Lila's Love of Design
Lila’s love of design shouldn’t come as surprise—thanks to her role as American Patchwork and Quilting’s technical editor, she’s intimately familiar with quilt construction. “I’ve always loved geometry,” she says. “And I love puzzles—putting a quilt together is just like putting together a puzzle.” To make sure that the puzzle pieces of every published design truly fit, it’s Lila’s job to check instructions for each issue. She typically does this without ever sewing a stitch.
“I use math and the written word,” she says. “When the instructions say ‘Cut 24 four-and-a-half inch squares, I do it mathematically. Occasionally, say when I want to make sure side triangles will fit, I’ll sew the pattern using paper, rather than fabric. It’s very important that everything is correct.”
Lila’s days are a puzzle too, into which she fits care of her family, home, and garden (including building the aforementioned stone walls) and her magazine work. She typically has a week or so between issues, and that’s when she works on her own quilts.
“The cooking and cleaning suffers,” she says with a laugh. “But I love designing and picking out fabrics. I’ve always got 100 different things I want to try and sometimes the sewing part drives me nuts—I just want to get it done, so I can start again!”
Return to Page 1: Lila Scott: Jack-Of-All-Trades
More to check out:
Green Pinwheels
Four-Square Pillow
Dotty Stars |
