Around the World Blog Hop

Last week I was tagged by Leanne in the Around the World Blog Hop, which is a global game of tag ricocheting around quilty blogland. If you haven't met Leanne before, she blogs at Devoted Quilter and is the brains behind the Spin Placemats pattern I tested recently.

Like me, Leanne has three boys and claims to suffer from Quilters ADD, is it any wonder we connected :)

The purpose of the Blog Hop is to get to know quilty bloggers a little better by having them answer some questions about their stitching and blogging, so here goes.

1. What am I working on?

Well you know me, I am never working on just one thing, but at the moment the priority is bags! Our eldest son is getting married later this month and I volunteered to make bags for all five of the bridesmaids, and the bride and my daughter-in-law.

Fortunately for me there is very little sewing involved as they have all requested these clamshell clutches from u-handbag. The same cannot be said for my lovely blogging friend Benta, who has been tangling with medieval fonts to embroider the bridesmaids initials on the bag fabric! You can see her tale of the disappearing font here In case you are wondering the clutch above is one I made earlier, the bags for the bridesmaids will be ivory satin with embroidered initials!

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

Well, I don't think that it does as I don't really have a genre to differ from. I like working with traditional fabrics like linen and Liberty in new ways, seen here in my Jewellery Roll project for Fat Quarterly.

Then again I like working with modern solids too, like the Binocular Bag for Sew Mama Sew

And more traditional patterns and techniques too!

So you can see my problem :)

3. Why do I write/create what I do? 

Well the answer to the writing part is easy. Living in a male-dominated household there are very few opportunities to extol the virtues of one fabric designer over another or share the joy of tracking down that last piece of a favourite fabric. Blogging is my way of connecting with like-minded individuals who recognise that Ty Pennington is a fabric designer not a striker in the Premier League!!

As to why I create, well that is easy to answer too. I love it, I always have. From stitching handmade gifts for teachers and Santa outfits for school plays, to now fulfilling requests for bags for daughters-in-law and cushions to brighten up a son's new flat, being able to make something that is personal and unique and to have the recipient like it just brightens up my day :)

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

Well given my butterfly attitude to projects I am sure you will not be surprised to read that my writing process is much the same. I am most definitely not a one project at a time girl, in fact I get a bit twitchy if I only have a couple of things on the go at any given moment. In my dreams I have blog posts neatly scheduled weeks in advance, but as I never know quite what I fancy doing from one day to the next, then you will not be surprised to hear that blog posts are usually very much down to sitting at the computer and typing.

The only exceptions to that are the monthly link parties, New to Me and Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew, where I do have to be a bit more disciplined as I live in terror of not having the party available on the right day of the month :)

Since our time in Latvia I have been inspired by all of the fascinating places that we have visited, and even now that we are back in the UK I am having fun finding new places to inspire me locally. So I am rarely out and about without a camera around my neck and I do find myself frequently thinking this or that would be an interesting item for a blog post. I am also constantly taking photos of potential quilt block or applique patterns and one of these years I will actually get around to doing something with them :)

So, that's enough about me now it is my turn to tag another lovely blogger for you to meet. 

Dittany, who blogs as Blue Moth has the most amazing EPP project going on as you can see!

  

She certainly has more patience than I will ever have, those pieces are tiny! Check out her post in the Around the World Blog Hop next Monday, September 8th.