Tuesday 15 July 2014

New Quilt Bloggers - Blog Hop

Hurray, it's my turn on the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop! So a big welcome to anyone stopping by to read as part of that. I'm Sally...


... wife to one (reasonably!) understanding husband, Harry, and Mum to 4 lovely children - Sam, Theo, Venetia and Maria. 
As well as enjoying making things, I love spending time with my children in the beautiful Devon countryside where we're lucky enough to live. Particularly the beaches and rivers near us, as you might guess from the photos!
I've really enjoyed following along with all the previous Hop posts and seeing all the beautiful quilts on show. But I am feeling a bit of a fraud. Largely through reading other Hop posts, I've come to the conclusion that I wouldn't actually call myself a 'Quilt Blogger'! So for my post here, I thought I'd explain all the reasons which make me feel that maybe I don't completely 'fit in'!

1) The actual 'quilting' part of the process is something that I don't usually spend a whole lot of time on - partly because it's not my strong point and I don't enjoy it so much, and frequently because I've run out of time once the top is done! I do, however, love the look of well quilted quilts, so often might try easier options to get this kind of look - like different variations on quilt as you go methods...

Scrappy Quilt

Sunshine Quilt


2) I do love making quilts and there are quite a lot to see in this space. But I think my main love is much more specifically 'patchwork' - I love the creativity of patchwork. Often this might then go into making a quilt, but I'm just as happy if my patchworking makes something very different.

Patchwork Mermaid Skirt

Patchwork Rainbow Mermaid's Tail

Dress from a sari - with a patchwork neck

Rainbow Snails


3) I don't tend to use new fabric too much in my making. New Designer fabric is beautiful, and I am sometimes tempted by gorgeous, new FQs, particularly if I want something very specific...

Morning Has Broken - I used scraps of new batiks for this, although the blackbird is recycled fabric!

... but I much prefer to recycle fabric. Often from clothes, or sheets or blankets. 

Tree Quilt - made almost entirely from recycled fabric.

Mini Patchwork Picture - all from scraps of recycled fabric.

One of my favourite fabrics to work with is wool and I've made quite a few quilts, as well as lots of other bits and pieces, purely from recycled wools. I also tend to use thrifted, old wool blankets as the wadding in my quilt sandwich. 

Wool Applique Quilt

Wool Baby Quilt


Wool Farm Play Mat

I love creating something new and beautiful from something old and unwanted. As well as appealing to my green principles, reused and thrifted fabrics are also much cheaper and I find it helps me to be more creative. Rather than working with uniform FQs, I find myself working with all sorts of shapes and sizes - often very large pieces of sheets/blankets so there are no worries about calculating how much fabric I need, and often odd shapes, sometimes with pockets or other features that I can try and incorporate into my work. I think it definitely inspires and encourages a free and easy quilt making style!


4) Which brings me on to my next point - 'wonky' patchwork! Most of the time I'm really not hung up too much on accurate cutting and piecing! Often the kind of quilts I like to create don't require too much accuracy. But even when they do .....  it doesn't always happen!

Bird Quilt

This bird quilt is one of my favourites, I loved making all the birds...

 

But my corners don't match up and that really doesn't bother me.

5) And lastly, I love making all sorts of other things just as much...

Gnome House and Gnomes
Mouse in a Tea Cup Brooch

Russian Dolls
Wool Pumpkin with Mouse Hole!

In fact maybe this space is best described as a patchwork of all kinds of making rather than a 'quilt blog', so I hope you'll forgive me joining in with the Hop!

And to finish - quilting and blogging tips. I don't really feel qualified to give quilting tips, so maybe more of a request -  give recycled fabrics a go, you might be surprised by what you can create. And blogging tip, aaaghh, again totally unqualified! But when I'm reading other blogs, two of my pet dislikes are:

  1. Having to jump through word verification hoops to leave a comment (you can change this in your 'settings')
  2. 'Links' opening in the same window - so I 'lose' the page I was actually on (just tick the 'open this link in a new window' box when you create a link). 

They're only personal dislikes though. And a personal 'like', something that makes me want to follow a blog, is when I start to be interested in and care about the writer, their story, their life, their family, their ups and downs. This could be purely through the content of their blog or through comments and replies left between blogs. There are too many incredibly talented quilters out there, who have blogs, to be able to read them all; so beautiful quilts alone aren't generally enough to convince me to follow a blog, I need to feel some deeper kind of connection.

And to leave you all with a question - which, if any, non quilt bloggers do you enjoy reading and following?

Be sure to check out the other blogs (listed below) on this last day of the hop - a great chance to get to know them a little as well as see their beautiful quilts! Thank you.

Sally


36 comments:

  1. Nice to meet you Sally. Thanks for your introduction post, it's good to read a bit more about you. I really like your Sunshine and Morning has Broken quilts, they're lovely. Jen

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  2. I actually don't read any other blogs other than quilting ones ... I never realised that until you asked the question just now! I love your sunshine quilt, the vintage fabric gorgeous :)

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  3. Honestly, quilting the layers together is my least favourite part too. I am a seamstress who also quilts, not a quilter who makes other stuff.
    I read knitting blogs too, and some of my friends' blogs. Another non-quilting but craft blog I love is Jodie Carleton of Ric Rac's. So funny and full of cute toys, which might appeal to you, who made the adorable mouse in a teacup brooch and mouse in a pumpkin.
    I love the snail and the mini picture! I wonder if I can make the mermaid tail in an adult size ...

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  4. Oh I have to agree, I will make quilt blocks and tops till the cows come home, but when it gets to the rest of it, pass, thank heavens I have a lovely long arm quilter who turns my tops into completed quilts ahahahhaahha. I do find myself reading mostly sewing blogs, have a play on hshtags.com and type in a word and do a search for things that are a bit different :) Love your sketching, its on my to do list ;)

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  5. Nice to meet you Sally. I love crafty blogs (quilting, sewing, cooking, gardening and more) and I love to see what the blogger is really about, so 1 topic blogs can be a bit boring sometimes. It is something I have been wondering about should I stick to topic or if I do something different or try something new will anyone be interested. Recycled fabric is something a friend of mine suggested a while ago so I might just have to give it a go after seeing what you have achieved.

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  6. Fabulous post--so much to see! Thanks for the info!

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  7. My absolute favorite part of "quilting" is piecing. I hate cutting the fabric (yuck!) and I can get in a huge rush to quilt and bind a quilt because I am already dreaming of the next piecing project I can't wait to get started, so you are in good company. I really like how you incorporate your ideals into your work, and there is a huge appeal to using repurposed fabrics and clothing and scraps in quilting.

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  8. My sister and I always say when things don't match up exactly...."it's folk art". I really care more about the process of creating, it makes me happy. I love your approach, and if it makes you happy, keep on keeping on!!!

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  9. You have made so many beautiful things! I love the mermaid skirt and the mermaid tail. Alas, no daughters in my house to wear them. My sons wouldn't be thrilled...I have repurposed some fabric, though it has been a long time. I made a quilt out of old jeans and a skirt out of men's dress shirts. It is fun to make something new from something old.

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  10. Nice to hear how happy the process of creating makes you :) And, just because you don't only make quilted goods don't think you don't belong here! Great projects, especially the upcycle ones!

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  11. There's nothing wrong with having your own style. It is great to use what you have and enjoy what you make. My favorite part of quilting is finishing. I feel so good when I finish something. The only non-quilt blog I follow is my sister's art blog, and she has only written one post!

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  12. I love that you use recycled stuff for your projects! And that mermaid tail is too cute

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  13. I love your work, even if it's not "quilts" all the time, there is still so much creative stuff happening. I adore that mermaid's tail, did you use a pattern for it? Amazing!!

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  14. Hi Sally, Nice to meet you. You're so creative. I really love the rainbow mermaid's tail. With that tail, I believe your daughter never want to it off.

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  15. I enjoy your style and with 4 new granddaughters the mermaid tale is a must......... thankyou for sharing and I have a new blogging buddy..

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  16. Hi there, fellow blog hop host! I love your mermaid tail and the sunshine quilt. Your projects are so unique! I totally agree with you on the word verification pet peeve... it gets under my skin. But I never thought about opening the link in a new window. I will definitely think of it next time I insert a link. Thanks for the heads up. As to your question, I don't really follow any non-quilt bloggers, except for How About Orange. She has a lovely aesthetic!

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  17. Visiting from Plum and June's Blog Hop. Nice to meet you! I'll be a no-reply blogger because Blogger and Blogspot do not play with Wordpress, but don't worry about replying. There isn't anything I can do about it. You are so creative!!
    Carole @ From My Carolina Home

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  18. Your patchwork is fantastic. I like things a little wonky too. My favorite non-quilting blog is poise gets cozy. Such beautiful pictures, knitting and more.

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  19. Loved your post & all your creations! I have been struggling lately, making so many quilt tops & not getting them quilted - BAD ME! I was griping to a friend the other day that I needed to get back in the groove and get some quilting done. Told her many quilters have others do their quilting for them - she isn't a quilter - she said then what makes them a quilter, wouldn't they be a sewer? That could open a can of worms...LOL

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  20. Hello! Thank you for sharing such a variety of projects. I enjoy reading blogs that show other crafty projects. I especially like your mermaid tail, tree quilt, and play mat. I follow a couple of non-quilting blogs, mainly about sewing, crafting, or cooking. Nice to meet you!

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  21. I feel that we have a wonky, thrifty kinship! You and your family and your creations are beautiful, Sally!

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  22. I enjoyed seeing some of your older work, all of which I love. I follow you because you are so creative and I love your message of recycling. It is how patchwork started in the first place. I'm not strictly a quilter and so I love following blogs that offer more than just quilting. Yours is a favourite but for mixed media I also like sew sew art, with Beth. I think you'd like her too.

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  23. I think your work is amazing Sally. I don't think you should consider yourself any less of a quilter because you are not bent on form. Quilting is an art! If all artists created the same way, museums would be pretty boring places. Your work exudes emotion, fun and creativity. Never feel less of a quilter because you don't send days making perfect flying geese! :-)

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  24. Gorgeous work! Love the mermaids tail and the wool play mat!

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  25. Love the mermaids tail that is so precious! I love all of your quilts and I am a wonky quilter myself! My points do not hit all the time and my quilting is not my strong point but I am in love with piecing and making the top. One day the other stuff will fall into place! Nice to meet you!

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  26. Sally, your talent amazes me!!! Such lovely creations! Being a bird lover, I adore your bird quilt...you did such a wonderful job capturing the true character of the birds.

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  27. wow - you are super talented and creative. I love all your makes, particularly the sunshine quilt. I love that you aren't too bothered about precision and designer fabric either :-) And I too find the quilting side of making a quilt the most tedious part, but love the patchwork!

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  28. I don't think you have to fit into any criteria to be considered a quilter. You make quilts, therefore you are a quilter! I like a lot of non-quilt blogs. i'm only partly a quilter, I'm also a sewer and an embroiderer and a crocheter and a beader.. who needs labels?
    where abouts in Devon are you? I grew up taking family holidays at Croyde and it remains one of my favourite places on earth. Now me and my brother are fully grown and he has a family of his own, we've all started going again and I still love it.

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  29. I don't think you have to fit into any criteria to be considered a quilter. You make quilts, therefore you are a quilter! I like a lot of non-quilt blogs. i'm only partly a quilter, I'm also a sewer and an embroiderer and a crocheter and a beader.. who needs labels?
    where abouts in Devon are you? I grew up taking family holidays at Croyde and it remains one of my favourite places on earth. Now me and my brother are fully grown and he has a family of his own, we've all started going again and I still love it.

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  30. Great intro pic of you! I don't like to cook so no cooking blogs to follow. I actually don't follow any non quilty blogger. As English is my second language I don't like to read wordy posts that's why I prefer blogs with lots of pictures and things that inspire me. That is why I follow quilty blogs.

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  31. I love that mermaids tale! Great pics of your family and 'patchwork' I would agree the creative patchwork side it the fun. I have a friend with a long arm machine and she does the quilting for me. Great to meet you on the blog hop and greetings from sunny jersey.

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  32. The photo of your daughter on the beach with the mermaid tail is the sweetest thing!

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  33. Oh, Sally - you're no fraud! A quilt is a quilt : ) Your applique is gorgeous (I love doing raw edge applique, too) but my most favorite is the Sunshine Quilt because I'm loving that warm, vintage look lately and yours is a lovely use of those fabrics!

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  34. Well, I'm late to the party, but am glad to have found your blog. Your family is delightful, and I love your underwater selfie! Personal connection keeps me coming back, too. Your quilts are lovely and charming, and your little wool mice are darling!!! :-) I am sooo following!

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  35. Don't label yourself! Make what you love! Clearly you're doing that - the patchwork is amazingly creative and whimsical and wonderful. The snail, the skirt, the mermaid tail, the birds... your lucky kids are growing up in a super creative, fun environment. The best projects, in my opinion, are the ones that can be used by kids or ones where they can participate in the process. Sometimes, at parties, I don't get into what I make as my interests are pretty varied so I wind up saying something like, "I make stuff, usually with fabric." ;)

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