Amsden went to school at the Cambridge School of Art, and is a significant force in the textiles world representng the UK in the art studio quilt phenomenon from the 1970s through the 1990s. Amsden created a quilting technique called colorwashing, and published a book on the topic in 1994. Using primary cotton prints, she stitches different graded prints in gradual phases to achieve the look of color fading out.