An award???

One of my dear blogger friends, Ann, from Orange Crumpled Napkin has nominated me for the Liebster Award! The Liebster Award is an award for new bloggers  with small followings who fit the requirement of having less than 200 followers and happen to be doing something the nominator really likes.

When nominated for the Liebster Award, one must give a thank you speech and:

• Answer 11 questions posted by the person who nominated me
• List 11 random and hopefully not too weird facts about myself
• Nominate & tag up to 11 new bloggers with 200 followers or less 
• Write 11 questions for the bloggers I nominate.

Ann, thank you, thank you (bows). Here are the answers to your questions:

1. When did you start quilting?
     Probably made my first quilt in my early twenties. Simple squares from my old blue

     jeans.

2. Do you think of your quilting as an art or as a hobby?

     Both....

     art: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination

     hobby: An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.

3. Have you traveled much in your life?

     I have traveled a bit around the US and visited many of the neighboring islands, but I    

     did not see Europe until my 50th birthday when I visited England, Belgium, and

     Spain.

4. What color dominates your fabric collection?

    When I purchase fabric, I choose whatever color resonates with me at the moment. I

    can say that purple is my favorite color, but it is not the color that always satisfies my

    creative longings. Sometimes, it’s dark and monochromatic….other times it’s bold

    and bright. I never really know what is going to sneak up on me and grab my creative

    attention.

5. If you could dress up like a gypsy and go to work, would you?

     Yes!

6. What’s your favorite yogurt flavor?

    Seven Stars Biodynamic Yogurt – Original Maple

7. After you have paid off your debts and taken care of your family needs, what

    would you do with yourself if you won the lottery?

    Probably just keep living the way I do now minus the financial worries.

8. Introvert or Extrovert?

    Definitely introvert.

9. Which is the career you wanted to pursue and for one reason or another

    didn’t?

    Something in the arts, for sure!

10. Who is your role model and why?

      I am inspired by anyone who is eager to explore new things and be continually

     challenged, whose creative spirit flows in the face of obstacles, and who loves

     deeply and has a generous soul.

11. Do you remember your dreams?

      I have a few dreams that have been reoccurring since early childhood. I remember

      my current dreams…..sometimes.

Here are some random things you might not know about me:

1. I have eleven wonderful, crazy children. (Yes, I birthed them all)

2. I have and continue to supervise their education at home.

3. I love to cook and eat food of every nationality. I like it spicy.

4. In order to make sense of a rigid past, I got an Associates Degree in my fifties.

    I studied contemporary spirituality.

5. I know almost nothing about Tarot, however, I have a collection of Tarot cards

    that I have purchased over the years simply because I find them beautiful.

6. I collect books published by the Folio Society in London. I hope these kinds of books

    never become obsolete.

7. My favorite color is purple.

8. If I could have everything I need delivered to my door, I would probably be content to

    stay home.

9. I choose to be barefoot, hate shoes, and value comfort over style in my clothes.

10. I am an avid tea drinker.

11. I am a compulsive organizer.

Here are the bloggers that I nominate:

1. Threads and Patches

2. A Gilded Yarn

3. In A Stitch Quilting

4. Bending Pins

5. Claudia's Blog

6. Lise's Blog

7. 365 Days of Wonderful

8. A Creative K
9. Rantin' Babe 

Here are eleven questions for the bloggers that I nominated:

1. What is your favorite season and why?

2. What is your favorite outdoor activity?

3. What edible thing do you have trouble saying "No" to?

4. What life lesson are you still struggling to learn?

5. Do you have a collection of anything?

6. When you're with your best friend, is there a subject you gravitate to?

7. Name one of your personal goals for 2013?

8. Write a brief creative history...

9. Who has been the most instrumental in your creative development?

10. When you are in the creative zone, what noise if any do you surround yourself with?

11. Of all the creative activities you love, do you have a favorite and why?

    

Reflections...

I'm sitting on my porch with my Yorkie, Mr. Darcy, by my side thinking about these past eight months and this blog. Two-thirds of the year have passed. My profile says that I have been a blogger since 2005. I did start "Spilling Energy" back then but only for a very short while, and it had nothing to do with quilting. It sat fallow for six years. This blog was started the last day of December 2011. By definition, I am totally a newbie.

My original intent was to reach a personal goal. I needed some motivating force to help me finish the myriad of projects that sit unfinished in my closet, in drawers, and on my shelves. I believed that blogging about my progress would do the trick. Here I am with more unfinished projects than I started with. Now, if I was so inclined, I could consider this a failure. However, I am choosing to put a different spin on it.

I am having so much fun! 

I'm meeting people, making new friends, learning new things, and writing about it here. What more do I really want? Do I care about the number of followers or daily views? No. Do I really care about all those projects that I have yet to complete? No. My children can have a blast discovering, when I'm gone, all the things I set my hands to. It really matters little that some of them will remain unfinished. Every cut and every stitch was the beginning of something new, and I love new beginnings.

This month, for my block swap, I was asked to make a log cabin block in creams and purples. Well, everyone knows that my favorite color is purple, and who doesn't love the versatility of that pattern. So I made one for my partner and six for myself . Ok, so maybe that's the beginning of yet another unfinished project, but I couldn't help it. When you're making one, it's not a big step to make seven.

Now that the body of the Millennium Compass quilt is done, it was time to tackle the final border. So, there are sixteen colors I used for the rainbow spread, twenty-two pieces needed for each, which, when you do the math comes out to 352 pieces. Then add to that the background pieces...well, just saying, it was a lot of cutting!

Then it was time to organize each set on the appropriate template in the right order. Must admit that I didn't get it right the first time.

Two sets done and two to go. Corner blocks next. Then on the quilt they go.

Have a wonderful weekend and have fun!