2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop

I was excited when Yvonne, Stephanie and Cheryl announced they were going to be hosting the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers blog hop this year and I signed up after a very short amount of thinking time. Luckily, this year they have dropped their usual blogging requirements and I was able to make it through to be a part of the group.

So far, we have been busily working away behind the scenes, getting to know each other through facebook and helping each other with tech issues, doing a pile of housework-y things like adding follow buttons and pages and forming smaller groups to critique each other’s blogs.

My critique group was made up of four others and I highly recommend heading over there for a visit if you get a chance: Sharon is at Yellow Cat Quilt Designs; Melva at Melva Loves Scraps; Jennifer at RV Quilting and Tish at Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland

The critique was hard work, and a little on the nerve wracking side I must admit, but well worthwhile. Only someone who doesn’t know you will spot that you haven’t included your name in your About Me page J.

The next phase of our experience starts next week when the first round of blog hops start. I am in Cheryl’s hive and we are Miss-bee-Hivin’. Here are my fellow hive members who are taking on the first round

Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

Kate @ Smiles From Kate

Miranda @ I Have Purple Hair

Holly @ Lighthouse Lane Designs

Triangles in the Wild

It’s a finish! The Marsala Triangles quilt top I originally made for the 2015 Pantone Color of the Year challenge has joined the pile of useful quilts. To tell the truth, I finished it a while ago but I wasn’t sure whether the workmanship on the quilting was up to scratch.

Actually, I am sure – it’s not, so there aren’t any revealing close-ups, just close enough so you can see I tried an interesting idea of doing wonky spirals inside the triangular shapes.

Once in the middle, I wasn’t really sure how to get out so sort of followed the line back and then attempted to follow the ditch on to the next section. That’s pretty much where I came unstuck and it turned into a “dog-bed quilt”. No matter, it is still a soft, warm and cuddly quilt and, if I don’t put my glasses on when I look at it, I’m proud of it and I love it.

And the photo setting? A graffiti wall behind the local Auto-tune franchise and part of a carpark for the church. It has a theme of cars with flame-spitting exhaust pipes and the like and is one of several graffiti walls near home. How lucky is that?

I’m linking up to Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts and My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday.

Bravery Plus

“Bran thought about it, ‘Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

I think my current favourite design is the Swiss cross – simple, effective, versatile and on trend in interior dec circles in a Scandi – Mid Century Modern crossover kind of way. I must make at least one otherwise my life won’t be complete! A-a-a-nd here it is in the very graphic black and white colour scheme.

I aspire to taking the perfect quilt photo and to that end I avidly read all of Debbie’s (at A Quilter’s Table) photoshoot posts. In her latest instalment she wrote

It's a curious thing - as I've shared these over the last few months, I've been surprised how many comments I've gotten from readers being fearful to take their quilt out 'in public' for photoshoots such as those in today's post. With the possible exception of the one taken in the Swiss alps, it seems to me these photos might have been taken in 'everyday' settings - even perhaps locations stumbled upon while the quilt-maker was out and about. I know when hubby and I go out for a photoshoot, sometimes we have a destination, but just as often we drive around looking for an interesting setting. And honestly, rarely do we spend much time in one spot. We often stroll nonchalantly to our target area, snap a few times, and off we go. Most people ignore us, and if they do pay us any mind, they are only complimentary - and maybe a little envious. So really, it's not scary at all!

Challenge accepted! Actually, I’d been scouting photo spots in a lunchtime walk radius of work for months and I was ready-ish to take the plunge. So with heart pounding and hands sweating, neck swiveling to check for approaching members of the public... wait, what’s supposed to be my attitude here? Defiantly proud? No-o-o, too far off my true feelings about this quilt (I’m happy with it and I absolutely love it but I know where the faults are). I know, BRAVE. I can manage that for a short 5-minute photo snapping session...  and then scurry away quickly to recover from the adrenaline rush.

The rest of the photos were taken in the relaxed setting of home and I’ve attempted a bit of styling with a potted lavender that I haven’t got around to planting yet.

Hope you find the courage for your own challenges, no matter how major or minor they may be in the grand scheme of life.

Linking up to My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday, Creative Wednesday at Faith and Fabric and Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Fabric Studio