Tell us about yourself.

Hello, my name is Lily Ford and was born in San Francisco and later moved to Portsmouth, NH at the age of 17. I returned there to call it home after studying art and illustration in Spain for four years. I love all the outdoor activities that New England has to offer and do everything from hiking, biking, and camping, to foraging and gardening. I have a golden retriever named Farley that’s my trusty sidekick.

What inspires you?

I love researching trends. While I’m also always a fan of the classics, I love following or even predicting trends because they have a unique ability to challenge me as an artist. I believe that artists should always be pushing themselves to experiment and grow and trends are always offering something new to do just that. There seems to be a sort of collected consciousness in the trends we all love and it also gives me a sense of community amongst creatives.

Tell us about your fabric.

I squint a lot when I’m designing a pattern for a collection. I’m always aiming for that right balance where things feel like they’re flowing into each other continuously vs having a clear repeating border. I like to give a variety to any collections that allow different pops or contrasts for different uses. Will this become part of a quilt? An apron? A pillow? What kinds of things will the artists and creators on the other end be using this for, and how can I help create those options for them?

Blessed Bounty Free Quilt Project Featuring Late Summer Harvest by Lily Ford for The Blank Quilting Corp.

What advice do you have for the new maker?

Each fabric in a single collection doesn’t have to match the others too perfectly. Variety is a spice of life. Sometimes you can have, say, a flower collection, but make a simple paisley with the same colors to go along with it. It adds a fun contrast that can broaden a collection’s uses. Have a nice balance of something with bright pops, dark, deep colors, or something softer and neutral. Maybe something with only one of the colors and something else with all of the color story involved. Stretch it to all its possible directions and you’ll find they all work together even better for it.