Thursday, June 21, 2012

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. 
Plum and June

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!

36 comments:

  1. I loved reading about your creative process! It's so interesting to see how things can go from an idea to a finished project and all the bits in between. Great post! :)

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  2. I really enjoyed this post- thanks for sharing your creative process and how you successfully got yourself unstuck several times. The results are great!

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  3. Nice to read about you! your Bursting out quilt is gorgeous! Love the red backgraound, especially.

    And thanks for sharing your process...it's always interesting to see what one is thinking while creating.

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  4. You are sooo creative! No wonder you make beautiful things! :)

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  5. Liked your blog from the first time i read it! Keep stretching! Your quilt is amazing!! :-)

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  6. Nice to meet you and am inspired by your project and your attitude toward trying new things! cool!

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  7. lovely post! I enjoyed reading about your process and getting to know you a bit better.

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  8. Great post Mina. I love your mini and it was great seeing your step by step of how you created it and what you were thinking along the way. I enjoyed reading your q and a as well - very good points. Thanks for participating. Oh, and I love that quilt you put in the festival every time I see i!

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  9. Your spring 2012 quilt with the red background is amazing! Really, that is a truly stunning quilt.

    Your quilt dogs are pretty adorable too. :)

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  10. I love your mini-quilt - hope it keeps you inspired!

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  11. Great tips! It is a challenge sometimes to remember that this is supposed to be fun. Love your word for the year...very inspiring:)

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  12. Nice to meet you!! Love the hands - would be a lovely way to document the 'growing up' of kids - each year do another set of hands like a growth chart!!

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  13. So interesting to read about your process and development as a quilter! I look forward to seeing where stretching will take you.

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  14. Hi Mina. You have a great attitude, about quilting and about life! I am fascinated by the process of making a quilt - thanks for sharing this. Did you get the one word idea from Ali Edwards' "One Little Word"? I did her year-long class last year and it was pretty cool. I hope your word takes you to new places and on new adventures!!

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  15. Mina-I absolutely love the Busting Out quilt! I love the flow of it. Maybe "I can do that..." Thank you for sharing with all of us in the blog hop.

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  16. Mina, such a great post. I love your tips -- and I so agree with them! -- and your tutorial. That Busting Out quilt is incredible too. Great to get to know you better!!

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  17. I love your quilt - it's really inspiring and it was really interesting reading about the process! I'll have to give the beads a try.

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  18. You can already sew round shapes .. I don't know why you would need to worry about triangles - I (not the most knowledgeable sewer) would recommend the "half square triangle method" (there are tons of tutorials out there).

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  19. Love your Busting Out quilt. It's stunning! It's always interesting to learn about others creative processes. I would agree that half square triangles are a good place to start for triangles. Thanks for sharing!

    Vicki @ Quilting Lodge

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  20. Hi Mina, I'm loving the quilt and the beading, it looks to me like your hands are still pushing the quilt through the machine, such fun :)

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  21. Your Busting out quilt was awesome! If you can do that you DEFINITELY can rule triangles! Good Luck!

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  22. I found your blog through the hop.
    I really enjoyed your post.
    xxxx

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  23. Nice to meet you Mina! Great post by the way. I also agree with you on your tips, very well done. Also praises to the stretch mini too!

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  24. Hi Mina! Nice to meet you on the hop! Love your boldness in Busting Out, and enjoyed post!

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  25. Nice to see your process and problem solving skills with your little quilt. I like your attitude and approach to quilting. I spend too much time thinking and not enough doing.

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  26. Love your Busting Out quilt - and the mini in the solids is fabulous too!

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  27. I think one of the great things about quilting is the flexibility to design/explore/try new things and techniques... there's never a bad time to try something new, and it's never "too late".

    I think your Busting Out quilt is amazing :)

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  28. Hiya lovely to meet you, and what a lovely little project. I like the word 'stretch.' I chose my word at the beginning of the year, and it is 'acquire.' Similar to you in that I want to acquire skills and knowledge, friends, oh, and books and fabric!! I think I amd doing ok on all fronts so far! I look forward to seeing what you make next. :-)

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  29. HI Mina, nice to meet you. I just joined the Hop last week and I'm trying to catch up with everyone. Great advice! As a new blogger and quilter I do feel discouraged sometimes for not accoplishing much in the sewing front or stress trying to make my blog "pretty" as others. And you advice comes at such a great time. Thank you.
    P.S. your dogs are so cute! I do have two dogs as well and love them to pices.

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  30. I loved reading more about your creative process and your approach to quilting & blogging! The mini is great and a really good representation of the word. Love the first picture as well, they look so eager to help!

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  31. Nice to hop over to meet you from the 'Let's get Acquainted' blog hop.

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  32. Hi Mina, nice to meet you and your doggies! I think the most important thing about blogging is to just enjoy what you are posting about and be yourself. I'm glad quilting is your stress reliever and look forward to see the fun projects you work on!

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  33. Cool blogpost. Thanks for sharing.

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