Have You Heard the Word Gobsmacked?

Well that’s what I am after reading Sue and Roseanne’s fun blog post today at Home sewn By Us.

They received TWO nominations for the Outstanding Blogger Award. TWO blogger friends developed five questions and added them to their nomination list. In my opinion it is so perfectly deserved.

Then I got to the bottom of the post and read their list of nominees:

• Sandra at mmmQuilts
• Brenda at Songbird Designs
• Melva at Melva Loves Scraps
• Cathy at Crazy By Design
• Carol at Quilt Schmilt

I feel honoured to be on a list of some designers I admire greatly and being nominated by Sue and Roseanne, well, gobsmacked is what I am!

These are the questions that were put to us:

• Have you had any major quilting/sewing successes that you’d like to share with us? (Please toot your own horn!)

I have now made over 400 quilts, most of them queen sized. I teach quilting basics at my local Guild in non Covid times. Recently I bought a longarm frame and my greatest successes have been finishing my first quilt:

and my second finish;

• Are/were you influenced by family members to get into quilting and have you passed on the love to the next generation?

When I was 12, I had the chance to travel by train with my Dad from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Vancouver, British Columbia to spend two weeks with my paternal grandmother. My gramma had been married to my Grampa for 58 years until he passed away and lived in a cute apartment in Burnaby. We quickly established a routine. We would start out for a walk every morning after breakfast to do any errands that needed doing. After lunch on our first day there my Dad had to leave to handle some issues with his real estate deal. He was purchasing property on Vancouver Island. The next morning Gramma and I went for our walk and then after lunch Gramma got out her sewing basket. She taught me to cut 4” squares from the contents of her “scrap basket” which was actually a collection of antique tea or coffee tins; the large ones like this;

Then I had my first lesson on piecing these squares in to a nine patch. Once I had satisfied my Gramma that my stitches were even and consistent, she showed me how she made hst’s. At the midway point in my second week, I had made several nine patches with a mix of hst’s and squares so Gramma showed me how to sandwich and tie a simple quilt. It really was a small throw but I was pleased with it and continued on making simple quilts by hand. I eventually taught myself rudimentary embroidery stitches and would often embellish my quilts with ribbon, lace or embroidery. Another of my fondest memories was that over the two weeks I was there I learned to drink Ovaltine with my two Digestive biscuits at bedtime. I no longer enjoy the Ovaltine, but Digestive biscuits are still my favourite!

The next stage in my quilting journey came about when I moved to Wells, a small town in northern British Columbia. There I met a wonderful group of ladies who were well versed in handcrafts and loved to share their knowledge. They quickly taught me to quilt with a machine and how a rotary cutter, ruler and mat were much more efficient than scissors.

My last trip to Alberta where I was able to look after my two youngest granddaughters, Charlotte and Ruby, we had great fun with the girls having sewing lessons and each made their first placemats with artwork they created with fabric crayons on muslin. They have both been asking when I can go back to teach them how to make dresses so I think I might have sparked a bit of joy in playing with fabric.

• Do you have anything on your bucket list that is quilting-related?

My bucket list includes having our world return to “normal” so I can travel again to see family and meet some of the many quilty friends I have made through our internet connection. I’d also love to be able to attend some quilt shows and some of the quilt shops I have visited vicariously through their websites.

• Do you have any short- or long-term goals that you are working toward that you can share with us?

My short and long term goals are to improve my appliqué techniques, actually write some of the patterns I have created and get some proficiency on the long arm.

• Have you done any pattern testing for other bloggers or would you like to? If so, do you enjoy it?

Pattern testing is one of my favourite things to do!

In my previous life BDH (before Dear Heart) I was once an employee in a print shop where I proofread everything in preprint production and years later as a legal assistant, proof reading filing documents, pleadings and agreements was a huge part of my day.

Now I find it satisfying to proofread patterns to make sure it flows, contains no typos and is easy to understand for the appropriate designation. The best part is actually making the quilt top.

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I’m proud to say that if I get a request for a tester I can usually make it work in my schedule or rotation.

I always consider it an honour and privilege to be asked by other bloggers to test their pattern and can honestly say that my favourite pattern is always the next pattern I’m testing. So if you need a tester, don’t be shy! Ask away!

I’m pleased to say I get to nominate five of the most outstanding bloggers and designers I enjoy and follow for the Outstanding Blogger Award and ask them five questions.

My nominees are:

• Gail from Quilting Gail
• LeeAnna from Not Afraid of Color
• Shelly from Prairie Moon Quilts
• Kris from Scrapdash
• Cheree from The Morning Latte

The rules are simple for these nominees so I’m going to quote from Roseanne’s blog;

“This quote for the Outstanding Blogger Award nomination rules seemed perfect and I borrowed them from (My) Laura at Laura Bruno Lilly. “To those nominated, there is no obligation to take up the challenge of answering and asking the questions. If you do accept, then please answer the questions, nominate 5 other bloggers and then compile a set of 5 of your own questions.”

From the https://www.homesewnbyus.com/index.php/my-mind-is-blown-outstanding-blogger-award/

The questions I have for these amazing people are:

• What inspires you to write about on your blog?
• Do you have a favourite colour combination that you keep going back to?
• Is there a particular block or technique that you don’t enjoy doing? If so, why?
• Who is a quilter/designer that you enjoy following or reading about? Do they inspire you or influence what you do in any way?
• What are you planning to do or where are you planning to go once this Pandemic is over and life returns to “normal”?

Thank you Roseanne and Sue for the nomination and for a chance to think more about the whys and what if’s about this craft we love and share.

So glad you could stop by to read my post. Hope I didn’t talk your ear off! 😉 Carol