2015 New Quilt Bloggers – Page 2 – Wanda's Life Sampler

I FOUND some amazing, awesome, better-than-ice cream buddies through the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop. We’ve become good friends.

We were divided into groups and performed critiques of each other’s blogs, and I feel a kinship to those bloggers: Erin at Twin Mom Quilts, Helen at Midget Gem Quilts and Sarah at Sarah Goer Quilts.

I also became buddies with some other amazing bloggers through the Chicken Run which is hosted by Oh Sew Tempting. I agreed to make a Chicken Pincushion and give it away on my blog after receiving a pincushion, which I named Lucky Stripper, from Textile Dreamer. And Sarah at Cedar Fork Stitches received LOVE DOVE from me.

One of the winners of the Chicken Run pincushion was Annett of KnettyCraft, and I interact with her more than any other blogger.

I’ve also been interacting with the most generous people through the Savor Each Stitch Book Bee. We are using Carolyn Friedlander’s book as inspiration for designing and making quilts. We take each chapter and design a quilt. So far we’ve done Lines, Contrast and Scale. They have encouraged my risk taking and have given me inspiration to design what I like and not worry if fits into a certain category of quilting. In particular, Susan blogs at We all have to Start Somewhere, and Anna blogs at Mod Quilt Mom.

Most recently I’ve been sharing comments and blogging tips with Mary at Zippy Quilts.

Now, back to Blogging University’s assignment for today: find a blogging buddy. Since I have found so many blogging buddies, it is hard to ask one of them to be exclusive. I’m going to continue with my current blogging circle. And if, at some point, I want to find a guest blogger or cooperate on a single project, I can do that then.

I’m happy to hang out with all my new friends. I hope to meet them in person some day.

Sew sew grateful,

Wanda

Welcome to the next stop on the 2015 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop

It’s so exciting to be a part of this new quilting family and to get to know you. But first, you get to know me.

THE TEN-SECOND TOUR OF MY LIFE:

On a snowy day in 1965, me . . . two siblings, Alice and Bruce, … Emory & Henry College… newspaper reporter … married my high school sweetheart, Dave, … baby Nora … moving trucks … football football football . . . quilter … law school … lawyer … empty nest . . . blogger … modern quilt guild . . . new quilt bloggers blog hop … designing logos and blog buttons, oh my!.

I just received a mug rug from Nina With Freckles as part of a mug rug swap involving individual members of the Modern Quilt Guild.

My husband is the head football coach at Deep Run High School.

THE LONG JOURNEY:

When I write about myself, it’s about what I do and less about who I am. Sounds odd since this is “Wanda’s Life Sampler.” I tend to focus on the details of the process, i.e. the craft, and I shy away from revealing anything intimate. There are no secrets on the web. But, if I want to share and interact with this community I must open up. It’s all Rated G, though, but you might find 50 shades of gray (lame quilter’s joke).

NO DIRTY LAUNDRY:

I started this blog because I was looking for a creative outlet. (FYI: menopause is not for girls). I followed a series of worksheets in a self-help book. I made a “vision board” and wrote a “purpose statement”:

My purpose is to feel brave, to be tenacious and curious, to be sure of what I believe, to be persistent, to rest, to be free, to act on a whim, to improvise, to be creative and to design, and to practice what I enjoy.

I enjoyed making the vision board more than I liked pursuing the things on the vision board (except maybe traveling).

This discovery led me to start a blog. I had no idea what I wanted my blog to be or to say. I knew I wanted to put text and photos on “paper.”

I also had no idea the online quilting community existed. My first post about quilting was on September 4, 2013 and revealed my first leap into modern quilting with a quilt from the book, “Sunday Morning Quilts.” I quickly found the online quilting community and here I am giving you sewing advice.

A SEWING TIP:

Have you ever made a tote bag and when it’s not full, it falls over? The solution:

USE YOUR TOP STITCH FOOT (Bernina No. 5) to stich each side and around the bottom. It give stability to the tote. Divide the length of the bottom side seam, then measure over half that length from the middle seam. Press down the sides. Stitch, setting the needle over about 5 notches. It creates a small seam down the side.

USE YOUR TOP STITCH FOOT (Bernina No. 5) to stitch each side and around the bottom. It gives stability to the tote. Divide the length of the bottom side seam, then measure over half that length from the middle seam. Press down the side. Stitch, setting the needle over about 5 notches. It creates a small seam down the side. Repeat with all four edges and the bottom, if you want.

A BLOGGING TIP:

Learning takes time. I use WordPress and there are so many options for themes and choices for fonts and menus. I was overwhelmed at first and I’ve been overwhelmed for the last two weeks trying to transform my blog for this blog hop. I admit a cried a few times, but it’s okay to ask for help — even from the Happiness Engineers at WordPress. NEED HELP? you bet I do. They will respond!

MY FAVORITE QUILT (designed by yours truly):

Mama Bear

THE SECURITY ANSWERS (better than the ones from the bank):

My Dream Vacation: Fly around the world in a balloon
My Favorite Book: My Happiness Calendar where I record something every day that makes me happy
My Least Favorite Chore: Washing dishes
My Favorite Dessert: Key Lime Pie
My Favorite Restaurant: Deep Run Roadhouse (barbeque)

MY QUESTION FOR YOU:

What would you put on your Happiness Calendar today?

DON’T FORGET: CHECK OUT THIS WEEK’S OTHER NEW QUILT BLOGGERS:

Brianna at The Iron and Needle. IG: theironandneedle

Tish at Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland IG: tishnwonderland)

Sandra at The Bias Edge.

My sidebar also has a list of all the new quilt bloggers in our hive, The Sewcial Swarm. The Queen is Terri Ann at Childlike Fascination. The other hive hosts are: Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl; Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs; and Stephanie at Late Night Quilter. The hosts are having giveaways!

Beeing Sewcial,

Wanda