This is my post for the wonderful blog hop organized by Beth @ plumandjune.blogspot.com!
Make sure to visit the other participants for today (at the end of the post) and read through the post because I have a question for you as you may be able to help me ;)
If you are new to my blog, WELCOME, in this post you will know a little bit more about me!! ;)
If you are returning visitor, THANKS for your support!!
You may have noticed that I haven't being posting a lot for a couple of months: I just recently changed my job, my house (moved to another state) so my craft time went down to 0 :( :( :(
and the same for my blogging time :( :( :(
But I think I am back :) My sewing room is almost usable and I will get back with my MANY projects that I will share with you soon!
But enough rambling, let me summarize my take on quilting/blogging:
- I am a computer science researcher that a little more than an year ago discovered the great world of sewing... never touched a sewing machine before December 2012... and since then I never spent more than 1 day without sewing :) (except the last month of moving! :) )
- I am not a "traditional" quilter (nor a traditional person, I believe), but I am probably not a "modern quilter" in the "traditional" way either (is there such thing as traditional modern?? I don't know)
- I consider myself "modern" just because I cannot fit in the "traditional" definition... but to make it simple, I am a Paper Piecing obsessed. But again, not "traditional stars/compass" PP blocks... but fun FANDOM blocks (see below if you don't know what I am talking about)
- I cannot work on one project alone, I must have multiple projects going on at the same time... possibly at different stages and with different techniques (embroidery, chain piecing, PP, BOM, ...) because if I don't have variety I get bored and then nothing get finished
- In my time as blogger, I have participated to several BOM, challenges, Blog Hops, ...
You can find all of them in the page Fun events (past) - I always answer to comments with an email (if the person is a no-reply blogger or I can find her/his email address), but I moderate comments to avoid spam, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment on my post, I love to hear from you but don't worry if it does not get published immediately
- I host a linky party every week (on Monday) called MOP Monday, where everyone can link any progress in your crafts projects that you are proud of!! More details can be found in the MOP Monday page
- I like lists and bullet points ;)
And now, the two main parts of my quilting addiction:
- fun quilts that I made
- tons of FREE paper piecing patterns that I designed
I am fan of many things (from books to tv series) my passion for quilting was born when I found the amazing "FandomInStitches" website! After a couple of blocks made from there I started designing my own quilt (note: I had never touched a sewing machine before, and I managed to make pretty "complex" paper piecing blocks... so PP is NOT hard, you just have to find blocks that you are passionate about!)
This is my first quilt (ever... and it is stitched and designed by me), inspired by my all time favorite Disney movie "The Sword in the Stone"
More pictures and all the blocks patterns are available on this page.
This is my first quilt (ever... and it is stitched and designed by me), inspired by my all time favorite Disney movie "The Sword in the Stone"
My other passion when it comes to quilting is using scraps!! :) I cannot use a single solid or color for anything because I cannot choose between all those fun fabrics I have... this is why most of my work is very scrappy!
This is a more "traditionally modern" quilt that I made recently
This is called "Celtic Sunrise" and if you want to know more background stories about it, you can read them in this post for the Blogger Quilt Festival!.
Tons of Free Paper Piecing Patterns!
My other addiction (beside sewing) is designing paper piecing patterns and share them for free here on my blog. I recently joined the FandomInStitches community and became one of the staff members (because I was designing so many patterns that it was kind of hard for the wonderful Jennifer to keep up with that, so she gave me the power to publish them myself ;) ).
As you can see from my header picture I designed patterns for Disney characters, Peanuts and Snoopy, Downton Abbey, Alice in Wonderland but I have many many more (Maleficent, The Simpsons, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Betty Boop, Minions and more)!!
Some of them have to be tested, some of there are tested.
You can find them just navigating the different tabs or just typing the character name in the search box at the top of the page.
And if you have a specific block that you would like me to design for you, please don't hesitate to write me an email or just simply post a comment on any of my posts and I will get back to you as soon as I can!!
The list of other participants of today's hop
And now, that's it for me...
Don't forget to visit the other inspiring people that today will share their passion for blogging & quilting!!
Shauna @ Shauna's World
Jan @ The Colorful Fabriholic
Carole @ From My Carolina Home
Lin @ Lin's Quilts
Helga @ Green Mill Vintage
Kate @ Thread Everywhere
Cheryl @ Texas Quilting Gal
Jenn @ Sew Crafty Jenn
Heather @ Bobbins and Bullets
Cornelia @ Pieced With Love XOXO
My question for you
If I ask you to tell me which book I absolutely have to "read/listen", which book would you pick?
I recently discovered audiobooks on Audible but there are so many books out there, that I need an advice! :)
I do more magazines than books, the last ones i read was The Hunger Games. Im new to paper piecing and looking for birds for a quilt, any suggestions where to look for patterns! Loved getting to know you,
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Wow, are you prolific, Alida! I'm not the biggest fan of PP because I have no patience, but your blocks are lovely. The Sword in the Stone blocks are amazing! I read The Once and Future King in sixth grad and fell in love with all things Arthurian Legend.
ReplyDeletei really enjoyed the steelheart book on audible.. about a post apocalpytic world with evil super heroes in charge...
ReplyDeleteAlso superb (I thought) was the silent tide by rachel hore and all of the percy jackson books by rick riordan.
Hope that helps : )
I need the variety of lots of projects all on the go too.
ReplyDeleteI love listening to audio books as I sew, but I tend to stick to light fiction, such as the mysteries of Agatha Christie, MC Beaton and Dorothy L Sayers. I find it is easier to read the more serious books on paper because then I am not distracted by the needle and project in my hands.
I love Game of Thrones, so I'll throw A Song of Ice and Fire out there though it can get a bit heavy and complicated in keeping up with the history and characters (but I like that kind of thing). Hunger Games is fun and a quick read too!
ReplyDeleteI'm like Sarah above and have no patience for PP. I tried making the circle of geese pattern and was fed up before I even made one quadrant!! I do love Disney though :D I love your Sword in the Stone quilt; the scrappy fabrics make it look so fun!!
I love your sword in the stone quilt! Great to meet you!
ReplyDeleteI have never listened to an audio book, but I do love to read! I recently really enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen.
ReplyDeleteYour first quilt is amazing. I have never tried paper piecing, because I love regular piecing. I appreciated your advice about being passionate about a quilt will make it work. :) A book I always enjoy rereading is Pride and Prejudice.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite book to read and reread is Pride and Prejudice but on audiobooks it's anything by David Attenborough. He does a brilliant job of describing animals and his adventures from all over the world! Still love snoopy on his dog house. It's on my list to make!
ReplyDeletewow such amazing blocks. I don't really have any books I need designs for, but if you wanted to do dogs, then first on the list should be yorkies, shih tzus and labs.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing all your "people." Snoopy's a people, isn't he?
ReplyDeleteCeltic Sunrise is very exciting.
WOW your paper piecing is amazing! I am not a fan of it or appliqué but do try my best at both. I guess I am not an upside down and backwards thinker as I kept having my fabric too small when I flipped it over. I have tons of books on tape that I listened to when quilting but lately I have Netflix going on my iPod and listen to movies.
ReplyDeleteYour double sided quilt is amazing! I am a big fan of scrappy so I have been playing with scraps a lot lately. It is so fun! For a great book, I just finished a book called "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline. So, so good! I didn't want it to end!
ReplyDeleteLovely to get to know you a little more :) I recently read The Book Thief and really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI love your paper piecing - I love doing it but only when I'm in the mood. I hear you on the scrap thing too, I love scrappy quilts!
ReplyDeleteI just recently tried PPing and I know I will be doing it again :) I have Audible too and I always have a hard time figuring out what to listen to as well. I am totally into crime documentaries. I know, weird ;) Two that were very interesting and just crazy enough to be like listening to a novel were The Good Nurse and The Stranger Beside Me (Ted Bundy story).
ReplyDeleteI love your Celtic Sunrise! I'm a big fan of paper piecing, when my little one requests some Disney, I'll definitely be back here!
ReplyDeleteI love fandom in stitches too! Your patterns are great!
ReplyDeleteYour work is so prolific! I like pp, but I also like traditional piecing. It's fun to design new pp patterns, I will admit! I think that 'Water for Elephants" was a great book, you should try reading that next!
ReplyDeleteCeltic Sunrise is so pretty! I enjoyed reading The Book Thief and The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society.
ReplyDeleteI don't listen to book and I don't read. It is just something I'm not doing. I prefer music and creating :-) Good luck with finding more time to sew.
ReplyDeletesounds like life has been super busy for you but it is fun to have seen your quilts - I love the Celtic Sunrise. I just listened to The Rosie Project as an audio book and I loved it.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite book is 'the art of racing in the Rain'. Love! Especially if you are an animal/pet person. I don't know if it comes I audio book form
ReplyDeleteGreat intro post for the blog hop! I've gotten frustrated over paper piecing but I want to try it again, someday (not high on my list at the moment). Your patterns are so fun though! The books I'm reading right now are VERY interesting. It's the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. It's very good and I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteI just finished The Signature of All Things and couldn't put it down, and with two small kids, getting to the end of any book is a feat in itself! I, too, love paper piecing. It's so fun, and I've started playing with EQ7 more and more lately. Nice to learn more about you!
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