Eli McCann on Stitched: Quilting, Comedy, and Drama
What happens when a group of older women who quilt together also happen to be full of secrets, rivalries, and very sharp opinions?
Author Eli McCann joins the Craft to Career Podcast to talk about writing Stitched, his funny and heartfelt debut novel about competitive quilting, unlikely friendships, and the wonderfully complicated relationships inside a sewing circle.
The idea for the Stitched quilting novel came straight from Eli’s own family. His mom has quilted for years and has belonged to the same quilting group for most of that time. Eli grew up playing beneath the quilts she and her friends made together, long before he realized just how many stories were sitting inside that sewing room.
About Eli McCann
Eli McCann is a writer, lawyer, humorist, and podcaster. He writes a humor column for the Salt Lake Tribune and has shared his stories through his website, It Just Gets Stranger.
His writing is known for finding humor in everyday relationships, family experiences, and the unexpected situations people find themselves in.
Stitched is Eli’s debut novel. Inspired in part by his mother’s longtime quilting group, the book takes readers into a cozy but competitive quilting community filled with friendship, rivalry, secrets, and plenty of opinions.
Order Stitched
Stitched is currently available for preorder through Torrey House Press.
Preorder the book:
https://www.torreyhouse.org/stitched-mccann
Visit Eli McCann’s website:
https://www.itjustgetsstranger.com/
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
In this conversation, Eli and I talk about:
- The real family conversation that sparked the idea for Stitched
- How his mother’s longtime quilting group influenced the novel
- Turning quilting competitions and sewing-circle drama into fiction
- Why Eli resisted pressure to create a younger main character
- Writing older women as funny, complicated, and compelling people
- Why a woman’s story does not need a romance subplot to matter
- Eli’s experience writing his first novel while working as a lawyer
- What it has been like to see quilters respond to the book before its release
- How humor can reveal the heart inside a community
Listen to the Episode
Listen to this episode of the Craft to Career Podcast to hear how Eli McCann transformed a lifetime spent around quilters into a novel filled with comedy, competition, friendship, and heart.
Whether you belong to a quilting group, love books about creative communities, or have ever wondered how writers turn real-life conversations into fiction, I think you will enjoy meeting Eli and hearing the story behind Stitched.
Listen to These Other Episodes
If you enjoyed this conversation, here are three more episodes of the Craft to Career Podcast you may love:
From Blank Page to Bestseller: A Conversation with Katherine Center
Melanie Traylor on Self-Publishing a Book
A University for Creatives: How Carina Gardner Is Redefining Design Education
RECENT BLOG entries
Eli McCann on Stitched: Quilting, Comedy, and Drama
Eli McCann on Stitched: Quilting, Comedy, and Drama
Eli McCann on Stitched: Quilting, Comedy, and Drama
Eli McCann on Stitched: Quilting, Comedy, and Drama
Eli McCann on Stitched: Quilting, Comedy, and Drama
Eli McCann on Stitched: Quilting, Comedy, and Drama
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August 7, 2026
What happens when a group of older women who quilt together also happen to be full of secrets, rivalries, and very sharp opinions? Author Eli McCann joins the Craft to Career Podcast to talk about writing Stitched, his funny and heartfelt debut novel about competitive quilting, unlikely friendships, and the wonderfully complicated relationships inside a […]
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