Response to Melva--Top Notch

Playing with a shape & filling it with stitches

Melva, at Melva Loves Scraps, posted last week about being a top notch blogger. Her blog was voted #81 in the top 100 blogs! She said she was sent a few questions and asked to answer them as if in an interview. 

Then she asked if anyone wanted to play along. I thought, why not? So I jumped in to participate. Melva sent me five questions to answer and to share in a biog post. Her questions are in bold.

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

Not really. 

More shapes and filler stitches

I once won first place in small quilts when the Machine Quilters Exposition show was held in Portland, Oregon. For the last couple of years, I've stitched and awarded a Quilt of Valor to a veteran. Each presentation has warmed my heart. 

What brings me the most joy is being part of small quilting groups where there is laughter, sharing 

Detail of the filler stitches in the border

and even some quilting! I've made dear friends, picked up  great tips on subjects other than quilting and have been helped when a project has stymied me!

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

Detail of center filler stitches

No to the first question. I've tried regarding the second question.

My great grandmother (my granddad's mom on my mom's side) made at least one quilt. I know because I have a quilt that her sewing circle gifted her Dresden plate blocks when she moved from Kansas to Oregon in the 1930s. I do have a hexagon project she started and hand pieced a number of blocks which I haven't looked at in years.

Detail of one of the motifs

Another great grandmother (my grandma's mom on my mom's side) didn't sew; but she did have someone make quilts for her great grandkids. I wore out a Sunbonnet Sue that she had gifted me. I also have a quilt her family made her when she left Nebraska to live in Idaho in the 1930's.

View of another motif against the ray background

A third great grandmother (my granddad's mom on my dad's side) did quilt; but I don't remember seeing quilts when I visited. In a crazy set of circumstances, I have a grandmother's flower garden top that she pieced which came to me through my mother in law! One of these days, I look forward to finishing it!

I didn't see quilts being made when I was growing up. When I was about 12 my mom quilted a comforter for my bed. 

I enjoyed quilts; but I wasn't drawn to making one until 1980 when I made one for our bed because I was freezing! In 1982, I made a quilt for my brother as a wedding gift. Then, I was hooked! 

Back of Quilt

While I have certainly tried to infect my daughters and granddaughters with the quilt pox, I haven't been successful.  . .yet. Perhaps, the virus is latent and will show up later in their lives. Our youngest daughter made one quilt when she was 10 years old.

After our oldest daughter married, she made at least two quilts which she gifted as baby quilts. The two older granddaughters, aged 11 and 13, have each made two quilts. I still have a chance with our youngest granddaughter who is three!

Front view

I've also taught free motion quilting numerous times to members of my quilt guild and English paper piecing to members in another guild. I even lectured about how to be inspired when faced with a challenge of creating a quilt after reading a book! Through those experiences, I hope that I was able to spur the love of machine quilting, handwork and/or design to at least one person!

 

*How do you learn best? Reading/Lessons, watching, a mentor…..

Being able to take a class, try the technique, receive feedback, try the technique again and teach it to someone.

 

*Early Bird or Night Owl?

Definitely, Early Bird!

Growing up on a farm/ranch meant we were up before dawn to do chores. During the day, there was always plenty of work which we did until it was dark. Life was never boring even though we had some similar routines. We were too tired to have sleepless nights! It's been almost 50 years since I lived full time on the farm. The early to rise and early to retire routine, however, continues.

 

2022 and 2023 Temperature quilt

*What quilt are you most proud of? Why?

I'm most proud of my "Bursting with Joy" quilt. I planned to gift it to my first grandchild. I stitched it to capture the joy I felt when I learned I was going to be a grandmother. I made up free motion filler stitches which stretched my comfort zone and got me into a whole new box! To achieve the electric neon color, I used neon threads and stitched over the design as many as four times. It is about 41 inches square and all but the last photo are of that quilt that I made in 2012.

The quilt, however, wasn't what my daughter wanted. It was a whole cloth quilt with bright colored quilting stitches on a black background. I've kept it and have enjoyed hanging it a month or two during the year. That oldest granddaughter is now 13! Someday, she will get that quilt. 

What's next?

Now, I'm nominating Alycia at Quilty Girl and Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué to play along. I'll e-mail them some questions and we will get to review their answers in one of their posts. They will also each nominate two to three bloggers to play too. 

Just like the chain letter from the past, maybe it will work and maybe it won't. Whatever we get will be great! I have no doubt that we will uncover an emerging top notch blogger in the process! Thank you, Melva for getting me out of my comfort zone!

To stay on track with my monthly goals, I did layer and pin baste my two year Temperature quilt 2022 and 2023. it was goal number nine on my September list. Linking to Finished or Not Friday, Patchwork and Quilts; Oh Scrap; Sew and Tell!