I began quilting in 2003 when I took a class at my LQS to make a flannel rail fence quilt for my nephew.
Nephew has received a lot of quilts over the years, but none recently, as he is now 6-feet tall, and I can't imagine making a quilt long enough to fit him. He starts grade 10 in September, so maybe I'll plan for a grade 12 graduation quilt.
I use fabrics and patterns that interest me, but recently, I have been leaning toward all things modern. Orange is my favourite colour.
I belong to two quilt bees: Do-Bees which I joined shortly after I started quilting. We are varied in age, quilting styles, and quilting abilities. My second bee is Q-Squared which is a group of four Girl Guide leaders who quilt, including my friend Jenn over at A Quarter Inch from the Edge. I also belong to the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild.
Being a part of a quilting group helps me move outside of my comfort zone. Although I admit that more often than not, I have had to be pushed out while kicking and screaming. But I always learn something and am happy about the experience.
You can read about my improv adventures here and here.
One of my quilting goals is to design. I am a follower of patterns, but want to get to the point of creating without a pattern. I feel that I am creative because I can make something by following a pattern, but I'd love to create just from a thought in my head. Once I saw a photo of a quilt that I wanted to make but couldn't find a pattern, so QD from my quilt bee did some math (a lot of her quilts are designed in Excel), and this was the result.
Blogging Tip:
Although I don't do it (yet), I think the key is to pre-write blog posts. I'm always scrambling to write a post so I can link up with a linky party. My goal is to get caught up on my WIP's (ha ha ha ha) and to have some posts pre-written. I have learned a lot by participating in this blog hop and plan to make changes to my blog over the summer as a result.
Quilting Tip:
If something doesn't seem to be working, double check and then double check again, even if you think you're doing everything correctly. I recently purchased a longarm. In my practice attempts, I have had issues with the thread breaking. Fast forward to this past Saturday morning as I was trying to quilt two baby quilts that had to be in the mail by the end of the day. The thread kept breaking, and after three broken needles, I sent a panicked text to Val over at Purple Boots and Pigtails (I purchased the longarm from Val). Luckily, Val was nearby and dropped by to provide assistance. It was such a small thing but had big implications -- I was winding one of the rollers the wrong way. Duh!!
Quilting Question:
Do you finish one project before starting another one? My favourite part of quilting is piecing (and quilting is my least favourite), so I always have many projects on the go at the same time. And then I have to face the reality of having to quilt the tops.
About Me:
Home is Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (east coast), Canada. I'm 46 years old (oh drat...that means I'll be 47 next month...) and single. Reading and quilting are my current hobbies. I do a bit of knitting and crocheting from time to time. I like to participate in 5K walks. I wanted to improve my walking time by incorporating some running, so I recently took a learn-to-run class. Although I'm not very good at running, I have been enjoying myself and have committed to run a quarter marathon (10.5K) in October, 2016. Oh my...
Dream Vacation Spot: South Africa and India. Plans are underway to visit Sangam (Girl Guide World Centre in Pune, India) in 2018 as my 50th birthday present to myself. I will have then visited all four World Centres.
Favourite Book: Alex Cross series and Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson, In Death series by J.D. Robb, and Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanowich.
Favourite TV Show: The Big Bang Theory
Random Fun Fact: Girl Guides of Canada member for 28 years (8 years as a girl member and 20 years as an adult member)
Thanks for visiting. Drop by and show some blog love to my fellow Hive mates:
The 2015 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop is being hosted by Stephanie @Late Night Quilter, Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs, Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl, and Terri Ann @Childlike Fascination. Stop by to meet the other participants.
What a nice post Anja! since to get to know you. I love the star quilt in the middle of the post. It looks so easy but the effect is wonderful. Our whole family follows BigBang Theory. It is a great show and my niece happens to be a senior writer and producer for the show. Last year my son got to watch a taping and I have a fun picture of him sitting on 'Sheldon's spot on the couch'! Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to figure out a fix on the longarm and get it working!
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question:
I am trying this new thing of finishing up projects before starting new ones (although sometimes small ones sneak in). It's super frustrating to see my "to do list" growing faster than projects get completed, but I also like the feeling of getting to cross projects off that same list.
Glad to be part of your blog hop this week!!
I have lots on the go as like you I love the design and piecing part of the quilt process more than anything else. I was in brownies/guides/rangers up til 20, I always loved camping (though in Ireland I don't remember a week where it didn't rain down on us!)
ReplyDeleteHello Anja! What a sweet photo of your nephew with his quilt and all his books!
ReplyDeleteThough I love quilting, nothing quite beats the feeling of starting something new! I'm determined to try and get a few things finished instead of adding to the list, but I'll bet there's a few new things sneak in there... I always say I'm fickle; after I've spent a while on one thing, I like to do something different.
Congratulations and good luck with the long arm!
It is interesting to learn about my fellow MMQG member! Love your taste in books and seeing your quilts. I love the star and your striped quilts. Look forward to reading more about your quilty journey.
ReplyDeleteI love the Big Bang Theory too! The scary part designing, I'm trying to design a BOM.
ReplyDeleteHi Anja! Fellow Hive member here. I love the improv pieced words. I am doing a demo on improv piecing at my next guild meeting. I am looking forward to seeing more posts!
ReplyDeleteYou have come a long way with your blogging and your quilting. I need to try that pre-writing a post thing. I learned something new about you from this post....I didn't know before that you did some knitting and crocheting. Me too.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question...I don't think I have ever finished a project before starting another one. My idea of fun is wrangling three or four at a time!
While not part of this hop, I too am enjoying getting to know you this way. The quilting journey is a new one for me, and like you, I am a pattern follower. Wanting to do something for my husband that was his alone kick started me on the way. The hardest part was sketching the design out so it made sense, particularly with respect to block construction. But, it's extremely satisfying to arrive at a sketch you like and take it forward.
ReplyDeleteHi, Gale. I don't know if you realize it, but you are a no-reply blogger. I'm hoping someday to create a sketch and then make it into a finished project. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteHello Anja, nice to meet you. It was great to get a look at your lovely quilts, I love the orange! Hopefully you'll enjoy quilting a bit more with your longarm. I'm a WIPer, I have loads of projects on the go at any one time. recently thought I've been ill and haven't had much craft time, I've only been working on one quilt and one cross stitch project... it feels a bit strange!
ReplyDeleteI can't say that orange is my favorite color, but it has been my favorite color to use in my quilts for the past year or so. If I walk into a fabric store I seem to bee line over to the orange fabrics... :) I am so glad you were able to find the problem with your thread breakage issues on your longarm, and I hope that means the quilts got finished and shipped in time! :)
ReplyDeleteI too keep saying I'm going to pre write more of my posts, but I just never get around to it. I guess I just kind of write about life as it happens...who needs sleep?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading you post and all of your fabulous tips! A few years ago, I had a quilting blog that I really enjoyed doing....until the internet home spot decided I had to give them a lot of personal info and refused to let me back into my blog. Have fun and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading you post and all of your fabulous tips! A few years ago, I had a quilting blog that I really enjoyed doing....until the internet home spot decided I had to give them a lot of personal info and refused to let me back into my blog. Have fun and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading you post and all of your fabulous tips! A few years ago, I had a quilting blog that I really enjoyed doing....until the internet home spot decided I had to give them a lot of personal info and refused to let me back into my blog. Have fun and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteAnja
ReplyDeleteFirst things first...I think my first quilt (a rag quilt) was made with the same fabric you used for your first quilt! So funny! I have been following your blog since before this blog hop and enjoy seeing your solid fabric quilts. I love them!
Deb
Who knew Grade 10 Geomertry would come I. So handy. Figuring out how to make the pattern is almost more fun than sewing the pattern....almost. LOL
ReplyDeleteHi Anja, I follow you on Bloglovin' already. Nice job on the intro! I normally can only do one project at a time, but currently I'm avoiding working on the chevron quilt on my design board by working on the Farm Girl Vintage blocks.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed finding out more about you Anja! Stephanie Plum books were recommended to me years ago by a very well-read dear friend...and I still haven't read one! Think I'll hop (back) over to my library site and put one on hold (already have another on hold from another new blogger's intro post...love this). I can so relate to the groups forcing you to step outside (kicking and screaming, I hear ya) of your comfort zone, but it's how I've grown I know. Love the original design strips quilt that QD did the math for! The words--!! I just saw a plaque "LAKE" in a local boutique in town here, and I thought, hmm, I should do that in a mini quilt...now I see this a few hours later!
ReplyDeleteThose are my goals, too!! Let's accomplish them this year :) So nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteXX! Lori
I am totally the same way, love the piecing, dread the quilting and usually have several projects on the works, which means a bunch to quilt at once when they are done. It was great reading about you! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Anja, I popped over from the blog hop, my turn this week too! I love the vivacity of your quilts and a great post too. Well done. I was a guide when young, and once a guide, always a guide
ReplyDeleteHi Anja! Nice to get to know a little about you. I've always wanted to visit India. If you make it before I do, please write loads about it!
ReplyDeleteI'm such a work in progress person. I prefer to piece, but I do like to quilt. I just don't feel as though I can do what I want to with my own quilts yet, as I like things custom quilted. I'm getting to be very proficient with some semi-custom edge to edge designs I'd be comfortable offering other people. I don't think there's anything wrong with E2E, it's just not for me personally. I have somewhere between twenty and thirty unquilted items sitting around, waiting for my skills to improve. I do have something on the longarm at the moment that I'm having some fun with, so I'll see how that goes.
And those things are such a bugger to get going, aren't they? It took ages for me to work out how to get the tension right, and it's still not perfect, but it will do. Unfortunately, my husband set up the encoders incorrectly, so when I was doing some work with the stitch regulator (which I use when I have my rulers out) it just kept getting stuck and creating rats nests on the bottom of the fabric. I couldn't unpick that for love or money, but fortunately was able to save enough of it that I have a crib quilt for a friend now. It could have been worse. I think everyone has serious teething issues with those machines. At least, I would feel like less of an idiot if everyone did.
Hi, Jane. I don't know if you realize it, but you are a no-reply blogger, so I can't respond to you by e-mail. I will definitely post about India when I get there.
DeleteI too would like to pre-write my blogs so I pull one out at a moment notice, right? Still haven't happened yet. One day it will be, I hope. Love your intro. and love to get to know you a little bit more. Love your solid quilts!
ReplyDeleteHi, I agree with you on your blogging tips. I can't keep up with quilting and blogging. How do you get involved in the 2015 New Bloggers Group?
ReplyDeleteHi, Mary. Don't know if you realize it, but you are a no-reply blogger so can't send you an e-mail. I read about the new bloggers group on Quilting Jetgirl.
DeleteI loved learning more about you Anja! Your quilts are gorgeous and so are you! Now I know where to go for the complete list of kona colors!! If you make it through all those colors...I'll buy you lunch! Your blogging tip is on my list too! I usually come up with a post on the 'fly' and rarely plan it out. My bad...maybe! Your nephew is adorable, well handsome! You could just make a long skinny quilt for him, much like a table runner! He looks like his is pretty lean! Keep quilting, your work is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI used to start a quilting project and finish it, then I started blogging and following quilt blogs and now I have a bucket full of works in progress. Sometimes I'll make a tote bag or something small just feel like I've finished something. It helps me move on. I have this king sized quilt which is very traditional and I'm making it for a family member and I've been hand quilting it on and off for YEARS. I think maybe it will be my final unfinished project before I die.
ReplyDeleteHi Anja, it's so nice to meet you. I had a look through your finished quilts gallery and you have made some lovely quilts. The Kona solids quilt you made in your Uncle's memory is my favourite - I have had a quilt like this on a bucket list in my head for ages. I have multiple projects on the go all the time - I am too inspired to concentrate on only one thing - and this blog hop is not helping!
ReplyDeleteDelightful post, Anja! We have lots in common! Esp. reading material. Hope you've had a great week. It almost feels like a summer day here!
ReplyDeleteOh my, your orange quilt is gorgeous! I'm not usually a fan of orange, but this one is changing my mind. Your Girl Guide leader quilt group sounds great. I wasn't able to talk any of my Girl Scout acquaintances into this quilting obsession, so I don't have one of those!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Anja. I see your book interests are around Thriller/Suspense. You should read Iris Johansen books. Her newer ones are all Thriller/Suspense. Her older ones have more romance, less thriller. She's published many books. Glad you and the Wee Wiggler are getting along :) So great of Val to help you :)
ReplyDeleteHi Anja: It's great to see another Canadian on the blog hop. We share some similarities. I also work from patterns and would like to make my own designs. I love your striped quilt by the way. I also plan to slowly make changes to my blog. I used to work with someone who's mother in law organized girl guide trips to India. We've lost touch tho.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing so much about yourself. Your blogging and quilting tips were very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe it's taken me this long to read your Blog Hop post! I hope you're enjoying the process... so many things to learn!
ReplyDeleteHey Anja, nice to meet you. I'm sorry I am a little late in replying to this, but I am currently i Italy and am communicatio -challenged. love orange, too! It has so many different moods to it. I'm at a stage whete everything Ido is my own design, and It is so fun, although if I really love someone elses pattern I will definitely use it. See you arou d the blog hop.
ReplyDeleteI say, just start designing, Anja! Like anything, the more you do it, the easier it gets.
ReplyDeleteI'm catching up on week two post comments. Great post. We like BBT too. I'd like to get in the habit of prewriting my posts but doubt it will ever happen on a regular basis. You better get used to making xlong quilts, your nephew is probably not full height yet. I have a 6'5" son who was shorter than you nephew at 15!
ReplyDeleteI am choosing NOT to face the reality of all the quilt tops I have hanging around, lol. I keep telling myself that I'll quilt them when I eventually get a longarm. I'm looking forward to seeing your longarm adventures!
ReplyDelete