Around the World Blog Hop

Hi all!  I was invited to join the ‘Around the World Blog Hop’ by Rhonda from Olie & Evie.  I am so excited she has asked me to join this blog hop.  Rhonda has a great blog featuring all the fun and inspiring projects she’s been working on and items that she has listed on her etsy shop.  So if you haven’t had a chance to take a look, hop on over for some fresh ideas!

Now I’m supposed to tell you a little about myself.  My name is actually Shannon, not Stormy.  Surprise!  Years ago, my soon-to-be husband gave me the nickname ‘Stormy’ and it stuck.  He is the only one who calls me Stormy (except maybe my kids when I don’t answer to ‘mom’).  I like the nickname and when I decided to start a blog, ‘Sew Stormy’ sounded so much better than ‘Sew Shannon’, so I went with it.  I have five children, four girls and one boy.  This year is the first year they have all been in school, so I have big quilting plans!  I learned to sew from my mom, my grandma and in a Home Economics class in Jr. High.  I started quilting after my third baby was born because I wanted to make a baby quilt.  I bought some ‘how to’ quilt books and watched lots of quilting television shows. Now, it is my absolute favorite past time.  Especially when I watch old movies while I sew.

On to the questions…..

WHAT AM I WORKING ON?

You wouldn’t think this would be a hard question, but I have so very many projects it  was hard to decided which ones to show you. I am not the kind of person to start one project and stick with it until it’s finished.  I work on whatever I feel like that day.  So, I decided to show you my most recent projects…..

I started my first hexagon quilt about a year ago.  I don’t pull it out often because I rarely have the time to sit and hand piece, but one day I will have a beautiful grandmother’s flower garden quilt.

One of my favorite quilts I have ever made was for my nephew last year.  It features my two favorite kinds of quilt blocks.  Pinwheels and stars.  I love it so much, I started another quilt for me.  Because it doesn’t have a deadline, it is taking a lot longer to finish than I had hoped.

These gorgeous churn dash blocks are for a quilt I am making for my sister-in-law’s birthday that was last July.  I’ve been a little busy…. Maybe it’ll be a birthday/Christmas present!   I was loving the bright, happy, Jennifer Paganelli fabrics so much, I also made this for me……

It’s not perfect, but it turned out so very cute and mini!  (11 1/2 inches!)

These blocks are the beginnings to the Fig Tree version of the Moda ‘Modern Building Blocks’ quilt.  I am about seven blocks behind, so I have to get moving!

HOW DOES MY WORK DIFFER FROM OTHER OF ITS GENRE?

The only way I think my work is really different than others is the wide variety of fabrics and patterns I enjoy using.  My tastes change often.  I never get stuck on certain colors or styles.  Just give me a few months and I’ll have a new favorite.

WHY DO I WRITE/CREATE WHAT I DO?

I love pattern and color and I love mixing and matching to come up with new looks.  My favorite part of quilting is deciding on the pattern of the quilt and which fabric is going to go where.  My heart is broken over the fact that the nearest quilt shop is 3 hours away.  It is so difficult to pick out fabrics from a picture on the computer.  That is why most of my quilts are made from fabric lines that are made to match each other.  The majority of my shopping is done online or while I am in Utah visiting family.

I also love quilts.  They are beautiful. I have quilts all over my home. They are on my tables, walls, beds, rolled up in corners, draped over sofas and chairs. They tell a story about who made them and who they were made for.  They trigger memories and are shared out of love. Everyone should have their own quilt.

HOW DOES MY WRITING/CREATING PROCESS WORK?

It’s different each time. Sometimes I see a quilt I love and copy it exactly.  Sometimes I fall in love with some fabric and flip through patterns for weeks or months to find just the right one.  Other times I come up with my own quilt design while doodling and wait until I see just the right fabric before making it.

A couple years ago I designed a star quilt for a block of the week.  It was designed week by week.  I didn’t really know how it was going to turn out but, it is now another of my favorite quilts.  I plan on creating another sampler quilt sew along soon! 

Anyway, thanks for reading all of my ramblings.  I started this blog to show family and friends what I was working on and now I aim to inspire others to see and experience the joy of quilting for themselves. 

For next week, I am passing along the blog hop to my friend Briana and her sisters from Babblings and More.  They have a wonderful blog that shows off all the super creativity that runs in their family.  They are so versatile in their craftiness, I promise you will find something you will want to create!

Stormy

Stitchery revisited

Sometimes I like to sit in my sewing room and look through my drawers of sewing ‘scraps’.  There are quilt squares that were never made into quilts, pieces of lace and trim, pillowcase edging from my grandmother and great grandmother, cute little buttons, and many other fun knick knacks to admire.  During my most recent perusal, I came across a stitchery I started years and years ago.  I don’t know why I thought I could possibly finish it, considering I had three children under the age of six at the time.  But, I gave it a try.  I was able to cut all the pieces out, sew them together, trace the pattern and get started on the embroidery.  I don’t know whether I got tired of working on it or if I got sidetracked and forgot about it, but the project never got finished. 

Sometimes it’s hard to go back and finish a project started so long ago because your skills have improved and you know you could do a much better job the second time around. (Which just might be the case here.)

Other times, you just lose interest because your tastes have changed or the project isn’t turning out how you wanted it to.

Since so much time and effort has been put into the project, it’s hard to know what to do with it.

So, it sits in a drawer until one day it gets pulled out for a closer look and maybe interest will take hold again and a cute little stitchery will be finished a decade or so after it was started…..

Stormy

Crochet Pillow 2

I did it! I finished crocheting the second pillowcase! I can barely move my hands and wrists today, but it was worth it.

I decided to crochet a large granny square for the second pillow.  It turned out super cute and really adds a pop to the family room!

I had a hard time deciding on the color repeat.  Since I’m trying to incorporate grey into the room (and I wanted to match the first pillow), I opted to use the grey yarn on every other row.  I’m pretty happy with the results.  My kids say the crocheted pillows are their favorite because they are so soft.  (I used the brand “I Love This Yarn” from Hobby Lobby because it is extra soft.)

Maybe I’ll get the afghan I started last year finished too…

Stormy

Crochet Pillow

It seems at the beginning of every school year, our family get sick.  The germs spread like wildfire through all the school children, then get brought home and  passed along to family members at home (like mothers).  I got to spend the Labor Day weekend with a head cold.  But, there is something good that came out of laying in bed for two days….

Because I grew up in Utah, in my mind the beginning of school means cooler weather is coming soon. That’s not really the case in the Southwest. (We hit 105 yesterday. Blech.)  But, I can’t help it, I want to start wearing scarves and boots and pull out my crocheting. 

Two of my couch pillows had seen better days, so I decided to cover them with a crochet pillow case.  I grabbed a couple skeins of yarn and crocheted away!  This is the result of my first pillowcase.  For the finishing touch, I added a cute little flower for an added accent.  My yucky old pillow has gained a new life!  I still haven’t decided on a pattern for the second pillow.  If I’m still sick over the next few days, I’ll have another picture to show you.

Stormy