I am extremely excited to welcome you all to A Note to Follow Sew as part of the Plum and June Let's Get Acquainted New Bloggers Blog Hop 2013! Let's have a round of applause for Beth, what a star!
About Me
- I named my blog after a line from Do Re Mi from the Sound of Music, my all time favourite film. I've been to Salzburg and am a card carrying member of the Total Geek Club when it comes to that film.
- I passed my driving test in April 2012 following two previous attempts and the experience of learning a new skill inspired me to do something I had always wanted to do - make a quilt. I took a class in September 2012 and have not looked back!
- I was keen on sewing as a child but it fell away in my mid teens. I am so glad to have picked it up again and to have retained some idea of what I'm doing! I still use my childhood sewing box (she's a hand me down from my cousins) and I love her.
- My aunt lived in America for a while and learned to quilt while she was there. She's a big sewing inspiration for me and has extremely kindly agreed to make my wedding dress for me. She sewed gorgeous bridesmaid dresses I wore to her children's weddings and I wanted to continue the theme.
- I don't own a sewing machine. I pinched my mother's to go to the initial quilting class and just didn't give it back. It is a Brother PX 100. We are more like casual acquaintances than friends, and I'm looking forward to investing in a better machine soon (preferably one with more than one speed - super fast!). All suggestions welcome - what do you recommend and why?
- To make sure I would stick at quilting before investing in equipment, I taught myself to crochet and knit. I've had more success with the former and there is occasionally a bit of that in this blog too. I think I just like making snuggly blankets!
About A Note to Follow Sew
- I started the blog as a means of recording my projects initially but soon made it public. Blogs had been so helpful in teaching me the basics and I soon wanted to join in with comments, discussions and questions.
- I blog about new quilting purchases under the heading Brown Paper Packages (preferably tied up with string) because receiving a package through the post is a wonderful feeling, even if you ordered it yourself!
- I have also started a series of posts on helpful things I have learned along the way - the real Eureka moments. They are called Every Day's a School Day and are by no means the voice of an expert, rather things I have learned the hard way (the hard way involves a seam ripper). Of course, I started this before I read all the helpful advice on the Hop about naming posts so they are easy to find on Google. As they are not really tutorials (more of a virtual headslap) I will continue to call them this.
- Posts about an idea or piece of fabric with so many possibilities attached are called Potential. I love a blank piece of paper, new ball of wool or fresh fabric and the potential for it to be turned into something special.
A Few of my Favourite (Quilting) Things
- The aforementioned sewing box
- Rainbow quilts
- Scrappy quilts
- The last stitch on neat binding
- Buying fabric, looking at fabric and sorting through piles of fabric
- Solids, and bold but simple patterns, especially together
- FMQ - this is really fun (she says never having done it on a larger quilt)
- My first completed quilt
A Few of my Favourite (Other) Things
- Lists, especially "to do" and "top five..." (preferably with bullets)
- Stationery (everything from pretty notebooks to office label makers!)
- Photo albums and scrap booking
- Puns
- Politics (but that's the day job and won't be popping up here, I promise!)
- Indie bands and 90s Britpop of all varieties
- Giving presents
Quilting
I am still a novice and have only completed a handful of quilts/quilted items but here they are in all their beginner glory!
Work in Progress - the BIG Quilt
I really wanted to get this top finished for my stop on the hop, but alas it was not to be. Half square triangle squaring takes AGES - they should have come with a warning. Anyway, this is it, my first BIG quilt:
Stitch Gathering
The other exciting thing I am doing this summer is attending the Stitch Gathering. This is a one day quilting and sewing retreat in Edinburgh, Scotland. I am taking two classes on quilting, one on making improvised blocks and one on making a jelly roll quilt. I can't wait!
So there you have it! I'm still very much a beginner but I'm having so much fun. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to check out A Note to Follow Sew. Please also have a look at my Last Week counterparts - we've hopped our legs off for weeks and are delighted to show off our work!
RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts
Vicki @ A Quilter's Mission
Elisa Lea @ Lovelea Designs
Elizabeth @ In the Boon Docks
Lorna@ Sew Fresh Quilts
Sonia @ Fabric and Flowers
Emily @ Sew E.T.
Em @ Sewing by Moonlight
You can find the list of the rest of the Blog Hoppers here. I have done a round up post of all their Let's Get Acquainted posts, which you can find here.
Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!
