Ellingsen, others display quilting work at NEIQG show

By Denise Lana,

Ellingsen has a profound love of colors and patterns, both of which are demonstrated here in one of his creations. (Denise Lana photo)

Hundreds turned out for the Northeast Iowa Quilters’ Guild show Oct. 19 and 20 at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds Community Building. The guild was founded more than 40 years ago and boasts a membership of around 70 quilters from Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Among those 70 quilters is Mike Ellingsen of Decoarh, a Minnesota native who joined the NEIQG five years ago after he and his wife Sue moved to Decorah from Minnesota to be closer to their son.  

In 2020 and 2021, Ellingsen was selected as Minnesota’s Quilter of the Year, becoming the first male to ever hold that honor, not only once, but twice in a row.

Ellingsen turned the entire second floor of his home into his quilting studio, after moving to Decorah, and continued to craft his fabric artwork — including a piece which now hangs in the Vesterheim Museum and the restoring an 1896 antique quilt top.

“I made the Norwegian tapestry for a quilt show at the museum, and the Vesterheim liked it so much, they purchased it,” Ellingsen said.  “It’s the only contemporary quilt in the Vesterheim collection right now.”  

Ellingsen said he’s always loved quilting, and learned to sew at a young age. Quilting was a talent he picked up haphazardly, and he says he did not perfect his quilting skills until he retired from teaching 13 years ago. His patterns gained popularity, prompting him to open an online store and gaining promotional work for a fabric company. Ellingsen has also made quilt patterns replicating balls splashing in water and even designed a QR code at his son’s behest — scanning the code direct’s mobile users to a website where they can see the quilt pattern. 

Ellingsen says he plans on quilting as long as he can, drawing inspiration from Decorah and the quilting guild. 

“We are sharing things we are passionate about,” Ellingsen said of the guild. “And I love Decorah — the good parts of Decorah are exactly what life should be like.”

Find more photos in the October 24 Decorah Leader.

 

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