around the world blog hop

Last week I got an email from Beth asking me if I was interested in the Around the World Blog Hop.  Since I enjoy reading other people's answers to these kinds of questions I said that I would love to participate.  But these questions are hard to answer!  

1. What am I working on?

Right now I am working a project inspired by the fabrics in Hadley.  There are a few prints from the collection included, plus lots of other Denyse Schmidt prints and a few others.  It is a little out of my comfort zone, but a lot of fun.  The quilt is made up of 9 patch blocks and churn dash blocks set on point.  

I also pulled fabric today for a baby quilt for a friend of mine.  She has a very minimalist style so I am not quite sure where I am going to go with it, but I think it will involve a lot of white, blues, and grays.  

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I have no idea how to answer this question because I feel like I am still trying to find my own style.  I know that I always want to be trying new techniques and sewing with new colors.  My favorite thing is to have a stack of fabrics and then try to figure out the best pattern to use them with.  That's the best.

3. Why do I create what I do?

This is something I have been thinking about lately.  I really like to throw myself into projects. Quilting is particularly rewarding because when I am done working on a project I have something substantial to show for it. As much as I love being a wife and a mother, it is important to be my own person and quilting is a great way to express that.

I also enjoy that quilting has both an analytical and a creative side.

4. How does my creative process work?

There are so many different places to be inspired, but I usually start by looking at books or magazines Sometimes I will find an idea, but usually this just helps me to focus my ideas and narrow things down.  

Sometimes I just start cutting fabrics.  I will usually change my mind and those pieces will end up in the scrap bin, but sometimes that sparks an idea.  I used to do a lot of sketching on graph paper, but I have been using EQ7 lately and now I keep a folder of saved projects on my computer that I can look through when I need an idea.  Usually I end up changing and adapting the idea to fit my current project, but that helps spark something.  

I am nominating Amanda from The Cozy Pumpkin.  I think I was supposed to nominate 3 people, but Amanda is so great she can count as all three :) Watch out for her post on Monday September 8th.