2016 New Quilt Bloggers’ Blog Hop

Welcome to Week 3 of the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop!

I’m thrilled to be participating this year with so many awesome bloggers! I’ve met some great people and we’ve had fun sharing advice and ideas.

The blog hop is split into three hives:

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Hive Sewciety, led by Stephanie from Late Night Quilter

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The Sewcial Network, led by Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl

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And last, but certainly not least, my hive: Miss Bee Hivin’ led by Cheryl from Meadowmist Designs

At the bottom of this post, you’ll find a list of all my hive mates who are participating in the Hop this week.

 

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So, let me introduce myself! My name is Lorinda Davis and I’ve been blogging here for just over a year. My quilting journey began back in the spring of 2013 when my (then home schooled) children each made a quilt block for a Civil War project. I was intrigued by the way the block changed so dramatically as a result of the kids’ different color and fabric choices. And as they say, the rest is history…. from that moment, I was hooked.

Over the last year, I’ve been building this blog, starting my fabric design portfolio, and have even started working on writing some quilt patterns.

Here are a few more tidbits about me:

Favorite color: Green, pink, purple, and blue… not necessarily in that order. Making me choose a favorite seems unfair.

Middle name: Belle (also my favorite Disney princess. I want her library.)

Favorite (non-quilty) pastimes: Hiking with my family, reading, singing and playing piano

Dream vacation: Tour of Europe with tons of time to really see things, visit museums, and get to know some locals. More realistically, my family has been itching for a Disney World trip lately.

If I could have one super-power: Super-speed! I could do so many fun things!

Here are some of my favorite projects over the last year.

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Megan Tote

LPP Sparkler Snuggles

Black and White Sparkler

Laurel and Pine Shimmer 4

Shimmer Quilt

And here’s a quilt top I just finished a couple of weeks ago. You can find the free pattern here.

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On this Blog Hop, we’ve been asked to share our best blogging tips with you. My advice would be to have a consistent feature on your blog that will keep you posting regularly.
Each week, I do a post called Color Play Friday. My readers expect it, so I make sure to get it done. Having that feature has really helped keep me posting regularly, even if sometimes that’s all that gets posted for the week!
We’ve also been asked to give out a quilting tip. This is not a tip, per se, but if I could encourage you to do one thing, it would be to keep learning and keep challenging yourself. Find new techniques. Try your hand at garment sewing. Risk looking foolish and try something crazy with your quilting. The best way to get better at something is to test your boundaries a bit.

So, my question for you is this: What is your favorite thing about quilting?

For me, it’s the ‘bookends’ of a project… planning it and then hand binding it at the very end.

As promised, here is a list of all my hive mates who are participating in the Hop this week. Be sure to visit them all to find out more about them and their work. That’s really the best part of the Hop- getting to know new people!

Jen @ Patterns By Jen

Heide @ Heide’s Quilty Hugs

Ann @ Brown Paws Quilting

Velda @ GRANNYcanQUILT

Happy Sewing!  ~L

39 comments

  1. Lovely to get to know you Lorinda. You have some lovely quilts, I particularly like the Black and White Sparkler, perfect for a teenager. My favourite thing is planning, I often can’t sleep because a quilt is going round and round in my head. THEN, when I start making it, like my recent circles quilt, it starts to go in different directions all on it’s own, and usually ends up better than my carefully crafted plan??????
    Smiles
    Kate

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  3. Great post…You quilts are super…Love the bag, I am so interested in make some, just have to watch a few more videos to build up the courage, LOL. This is how I learn. Your tip of a designated post is great…I am going to have to come up with something to blog about every week. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Heide

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  4. Laurel, I really like your handbag! I’ve never tried to make one before, but it’s on my sewing bucket list. Glad to connect with you!

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  5. Love your quilts, Lorinda, especially that black and white one. I’m with you on the bookends favourite parts of quilting although mine extend into piecing the first few blocks and I also love the home stretch of quilting the dang thing.

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  6. My favorite part about quilting? Oh wow, that is tough. But honestly, I love when I can get into a meditative state while I am working on a quilt – just living in the moment without the chit chat of my mind on full volume. I am really glad you participated in the blog hop and am happy to know more about you and your journey. 🙂

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  7. Your post is so to the point and interesting, your quilts are great and thanks for the tip. This forum has really been a blessing hasn’t it? I am also on the blog hop today and I enjoyed sharing my story with people who actually gets it! My favorite thing about quilting is the planning and seeing it come together after piecing, I also enjoy playing around with different block arrangements before piecing!

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  8. Thanks for the great post Lorinda! It was fun to get to know you. I really like your Shimmer Quilt – such great colors. My favorite part about the quilting process is similar to Yvonne’s I think. Once I’ve planned the design and can just cut and piece, or once I’ve decided how I want to quilt something and can just go do it. I just love spending time making things!

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  9. Black and White sparkle is so lovely!!! I love planning a quilt, and piecing and the binding the best. Like Yvonne above, I love how my brain shuts down to all the outside noise of life when I’m working on a quilt. I also love that moment after you have washed it the first time and pull it out of the dryer. I think it’s wonderful that you got into quilting because of your children.

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  11. Hi It’s been fun getting to know everyone in our hive. Aren’t we lucky? Your quilts are beautiful and it’s obvious that you love this craft. My dream vacation would be to Ireland, but I’d love to have all the time (and the money) to explore Europe. I think it’s my love of history that draws me there. My favorite thing about quilting is designing a pattern and selecting the fabrics although I enjoy each part, even binding although I do it by hand and I do get bored sometimes with it.

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  13. I agree with the challenge yourself and take risks. I will eventually do the colour changes along with you. I like seeing how the fabrics work together when piecing.

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  14. Hi Lorinda 🙂 I too love your sparkle quilt 🙂
    I love everything about quilting… though basting would be down the bottom….. I love the planning, daydreaming, fabric pull and seeing a block or part of the quilt start to come together! And I love that quiet binding time at the end just before you give it to the recipient 🙂

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  15. Thanks for sharing! I particularly like your black and white quilt. The best part of quilting? I’d have to say making something that is uniquely my own and that gives me a creative outlet. My favorite parts of the process are designing, as I do lots of improv work, and hand quilting.

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  16. Good idea to have a feature that you have to post about. Otherwise it is too easy to put it off to another week. The best part of quilting, for me, is everything, honestly. I get such a thrill when I start cutting out a new project and think, OH I love this part! Then pieces start coming together, or I get those perfect points and think again OH I love this part. And when it’s quilted and I’m sitting and hand stitching the binding I think it again. If I could make this my living, I would, lol.

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  17. Lovely post Lorinda! Your blogging tip about having a regular feature on the blog is fantastic and one I am going to try to put into practise. I love your Sparkler quilt, so good. I also love the parts of quilt making that you do, kind of funny! I do not really enjoy making the quilt top. Cheers!

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  18. Hi Lorinda! Great blogging tip 🙂 The best thing I like about a project is the day I have aquired all the materials to at least start. I love planning, but I make a lot of plans that don’t get made, I guess I filter out. So when I have all the materials ready, I know it means I have a serious project ahead of me! Day one is always the most exciting for me 🙂

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  19. Hi, Lorinda –
    I love your Melinda bag. I’ve done a few zippers, but I am still intimidated by them.
    My favorite part about quilting is laying out the finished blocks, and watching the design come together.

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  21. Hi, Lorinda! Great introductory post. Oh, your Shimmer quilt has such great colors! That’s what I enjoy about quilting is playing with the colors of fabric. I love fabric, own a lot of it, and use a lot of it. It’s the joy of seeing something made form sometimes just pieces of scraps!

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  22. Hi, Lorinda –

    I’m a bit late to the party, having thought I’d commented on everybody’s posts. I suspect I was not logged in, and didn’t notice!

    I’m with you, I like the “bookends” of the project, too. I’ve always got many more projects in the planning stages than I will every have time to complete. And I find hand binding very “zen.”

    I love your bag, that’s just delicious. And “Shimmer” is on my list for the fall, so it’s nice to see another made up.

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  23. What a great introduction post. I absolutely love the tote! I’ve not played along yet, but I love reading and seeing everyone’s fabric pics for your Color Play Friday posts.

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