Monday, August 4, 2014

Around The World Blog Hop!



Less than 1 inch diamonds!


To start from the beginning! I was was tagged by Judy at Quilt Paradigm to join in on this "Around The World Blog Hop". I stumbled onto her blog a few months ago and our friendship was instant. I always look forward to seeing her name pop up in my-In Box! You just know there is something fun to see! Check her blog out Here. Also read some of Judy's previous posts-they are Great! 

This blog hop introduces you to bloggers that you may not know about and are happy to have found. So how this works!
I get to answer a few questions about myself and at the end of this post I will link you to 3 of my favorite bloggers. They then will continue next Monday doing the same.


About Me
Quilting for 23 years
Married 31 years.
Have 2 sons & a dog.
Self Employed for 31 years.
Current President of CAMACO Quilt Guild
Member of the Jersey Shore Modern Quilt Guild


Close up of a octagon origami piece I made.


How does my work differ from others of it genre?
I am not sure if I differ or not. I just know that it has taken me several years to discover and cultivate what I like!
....I have discovered I like taking a path less traveled.
....I have learned "Never To Say Never". Things that I thought I would never do, have turned out to be some of my favorite things.
....I have grown past first impressions. Just because it does not hit my fancy--it usually can be tweaked into what I like and I usually end up loving.
....Color over pattern can either make or break a quilt for me!
....Learning the traditional process has played a huge roll in what I pick for making less traditional quilts. I think knowing both ways is very important.
....Someday's it is best to walk away!
....I get bored with repetitive block making! I will continue to do it at times. There I said it!- I admire and appreciate the people that do enjoy it! 
...I usually have a way of changing up a pattern and this is not always intentional.
Album cover!




Why do I create what I do? 
....It is a sense of peace and calm-most of the time-Haha!
....I love the togetherness with my mom, a friend or a group of friends.
....I also love being with me at times! Does that sound corny?
....There is something very grounding and electrifying while creating. A calm and power surge all at the same time! 
....I feel that creating is like parenting, being a spouse or a friend-If you give it your all without losing yourself, you then can step back a admire what you have and what it has become!
....I have let go of creating for others opinions-I do what I like. I guess that is part of a quilter growing up.


Our sunsets!


How does my creating process work?
Well....this is where it things get sketchy! However one thing that is always consistent. If I have order in my life (family, business, house, and head) the project is done in a orderly, calm & fun fashion. If any of those things are out of line--I can have issues.

This is basically my process:
...The Idea-Where the whole in-my-mind explosion thing starts! At this time I have a real mumbo-jumbo list going on in my head.
...Then Paper-Just start writing and drawing. This means every thought that passes about that project, no matter how crazy.
...The Ponder-Some people are quick--I need time to digest, tweak, plot and plan!
...The Vision-I can see it--in my head! 
...The Plan-Now the question---how to convey it? The scheming & plotting  begins!  

...I can always rely on my mother for honest personal and design advise! We might differ but she is always looking out for me!
...Not a fan of having more than 3 personal projects happening at the same time.  
...Always have a portable/travel project available.
...Never work on more than on customer quilt at a time.
...Always be open to new ideas!
...Clean up my work area after each project! 


What Am I currently working on?

 Plugging along with a challenge quilt.

  Quilt on the design wall.

Customer's quilt.

Take along Hex's

If you want a eye full of quilts-
just start clicking around on this site!




Here are 3 blogs I find inspirational and loaded with information.

Each one is unique with their own style. 
That is what makes them special to me.

My friend's Denise & Chelsey from Nini And The Sea  are a great mother and daughter team. Plus they are my partners in crime. They have such a eclectic collection of talent that it blows my mind. They are in France right now-but are able to keep posting. You go Girls!


I met Carolyn from Sweet Boater Chick a little over a year ago while tracking down a Modern Quilt Guild. Carolyn is one of those quilters that lives by the No Rules approach-I love that! She also got 1st place with one of her quilts at Quilt Con. Go snoop and poke around her site for liberation in quilting--it is very freeing!


I stumbled onto Tina from Seaside Stitches by way of Sew Many Ways a couple of years ago. I am somewhat of a blog stalker here except I have her on my blog roll so I guess I am a public stalker. I enjoy seeing all the talented quilts she makes and posts about. I absolutely love how she is so... diverse. I will say it-I have a quilters crush on her talent!




Here are just a FEW random photos!













































So.... if you were able to endure the 
length of this post, I would love to hear from you.
Feel free to comment or let me know if you follow me. 
I would love to click onto your site and get to know you.



This post is linked at: Sassy QuilterStitch By StitchPatchwork Times- Design Wall
NTTFabric Tuesday



Till We Quilt Again,





9 comments:

  1. A wonderful description of your creative process; it was good to read. Thank you for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful post, Helen! Sometimes you do just have to walk away. . . I'm still learning that one but getting better ;) The octagon origami piece is beautiful!! Did you dye the fabric? So cool to read about your process, thanks for playing along! Judy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi!!! I really enjoyed your post today!!! I am looking forward to checking the blogs you talked about!!!! Thank You

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, OK, you are now out of the closet! Thanks, I think! (haha) I hope you'll keep in touch and stop lurking.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love reading your blog and seeing your pictures! Gorgeous sunsets! I also adore longarm quilting and it is so much fun when the quilts talk to me and tell me what kind of quilting they want!! Learning through necessity to create my own patterns when piecing quilts...that is so much harder for me than following a pattern, but so much fun too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great post! Now I know a little bit more about you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fun, fun! Thanks for sharing a little more about you. I love the design in that purple quilt, but can't quite figure out the pathway for it. I assume you free-handed it? If you have time one day, could you draw out a little diagram with arrows for me? Always learning, always learning . . .

    ReplyDelete
  8. Helen, I love your work. You have such a fun view of quilting with color and pattern. And your quilting is beautiful! Your work with your long arm has such flow and I love to see all the quilts you crest up close. I can't wait til September to see what you have been working on.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I enjoyed learning a little bit more about you. Your design are beautiful and I truly fell in love with the little red bird quilt!

    ReplyDelete

Thank You for stopping by and leaving a few words. I will answer questions for all to read or you can email me privately for a private response. Either way I will answer you soon. Till We Quilt Again, Helen