Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop

Hello & welcome.  Today is my stop on the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop, so come on in and thanks for stopping by. 

My name is Mina and I'm 30 something living in Houston, Texas with my 2 quilt dogs.  I started quilting when I got my first job after college as a creative outlet and to combat insomnia.  I work long hours as an auditor/financial analyst/computer geek, then quilt at night (and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning when I get into a groove).  I started my blog 1 year ago to document my projects and to join in all the bloggy fun!

I am self taught and tend to just jump right into a project.  Hey, I'm a great starter!  When I see something, I wonder how was it made or think "I can do that".  Once I was watching an athlete pole vaulting at the summer Olympics and I said "I can do that".  In slow motion, my mom and I quietly looked at each other then bust out laughing.  OK, I seriously CANNOT do that! LOL!

I realized during the Fall 2011 Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side that I really did not have any quilts to show since I gave them away and did not make any for me.  I declared that 2012 would be my year to try all new techniques and new ideas.  My quilting has taken me in a new direction now and that's OK.  I can't wait to see what else I can do!

TIPS

My favorite quilting tip would be to not stay in your little box - with your quilting or with your life!  What I mean is, I used to think of myself as a hand quilter that worked with scraps to make quilts that I gave away.  The more that I read quilt blogs, I discovered that there is so much more to quilting and I wanted to try it!

My best blogging tip would be to accept that you are you.  I hope that these 2 bits of advice don't seem contradictory.  When I first started blogging, I was very discouraged because I could not get my blog and the photos to look so polished like other blogs.  Its been said before, but I'll echo that this is supposed to be fun.  If it isn't fun and you find yourself over-extended, step back for a bit and re-group.  Just know your workload limits so you can stay sane and keep it fun.

So here I am jumping into things with both feet, full steam ahead.  I had written a mini-tute, but now I think I want to show you the design process of my current project.

Earlier this year, many bloggers were writing about choosing a word for the year.  This really got me thinking because I knew that I needed to change since my quilting seemed stale.  With 2012 being my year to try all new things, I decided that my word for the year is STRETCH as in stretching my skills and my limits.

I have been working on several minis featuring my dogs.  Since one of the blog hop themes is color, I wondered what else I could make utilizing this mini quilt style of a focal piece within a patchwork frame.

 

Wow, this is a long post today.  Thank you for stopping by and please be sure to visit Suzanne at Suzclaas for her Let's Get Acquainted post today and her fun tutorial.  Also, check out last Tuesday's posts at Sewlandia and Mama Love Quilts.  The next blog stops will be Tuesday at Sotak Handmade and Plum and June.

A big, big thanks to Beth at Plum and June for all her hard work organizing this blog hop.

Now I am off to explore more new things, such as, conquering my fear of triangles, taking better photos of my work, and learning to machine quilt.  Any tips or suggestions regarding these would be very much appreciated!