Around the World Blog Hop!

If you are a new reader then welcome to my blog! Today I am taking part in the Around the World Blog Hop. I was invited by my wonderful and inspiring quilting/blogging buddy Val from Oregon. Here is a link to her blog: http://myplvl.blogspot.com/2014/07/around-world-blog-hop.html

So I feel like I should start at the beginning with a few quick statements about me:

  • I am a happily married 40yr old and a mother to 3 boys aged 18, 21 & 23
  • I have two dogs I adore
  • I love to quilt, hike, travel and collect pyrex & other vintage items
  • I have been quilting for about 2 years
I think blog hops are a great way to explore the quilt blogging ether and this one has some great prompt questions and reading other bloggers responses has been fun. So here I go attempting to answer them:

What am I working on?
Like many quilters I usually have many projects on the go, but the top of my to-do list at the moment is this paper pieced castle quilt block I designed:


I am making it in predominantly pinks.

I've only gotten as far as buying some pink fabrics and designing and printing the paper piecing pattern for the centerpiece block. I intend to make the block before I plan the rest of the quilt. I have a friend who is due to give birth in late September, so there is no rush and it'll be a small quilt. The pattern is available in my Craftsy store there is a link in my left sidebar.

I am also in the process of cutting up all my fabric pieces that are smaller than fat quarters to make 'quilt kits' that are ready to go. That way when I am packing for quilt club retreats I have a ton of easy ready-to-go projects to take along. And by cutting them up I make space for buying more fabrics!!


As you can see some are tumblers, triangles or squares and they are in color coded quilt kits. I am about 2/3 of the way through this task.

How does my work differ from others?

That is a difficult question! I am a scrappy quilter, I don't set out to make perfect quilts. I generally just want to take scrappy fabrics and make 'something out of nothing'. I source fabric from many places but it's all what I consider to be purchased in a thrifty manner. So my quilts are cheap to make but I have fun hunting for fabrics as well as making the quilt. 

So I have bought fabric from Craigslist:

A $50 Craigslist stash bought in 2012



The dogs enjoyed the wash-a-thon!



In thrift stores:




Yes there is fabric in this cart load of vintage kitchenware!


And in my favorite quilt shop which is a fabric revival store, they buy and resell quilter's leftover stash fabrics:



This thriftiness in my nature has lead me to make each Thursdays blog a linky so that anyone in the blogiverse can share their thrifty finds. I also had to start another blog specifically for my vintage finds because I love thrift shopping so much, so if you are into vintage/retro items particularly kitchenware check it out: http://pyrexadventures.blogspot.com/


Why do I write this blog?

I began the blog as a visual diary of my quilting achievements and development. Now I blog because I really enjoy being a part of the quilt blogging community. I have learned so much from quilt bloggers!!!

Why do I make quilts?

I have always wanted to make quilts it just took a serious illness in 2012 for me to realize that later in life may be too late. I don't consider myself a creative person but obviously there is a fragment of my psyche that needs to create. I have more ideas in my head than time and energy, so I just keep sewing.

How does my creative process work?

I am usually working an a current quilt when I get ideas for several other quilts. Sometimes they just spring into my head other times they are prompted by things I see around me or other peoples work on blogs/pintrest etc.

Not all of those projects get made. The one that stays in my mind constantly nagging me to begin it is the one that is next on my to-do list. 

I rarely follow patterns and I don't like repetitive patchwork that involves making the same block over and over again. So my quilts often start out as one or several blocks that i wanted to design or make and I just  keep 'building out' until I have a quilt top. This quilt I made in mid 2013 is the perfect example, I had this book that cost me $2 in a thrift shop and I love dogs so I made some blocks


Then i just kept adding to it using many different sewing concepts like applique, redwork & printable fabric, until I was happy with the quilt top:




So now that you've read about me and my process let me introduce you to the blogger I have nominated to do next weeks July 28, 2014 blog hop posts:

Judy of Quilt Paradigm makes amazing quilts, check them out here: http://quiltparadigm.blogspot.com/ I love catching up on her blog regularly it is definitely inspiring! She uses beautiful fabrics and combines colors perfectly to make her quilts worth seeing! We both did the Sassy Quilter's Triangle QAL check out  Judy's here: http://quiltparadigm.blogspot.com/2014/04/triangle-qal-week-3.html


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