A few weeks ago, I heard about the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop. The goal of the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop is to provide advice, tech help, and introduce new modern quilters to the online community. I fit the registration criteria, so I figured what the heck and I applied. I was excited to find out I was chosen to participate!
Let’s start with a little bit about me. My name is Laurel and I love to quilt! I’ve been sewing since I was a little kid, but I got into quilting seriously in 2014. I started this blog to keep track of my projects in progress and my finished quilts.
When I’m not locked away with my sewing machine, I’m a homeschooling mom of two wonderful kids – Alison and Benjamin – and wife to my awesome husband, Kurt. I also love counted cross stitch, crochet, reading, and gardening.
In my previous life, I was a project manager for a multi-billion-dollar construction company. Most of my projects were in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. It was interesting and fun, but I wanted to stay home once our daughter was born.
My mom taught me to sew clothes when I was 10 or 11, but I didn’t start quilting until 2014. I’m totally in love with quilting now! I love picking the fabrics and deciding on the pattern and then seeing the whole thing come to life under my sewing machine needle. 🙂
One of my favorite quilts is my first quilt, which was a basic patchwork beach quilt made with charm packs of the Horizon line by Kate Spain for Moda. Kate Spain is one of my very favorite fabric designers. I haven’t seen a line of hers yet that I didn’t love.
Snapshots is another of my favorite quilts. It was a Block-of-the-Month from Fat Quarter Shop. I hadn’t been into quilting for very long, so I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I decided I definitely couldn’t do it if I didn’t try. 🙂 I bought the kit and went to work. It was quilted by Robin at Ormond Beach Quilts. After I finished it, I decided to submit it to be considered for the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival and it was accepted! I ended up not winning a ribbon, but it was so exciting to see my quilt hanging up with all the other beautiful quilts at the show. 🙂
Front:
Back:
My favorite block:
My current favorite is my Ugly Christmas Sweaters quilt. The pattern is by Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts. I used Kona Solids, a background by Studio E and backing by Michael Miller. The quilting is by Robin at Ormond Beach Quilts.
Front:
Backing:
Detail of quilting:
Label:
My best tip for quilt bloggers is to post lots of pictures of your beautiful quilts! I love scrolling through pictures of other peoples’ lovely work. The brighter and more colorful, the better as far as I’m concerned. 🙂
My best tip for quilters is to not worry about making your quilts perfect. As Jenny at Missouri Star Quilt Co. says, “Finished is better than perfect.” I totally agree! The imperfections are proof that my quilts are made with love. 😀
My quilting question is who is your favorite fabric designer? My favorites are Bonnie & Camille, Kate Spain and Alison Glass. I love bright and colorful and these three definitely fit that bill! 🙂
My favorites:
Favorite book: Charlotte’s Web
Favorite movie: Inside Out
Favorite TV show: Yankees baseball
Favorite vacation spot: My dream vacation spot would be a beautiful tropical island with my sewing machine and unlimited fabric and thread. Now that’s perfection! <3
Be sure to check out the rest of the lovely bloggers in the hop here:
*Blog Hop Week 1 – June 13th*
Amanda @ Gypsy Moon Quilt Co.
Paige @ Quilted Blooms
Tish @ Tish’s Adventures In Wonderland
Melva @ Melva Loves Scraps
Carrie @ Beri Bee Designs
*Blog Hop Week 2 – June 20th*
Carole @ Carole Lyles Shaw
Anne @ Said With Love
Beth @ Plaid and Paisley
Jennifer @ RV Quilting
*Blog Hop Week 3 – July 11th*
Sharon @ Yellow Cat Quilt Designs
Amanda @ This Mom Quilts
Laurel @ Quilts By Laurel
Marla @ Penny Lane Quilts
*Blog Hop Week 4 – July 18th*
Jennifer @ Dizzy Quilter
Seven @ The Concerned Craft
Mary @ Made By Marney
Amanda @ Quiltologie
Be sure to visit Yvonne’s blog to enter to win some great prizes! 🙂
I love your first quilt. Sometimes I think simple squares are the best! Your photos are wonderful. I don’t think I have a favorite fabric designer, but I do love working with solids. I’m looking forward to seeing more of your work!
Thanks, Marla! I love solids too, especially Kona. 🙂
I so agree about pictures of quilts, I love seeing the details!
My favourite designers are mixed….. Tasha Noel, Bonnie and Camille, Kate Spain (I loved Jingle and Aria!!) are the designers I most look forward to seeing, but I just love fabrics, so there are lots that I buy! 🙂
Thanks for visiting, Anne! I think I just bought one of your patterns today. 🙂
Great post! Your quilts are so beautiful and bright! Your first quilt is really gorgeous and made me day dream for a minute about a picnic on it. 🙂
My favorite designers are changing as I move towards using organic fabric, but I do like the work of Carolyn Friedlander, Tula Pink (in small quantities), and Anna Marie Horner. For organic fabric I am falling in love with Maze & Vale and certain Cloud 9 and Birch Fabric lines.
Thanks so much for visiting and commenting! 🙂 I’ll have to check out those organic lines! 🙂
I can see why your first quilt is a favorite; what a beautiful grouping of colors and fabric. My favorite designers are Carolyn Friedlander, Alison Glass, and Lizzy House, but I am also very, very partial to solids and haven’t met a solid line I don’t love, haha! I’m so glad you submitted your quilt to a quilt show and I hope you continue to do so and find enjoyment in quilting for many years to come.
Oh I love Alison Glass too! I’m going to a retreat in September where she will be teaching a class. I can’t wait! 🙂
It’s been great reading how you got started Laurel. I can see why you love your first quilt, the colours are lovely and I think we always have an affinity to the first one. I so agree with finished is better than perfect, it’s been holding me back with the quilting bit, although I am starting to just go for it now. Well, to be honest I am not into designers at all, partly because I have two small local quilt shops and it’s take what is there or find something on the net, which isn’t always easy as colours can distort and I’m not one for buying all one line in a quilt.
Smiles
Kate
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Kate! 🙂 I generally buy a fat quarter pack or something like that of one line so I can be sure everything coordinates. I’m terrible at coordinating things on my own. 😀
Hi. I’m visiting as many blogs as possible today. Yours is great. I love all your bright pretty quilts. My favorite quilt designer currently is Jen Kingwell. This spring I finished The Gypsy Wife and am just getting started on Gene Pool. I am also a huge fan of Tula Pink and recently purchased her City Sampler book. Enjoy your day.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Velda! I just love The Gypsy Wife quilt. I’m going to make one eventually. 🙂
I totally agree with you that the best thing you can do is to post lots of photos on your blog. All your quilts are so lovely. My favorite designers are Bonnie & Camille, AnnaMarie Horner and anything by Cotton & Steel!
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Stephanie! 🙂 I’ve just discovered Cotton + Steel and I’ll be making a quilt with some of their fabrics soon. 🙂
Hi Laurel! Great post, and lovely photos. I love the back of your snapshots quilt. I’m kind of afraid to try something like that on the back because I’m sure it would be all crooked! I’m on the blog hop today too, over on Miss Bee-Hivin’. I really like your label tags – can I ask where you got them? Thanks again for the great post.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Ann! I was nervous about that backing, but I knew I was going to send it to a professional long-arm quilter, so that made me feel better about it. She did such a beautiful job with it! 🙂 I got my labels here: Ikaprint. 🙂
Hi Laurel,
So fun getting to know you and see your beautiful quilts! I don’t know how anybody can choose a favorite designer, there are SO MANY awesome ones! I do really enjoy all the designers you chose; however, and I am in TOTAL agreement about the more bright, cheery colors the better!
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Janice! Sometimes I like to just look at the pretty fabric in my little quilting closet. It’s always so happy looking in there! 🙂
Oh, I forgot to mention something to you. When you reply to your blog comments right on the blog, the person who left the comment will not see it unless they come back and specifically look there or they check the box that says “Notify me of follow-up comments by mail.” I don’t think too many check that. 🙂 Have you considered replying via e-mail?
Oh yes, I do reply via email! 🙂 Generally, I write my reply on the blog and then copy and paste it into an email. 🙂
Lovely quilts and great photos, so you practice what you preach. I like that. I buy fabric I love without paying much attention to designer labels. That being said, I’d say ditto on Alison Glass, Kate Spain and Bonnie and Camille. I’d add Kaffe Fassett, Cotton and Steel, and Tula Pink and anything with text.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Jennifer! I’ve just recently discovered Cotton + Steel and they’re quickly becoming one of my favorites! 🙂
This is a lovely post and I just love how colorful the pictures are. I really need to do better with my quilt photos… I enjoy drooling over other people’s photo so would be nice to do the same for people that visit my blog. It’s nice to get go know more about you I was also on the blog hop today and finally getting around to reading everyone’s post. Well done!
Thanks so much for visiting and commenting! I love looking at other people’s quilt photos too. 🙂
Laurel, Great post, I just love you wonderful photos! They are so bright and the colors on spot. You labels are great, I too went with Ikaprint for mine and love them.
I love the look of Allison Glass… her fabrics are so colorful yet rich. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Heide ( Miss Bee hiving group)
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Heide! Alison Glass is one of my favorites too! 🙂
Fabulous quilts! Visiting from the hop
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Carole! 🙂
It was fun to read about you and see your great photos of your quilts. I love Allison Glass and Katarina Rocacella, as well as Sarah Watts and Rashida Coleman.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Lisa! Alison Glass is one of my favorites too! 🙂
Great post, Laurel! Your quilts are so beautiful and I love your color choices – especially in your Horizon quilt! I also love the Snapshots pattern so much. The sewing machine is just the cutest. 😍
Since I don’t use designer fabrics, I don’t have a favorite. But as I’m sure you know, I’m a sucker for anything with a vintage looking floral! 😊
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Amanda! That sewing machine block is my favorite too! 🙂
Hi, Laurel–great to meet you! Your quilts are beautiful–I love your fabric choices and all that precise piecing. Your animal quilts are adorable and the Ugly Christmas Sweater Quilt is actually quite lovely–I’ll bet you could find a lot of quilters who would be willing to wear one of those sweaters 🙂
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Karen! The Ugly Christmas Sweaters quilt was so fun to make. I wish I could wear those sweaters! 🙂
Your enthusiasm for quilting shone through this post, Laurel, it was great! I can’t walk past a beautiful large scale floral without thinking I’m going to regret not buying it, so my favourite designers are probably Jane Sassaman and Heather Bailey.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Sue! Heather Bailey is another of my favorites too! 🙂
Laurel, what a great post and glad to get to know you more! What a great family photo! I love how you laid out your Kate Spain quilt so that it looks like plaid, a lovely first quilt! I agree, I think lots of photos are a plus! As far as designers…Alison Glass, Carolyn Friedlander and all of the Cotton and Steel designers are some of my favorites.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Paige! I love Alison Glass too and I’ve just discovered Cotton + Steel and will be using some of their fabrics in an upcoming quilt. 🙂
Beautiful quilts and great post! I enjoyed learning more about you.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Cheryl! I can’t wait to get started on your mystery quilt! 🙂
Hi Laurel! Love the quilts you shared today, very well done! My favorite fabric designers are Lizzy House, Anna Maria Horner and Alison Glass. I could add many more! I’m a sucker for pretty colors.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Jodie! I love Alison Glass too! 🙂
Hi, Laurel – I really enjoyed your post! Your Snapshots quilt is fantastic. I love the way the sashing and border colors are prominent in the blocks.
I am loving Tula Pink fabrics right now, but I think my all time favorite is whoever is doing batiks for Hoffman. I can’t even let myself go into quilt shops without accepting that batiks will be coming home with me.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Jennifer! My mom loves batiks and she’s slowly but surely gotten me into them too! 🙂
Lovely Laurel! Your quilts are so very wonderful. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know through this process. Happy quilting!
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Amanda! I’ve had such fun with this process and it’s been great getting to know you too! 🙂
Sweet blog, Laurel! I was an art teacher for 35 years and have met many home schooling Moms. You have a HUGE job and, I’m sure, a huge heart to match.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Mary! Homeschooling is a big job, but we’re really enjoying it so far. 🙂
Hi, Laurel! Love the pic of you and your family! Your first quilt looks fantastic and your Snapshots is wonderful too. I don’t have one fabric designer that I am particularly enamored by…I like many but usually choose a fabric because it looks nice and will work with my project or just have to have it.
Thanks, Karen! I love your Laura Ingalls Wilder quilt! 🙂
I love that you show the back of your quilts. They are so pretty, too! It was fun to get to know you a bit better. 🙂
Thanks so much for visiting and commenting, Jen! 🙂