, people are really the same the world over—we love our families and friends; we want the people we love to be happy; and we want the world to be a better place.

My husband retired after being diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease).  ALS is a progressive neuro-muscular disease in which motor neurons gradually die until a person is unable to walk, talk, move, swallow and breathe.  Most people with ALS die within 2 years of diagnosis.  Currently, there is no treatment which significantly extends life for ALS patients and its cause is unknown.  He lost his battle with ALS 7 years ago at the age of 52.  We have all struggled to live after him and we honor his memory often.  My sons, Sean and Paul were blessed to have a loving father and myself, a loving husband.

Sharing the love of quilts is a core mission of my life.  Thus, when I was trying to find a name for my business, it seemed logical to combine ‘love’ and ‘Elli’ into ‘Lovelli’.  I currently fulfill this purpose as a Professional Longarm Quilter, an AQS Certified  Appraiser of Quilted Textiles, Designer, and Teacher.   I feel so lucky to be able to follow my passion and share my love of quilts with others.    Quilts can be tangible expressions of our history, our relationships with one another, and a pragmatic expression of our artistic nature.  Come create with me!!

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