Around the World Blog Hop

Have you heard of the Around the World Blog Hop? I had a few people invite me to join, so I decided I'll give it a go. It's been fun to look back and see lots of different people's posts, and see what everyone is working on.

I was tagged by Amanda of Material Girl Quilts. I mentioned her in my recent Celestial Star blog hop, as she was one of the sponsors. Amanda is crazy talented!! You should definitely go check out her blog if you haven't already. :)

As part of the blog hop, there are a set of questions to answer...

1. What am I working on?

That's kind of a tough one. I just finished up the Celestial Star QAL, which kept me pretty busy. Though I feel like I'm a little in between projects right now... besides the ones I can't share. ;) I'm am working on a few new patterns, as well as other projects. :) I have been catching up with my Handmade Birthday Club gifts though! Here are my latest finishes that I can share:


I made this fun little mini for Di.

 

 

and added a tissue cover and a few other goodies. :)

I also finished up this pillow for Rebecca.

 

 

and some extra goodies for her too!

I love how they both turned out!! and I'll be working on sharing both of these patterns soon. :)


2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

This is a hard question to answer. I think the biggest difference I notice about myself, is that I always have to come up with something new. There are so many great and amazing designs out there that I LOVE, but for some reason I always want to try something different and create my own designs or patterns. I think that is something that really fuels my desire to quilt. I love sewing and quilting, but constantly coming up with new patterns and designs really adds so much dimension to my own personal experience when it comes to quilting. Perhaps the design process is my first love, and sewing and quilting are the vehicles I use to make those ideas a reality. :)

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

I kind of answered this in the previous question. To be more specific to my designs, I really like math, and geometry. I've always noticed shapes and how things fit together, especially designs of symmetry. I like figuring out how to put everything together, like a puzzle. I don't know...

On the flip side of the question, why do I design and create in the first place? I have a young family, 4 children 6 and under (the oldest was 4 (about 3 weeks shy of being 5) when the youngest was born) so they are all very close. When they were really young I did not enjoy taking them places because it was too crazy for me! Too stressful. So quilting became my hobby, and still is often my outlet from stress and the day-to-day routine of cleaning and those mundane mom tasks. Love my family and my children, but my hubby and I both realize that I need an outlet. ;) He's awesome!

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

Often I'll start doodling on graph paper. That used to be my all-the-time go-to medium, but it seems like I don't have any near me as often. I'll often do rough sketches on my phone in a drawing app. They are usually always really horrible, as the apps are kind of like using Paint. But at least I can get my ideas down. Then I'll work in Illustrator, where I can create, design, manipulate, and change my ideas until I have something I love, or maybe just like. Illustrator is my best friend in the entire process!! I love the freedom I have there to do so much. As well as how quick it is to make small changes and compare, without having to start over with a new drawing every time. It saves me a lot of time.

Then I fine tune my project, turn it into a pattern, print it out and start sewing. I'll often take notes as I use the pattern, on things to adjust and change. Then once it's ready, I type up my patterns in In Design, do some proof reading, and size checking, and there it is.

That is my really quick explanation of how I create my patterns! Often I'll start with the first steps, and then start working on different patterns before I complete the entire process. I just don't have enough time to materialize all of them. But I'm working on that. ;)

 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peek into my world. :) It was fun!


I'd love to point you in the direction of a few friends who I think are awesome!! Though some have already participated in the blog hop, I'll share them with you anyway. Because hey, I don't mind traveling to the same place more than once, especially if it's somewhere awesome!! :)

Marian will be participating next week. She is so awesome!! We met a while ago and was so nice and sent me some cookies once. It was the kindest thing ever!! I also bought some cute earrings from her, and we swapped some charms once.  Let me tell you our complete history together... haha. Anyway, she's super cool. I had a dream a few weeks ago that we were moving to the town where she lives. I wish it were true! She'd be awesome to hang out with. :)

Courtney is an awesome friend I've definitely mentioned on my blog before. What can I say? She's the bees knees of quilting and quilty friends! :) She's awesome!! And I love her style! Everything she makes is so cute. :)

Leona, I met her in Florida before we moved - she moved to the area where I lived about a month or so before we left. I miss her. She's amazing!! Probably the kindest person I've ever met!! I will always cherish the time we did get to spend together before we moved away. :) p.s. she doesn't know I'm tagging her. oops. :)

Stephanie Daniels and Pam Lincoln also tagged me. They are both super great!! It's been fun getting to know them better over the recent months and however long it's been since we've become online friends. :)

Ok, that's way more than three people. Oh well. ;)

 Hope you are having a great week!! :)