Recently, a blogger friend (Gail Sheppard, of "quiltinggail.wordpress.com") nominated me for the "Liebster Award". What does it mean? Well, the word means beloved in the German language. As far as I can tell, a Liebster Award means another blogger wants me to write a post about myself, and answer a few questions. Then I nominate other bloggers, and on it goes......maybe like a chain letter, but not. It is a way for bloggers to get acquainted.
So here are ten questions about myself that I have posed, and answered, so you may know me better:
(1) What challenges do I face as a quilt blogger? Irregularity.....no, not that kind of irregularity.....I mean I had no consistency in when I posted. But now that I'm hosting Design Wall Mondays, I like the schedule of posting every Monday. I so enjoy all of your posts, and seeing what you are working on every week, so it's a win-win situation.....and there are very few of those in life.
(2) What ridiculous quilty thing has someone tricked me into doing or believing? Early on, I was told, "Everyone must have a stash." If I could start over, I would buy far less fabric and and have a project in mind for fabric when I buy it. I now buy no fabric at all, and will be amazed if I eventually use all the fabric I now own.
(3) What's an example of a small change that I made that improved my life as a quilter? Here's one that pleases me: Recently, I hung a small basket filled with batting right next to the design wall, and filled it with flowerhead pins. It is so handy when I am pinning blocks to the design wall. Also easy to put pins back there when I'm done and they are right there when I need them again. Don't know why I didn't do this sooner.
(4) What is the most important thing I learned as a quilter to improve myself? I got more precise on 1/4 inch seams and I also learned to measure parts of a block before assembly of entire block. This came about as I did Jane Stickle blocks, and is why I sometimes refer to that quilt as "Quilting 101".
(5) What are the most common road blocks that stop me from finishing a project? I make a mistake in assembly, or decide I don't like how it is turning out, so I put it aside to think about it for a while. I've been thinking about some projects for quite a while.
(6) What kind of thread do I use? I'm not very particular. I do use cotton, or cotton/poly blend on most of my work, and use a neutral color on almost everything.....off white, white, taupe, or beige.
(7) What lie do I most often tell myself? I say, "This free internet quilt-a-long won't take very much time at all, and it will also use up some of my stash."
(8) What is one feature of my quilting life that is perfect? The weather! It's always a good day to quilt. My hubby is a golfer, and while the weather forecast sometimes doesn't look favorable for golfing, it's always a good day to quilt!
(9) What's the silliest quilting tool/invention that I have bought? Too many to list, but I no longer buy anything demonstrated at a quilt show. I will tell you that I have several rulers that are seldom used.
(10) What encouragement do I have for other quilters? Please don't fret about your "style" or "method" or "process". There are no quilt police, and there is no right way to do something. I sometimes cut blocks out the old fashioned way with scissors, just because I think it is fun to do. I won't ever have a fabric cutter machine, but I have no opinion of those who use them.....I just like to put my thumb and finger through rings on the end of the scissors handle and snip away. I am open to learning and trying new things, but only use the new way if the way I do it now is not pleasing to me.
I hope this helps you know me better, and if you have any other questions, you can ask me. If anyone would like to be nominated for a Liebster Award, I would be happy to nominate you.
So here are ten questions about myself that I have posed, and answered, so you may know me better:
(1) What challenges do I face as a quilt blogger? Irregularity.....no, not that kind of irregularity.....I mean I had no consistency in when I posted. But now that I'm hosting Design Wall Mondays, I like the schedule of posting every Monday. I so enjoy all of your posts, and seeing what you are working on every week, so it's a win-win situation.....and there are very few of those in life.
(2) What ridiculous quilty thing has someone tricked me into doing or believing? Early on, I was told, "Everyone must have a stash." If I could start over, I would buy far less fabric and and have a project in mind for fabric when I buy it. I now buy no fabric at all, and will be amazed if I eventually use all the fabric I now own.
(3) What's an example of a small change that I made that improved my life as a quilter? Here's one that pleases me: Recently, I hung a small basket filled with batting right next to the design wall, and filled it with flowerhead pins. It is so handy when I am pinning blocks to the design wall. Also easy to put pins back there when I'm done and they are right there when I need them again. Don't know why I didn't do this sooner.
(4) What is the most important thing I learned as a quilter to improve myself? I got more precise on 1/4 inch seams and I also learned to measure parts of a block before assembly of entire block. This came about as I did Jane Stickle blocks, and is why I sometimes refer to that quilt as "Quilting 101".
(5) What are the most common road blocks that stop me from finishing a project? I make a mistake in assembly, or decide I don't like how it is turning out, so I put it aside to think about it for a while. I've been thinking about some projects for quite a while.
(6) What kind of thread do I use? I'm not very particular. I do use cotton, or cotton/poly blend on most of my work, and use a neutral color on almost everything.....off white, white, taupe, or beige.
(7) What lie do I most often tell myself? I say, "This free internet quilt-a-long won't take very much time at all, and it will also use up some of my stash."
(8) What is one feature of my quilting life that is perfect? The weather! It's always a good day to quilt. My hubby is a golfer, and while the weather forecast sometimes doesn't look favorable for golfing, it's always a good day to quilt!
(9) What's the silliest quilting tool/invention that I have bought? Too many to list, but I no longer buy anything demonstrated at a quilt show. I will tell you that I have several rulers that are seldom used.
(10) What encouragement do I have for other quilters? Please don't fret about your "style" or "method" or "process". There are no quilt police, and there is no right way to do something. I sometimes cut blocks out the old fashioned way with scissors, just because I think it is fun to do. I won't ever have a fabric cutter machine, but I have no opinion of those who use them.....I just like to put my thumb and finger through rings on the end of the scissors handle and snip away. I am open to learning and trying new things, but only use the new way if the way I do it now is not pleasing to me.
I hope this helps you know me better, and if you have any other questions, you can ask me. If anyone would like to be nominated for a Liebster Award, I would be happy to nominate you.
I find we have a lot in common after reading you questions and answers. I, too, may never use all the fabric I have stored and stashed and collected. #9 made me think. I was giving a quilting hammer by my sister (who isn't a quilter). You're supposed to use it to flatten out bulky seams. It seemed rather harsh using it on the cotton fibers but someone out there might think it is just the "thing "!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your Liebster! I enjoyed reading your quilty list. So many are so true.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I can relate to so much of that except that I actually enjoy having a large stash - always such fun rediscovering fabrics, and I always have something that will suit or inspire a new project.
ReplyDeleteVery nice and interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love reading this! You have so many truths-- thanks for sharing them!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing a bit about yourself. It's always interesting to see how others approach blogging and quilting.
ReplyDeleteJudy, this is one of the best posts I've read. I identified...a lot with so many of your points.Thanks!
ReplyDelete