You've caught up with me on my very last day "off" and I'm glad to be able to have some time to share a little bit about myself and how the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild fits into the crafty side of my life.
My quilting has evolved mainly during two maternity leaves and during the year I spent waiting for Permanent Resident status here in Canada before I could legally work. But on Monday I'm back to work, so the pace of my quilting is sure to slow down dramatically.
That's why I'm so thankful I discovered MMQG - being a member has
been SO motivational and inspiring and I've done a lot more quilting in
the past year than I ever have before. Knowing that show and share is coming up really keeps me going.
I'm about to start spending a lot more time with this guy (
CH-149 Cormorant Search and Rescue Helicopter) and a lot less time with this guy ("the boy"). Hopefully I'll still have some time at night to keep my quilty works in progress moving forward. I'll be Tracy the aerospace engineer by day and Tracy the quilting MACHINE at night.
Here's my little sewing area in the basement where I'll be working away. In the name of keeping it real, I took a photo this morning without touching a thing. Looks like the fence needs repair after getting clobbered by winter... groan. My current quilting project (a quilt partly made with my daughter's old t-shirts is laid out in another room right now). My small stash is on the other side of the room sharing space with tools and other stored... stuff.
I sew with a Bernina 330 which I got in California while I was on maternity leave with my daughter. That was when I started getting more into quilting. I had done a bit before, but then I happened on Fons and Porter on tv which I would watch regularly while nursing. THEN I started browsing blogs while nursing.... and the rest is history!!
The Bernina is ok, but piecing is best done with the Featherweight, which I've had forever - a hand me down from my mom.
Here's a WIP from (gulp) 2004. I pieced it with the Featherweight while I was in grad school and I started hand quilting it. I really want to finish hand quilting it but I keep finding excuses to put other projects ahead of it. Still I'd like to have it finished some day. It's king size, what was I thinking? Oh, I know, I was putting off working on my thesis, tee hee.
Here's my newest little treat - a new rotary cutter. And my other favorite tool, the square ruler. If I had a rotating cutting mat to go with it I could be like Edward Scissorhands....Tracy Rotarycutterhands... I'd be slicing and dicing WAY faster. Maybe I can afford it after I get some paychecks :)
See? I've cut the pieces for the last set of blocks for the t-shirt quilt. There's going to be a lot of pink, which should make the girl happy. It's not going to be done before I go back to work, but maybe in time for show and share in a few months? I am SLOW compared to some MMQG ladies!
And... I make other things too. That's part of the reason I can only come up with a quilt finish every few years. A little embroidery, a little cross stitch, sewing kids clothes and playthings, a little knitting.
In any case, I hope you'll come back from time to time and leave a comment on my blog - I appreciate comments and find them so encouraging. The blog is lots of fun, fills in little chunks of time and doesn't require TOO much concentration. Great for me and my mommy brain.
To get the comments going, I'm offering a small giveaway: a 6.5" square Omnigrid ruler like the one in the photo above (but smaller, drrr). To enter, just leave me a comment telling me what your favorite new fabric is. I just saw some really cute new Anna Maria Horner that looks amazing for kids' clothes. I might have to bust out my All Set pattern (also by AMH) and finally make that jacket for the boy. Giveaway closes Friday the 15th at midnight Atlantic Time (copying you Adrienne!).
And don't forget to follow along on the rest of the blog hop. You will not be disappointed by these ladies, I promise!
Tuesday,
May 5 - Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the
Edge
Wednesday,
May 6 - Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Thursday,
May 7 - Tracy (that's me!!)
Friday,
May 8 - Anja @ Anja Quilts
Saturday,
May 9 - Val @ Purple Boots and Pigtails
Sunday, May 10 - Linda @ Scrapmaster
Monday,
May 11 - Jeanette @ Stamp Stitch Create
Tuesday, May 12 - Dominique @ The Running Thimble
Wednesday,
May 13 - Aimee @ Candy Coated Quilts