
Announcement
Welcome to ellen grace quilts!
My handcrafted quilts are pieced & quilted in my Iowa City apartment. I love to combine modern design & quilting with vintage & upcycled fabrics. A lot of love goes into my quilts- from choosing the fabrics to the final stitch of the binding- & it is so fun watching them come together! My heirloom quality quilts make great gifts for a new baby & work perfectly in the crib or stroller or on the floor for tummy time.
All of my quilts are made in a smoke-free, pet-free environment with 100% cotton Gutermann thread & 100% cotton Warm & Natural/White batting.
My favorite fabrics are upcycled bed sheets (which are all very soft & in excellent vintage condition), cotton thrifted shirts, Kona solids & modern quilting cottons.
I machine wash & dry all of my finished quilts to give them that sweet crinkly look & feel.
I hope you enjoy looking & come back again! You can see more of my work on my Instagram feed @ellengracequilts
Items
All Items
Reviews
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SuzanneKalish on Nov 26, 2020
5 out of 5 starsSo sweet and soft-- going to a much loved cousin I have not seen in almost a year! thank you-- just lovely.
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SuzanneKalish on May 28, 2020
5 out of 5 starsWonderful wonderful baby quilt! Cannot wait to gift it at a baby shower next week-- thank you so much!!
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SuzanneKalish on May 28, 2020
5 out of 5 starsfabulous baby quilt! so unusual.. perfect for a happy baby's upcoming birth! thank you so much.
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Shana on May 22, 2019
5 out of 5 starsI bought this quilt for my dear friend and the crowd at the baby shower went wild. A few of the attendees said they had never seen such a beautiful baby quilt. Several attendees asking for an ellengracequilts business cards. The craftsmanship is impeccable and the quilt was so unique it was stunning. My friend loved it and I'm sure her baby will too.
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Lisa on Apr 18, 2019
5 out of 5 starsThis is such a cute little quilt. Fast delivery. Great quality. Washable and soft.
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Marla on Jun 9, 2018
5 out of 5 starsThe quilt is just as beautiful in person as it was on the listing and we are excited for our little one to have it in her nursery!
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Jennifer on Sep 5, 2017
5 out of 5 starsThese napkins are simply beautiful and working with Ellen couldn't have been more enjoyable! I highly recommend this shop to anyone looking for wonderful, high-quality quilted items from an awesome person with a dose of charitable good karma on the side! You can't go wrong!
About ellengracequilts
"Hey, can I borrow your sewing machine...?"
So, my friend was due with her 1st baby & I was talking to her about what I was going to make for him. I usually crocheted baby blankets for all of my friends' kids, but I had been tossing around the idea of trying my hand at a quilt & she was all for it. After borrowing my friend's sewing machine (thanks Marilyn!) & after LOTS of questions (thanks google, youtube & Aunt Jane!) I was ready to dive in. I have always been artistic & crafty, good at math, a perfectionist & a lover of good design, so quilting fell into place pretty naturally.
There is something very enjoyable about each part of the process for me (well, ok, maybe not the ironing...) I love buying fabric & searching for patterns & schemes that will work together. I enjoy cutting out the blocks- something about that precision & quiet concentration feels very purposeful. I think it's fun to lay out the pattern & decide where each block looks best- it's kind of like putting a puzzle together & it's the first "real" look at the vision that has been in my head. Piecing the front is exciting as I watch it all start to come together & I often keep working long after I planned to take a break because I just can't wait to see what it’s going to look like. Pinning the quilt sandwich with the back & batting is another part where the perfectionist in me gets a lot of satisfaction & then it's FINALLY time to start the actual quilting! I put on some great music or podcasts & settle in for several hours of sewing- I try to get very Zen with the quilting & it usually doesn't take long to get into a good groove. Then all that's left is the binding & when it's done I literally RACE to get it into the washer & out of the dryer so it can achieve its "official quilt" status- all crinkly & sweet! 😊
All of my quilts are made by me in my cute little Brooklyn apartment. My bedroom is finally fulfilling its destiny as a fabric & supply stash & my cutting mat fits PERFECTLY on my desk from Iowa that I have dragged around with me since 1994. It's about time that desk started living up to its potential... I waitress 4 nights a week & have always been a night owl, so I typically don't go to bed until 6am & I'm often happily sewing into the wee hours of the morning.
I’m a big fan of re-using & upcycling things that still have plenty of life in them- that's probably the Iowa girl in me. I'm always up for thrift shopping to find fun & colorful men's button down shirts to incorporate. I also love to use vintage bed sheets in my quilts- they are just so sweet & soft & well loved. I often come across floral patterns that remind me of sheets I had or that my parents had & there are several striped ones that I remember on my brothers' beds. I really like mixing that sense of the past with contemporary design & modern quilting. I think it makes for a lovely combination of "now & then" with a classic & timeless appeal.
Shop members
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Ellen Grace Ruden
Owner, Designer
I’m happiest when I'm creating something- from sewing sweet little quilts or taking beautiful photos to decorating my apartment or baking delicious desserts. I believe in trying to leave the world a little bit cuter than how I found it! 😊
Production partners
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M-Lisada Orphanage
Kampala, Uganda
The kids and staff at M-Lisada sew dinner napkins and returning volunteers bring them to me in NYC where I sell them to raise money for the orphanage.
Shop policies
Accepted payment methods
Returns & exchanges
Cancellations
Cancellations: not accepted
Please contact the seller if you have any problems with your order.