Despite the best intentions, I’ve had a pretty slow start at “getting back into the swing of things” after returning from the Slow Stitching Retreat. I have done zero non-deadline related sewing, my house is not nearly as tidy as I’d like, and there are days where we all just run amok outside all day long. But you know what? I’ve decided that’s all okay. These are the final days of summer, with my daughter beginning 1st grade next week and my son beginning preschool two weeks after that, so I’ve officially decided that it is a-okay for the plans and schedules to go out the window. There will be plenty of time for schedules, cleaning, sewing, blogging, and organization in September.
Here’s what I’ve been up to this past week and a half, a peek at our family fun through phone photos, with not even a lick of sewing involved. It happens! Note: Not shown are the moments of crying and bickering kids, sweaty complaints, frustration, exhaustion, and boredom that are very much a part of life. Just keeping it real–I’m human, too! All my days aren’t sunshine and roses, but I like to share the high points here. Enjoy!
We spent a sunny late morning picking blueberries at our local organic farm, North Branch Farm.16.6 lbs to be exact!!Quilty blogger friend Karin from Leigh Laurel Studios took her family on an impromptu weekend getaway to Belfast, Maine, so we got our families together for beach, drinks, and dinner. So fun!I’ve been enjoying the late summer blooms in our garden……as well as the clever creatures who hide within them!I hiked to the top of a mountain with a friend and our cumulative 5 kids. It was quite a fun adventure!My son insisted on bringing his friend “Robot Dinosaur” on the hike (yes, it’s a toy digger, but the digger part looks like a dinosaur neck and head, right? Right. Trust me, don’t call it a digger.).The weather was perfect and the view was fantastic! This photo was taken about 2 minutes into the 2 and a half hour hike. We were celebrating being on the trail!Most of the hike was along gorgeous, shady forest trails.With a gorgeous look out on the top, at over 900 feet elevation. The kids did great, the moms-lugging-babies did great, and Robot Dinosaur rested in the woods near the bottom of the trail until our descent.
I hope that you are enjoying the final days of summer (or whatever season it may be in your corner of the world), and I look forward to sharing sewing and inspiration with you again soon! Just last night I pulled fabric for three (3) new Farmer’s Wife blocks, and I have plans to finally finish a much overdo and beloved project, as well as join in (in a very relaxed, no pressure way) on the #100blocks100days challenge hosted by Angie at Gnome Angel, thanks to Kim at My Go Go Life‘s prompting! There is much sewing inspiration on the horizon!
I’m thinking I should rename my blog “Babies on Quilts” these days. Babies abound in these parts (seriously, don’t drink the water if you don’t want to join in the new baby snuggles), so many quilts are being created for these new little members of our world. I’ve written about how wonderful it feels to give a quilt to a brand new baby, with wishes that the quilt will accompany the child on his/her grand journey through life. Today I get to write about the immense joy of receiving such a quilt from some dear friends.
I received the sweetest package from my dear quilty friends Stephanie and Michelle (from Late Night Quilter–we are sewing soul sisters half a country apart). They made a gorgeous Delectable Mountain quilt for Finn and included some sweet additions for mommy–a teething necklace and magnetic hexie puff, both in my favorite color!–as well an adorable applique bird onesie for Finn. Finnian loves the quilt already, and clearly the sleepy magic is in it. The first three times I put him on the quilt, he settled right down to sleep!
Some big baby laughs before settling down to sleep.Babies on quilts–I just can’t get enough!
This quilt is the perfect size to take with us everywhere. It fits right in my bag, and will be making memories with us daily, even if that means mostly diaper changes and spit up-filled tummy time in the beginning. Thank you so very much, Stephanie & Michelle. Your love is clearly in this quilt, and it makes me so happy to see it be a part of our daily lives.
This gift is just one example of the wonderful community of quilters of which I’m blessed to be a part. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of my quilting blogging community, and I not only enjoy conversing with many of you via blog comments and resulting email conversations, but I find myself calling many of you friends. I want to extend a special thanks to Nancy–your care package with such well thought gifts for the entire family is cherished and still appreciate daily in our home. Just yesterday, Maddie made a very special spirograph flower for me to hang on our bedroom door. ❤
Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl, another dear friend in our blogging community, wrote a wonderful reflective post about community and what it takes to cultivate relationships with people you know purely through blogging. It’s all about authentic connection. I love that her final tip on how to cultivate community is to be you. That’s part of what I love about blogging–I’m free to be me, and share the parts of life and my creative process that inspire me. Amazingly, by doing that, I in turn inspire you, or at least inspire the spark of conversation that begins a relationship. It was just such a spark that began my conversation with Stephanie and Michelle over a year ago, and since then we’ve not only become friends, but we’ve also roomed together at Quilt Con, worked together on many projects, and provided daily support and encouragement to each other from a far.
Thank you, Stephanie and Michelle. Thank you, Nancy. Thank you, Yvonne. And many, many thanks to all of you readers, many of whom I’m now blessed to call friends.
Inspiration is everywhere. It is clearly decided that we creative folks pull our inspiration from just about anywhere.
There were 478 comments on my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day post, and I truly wanted to respond to them all. I asked you to share what inspires you to create, and the answers were inspiring in and of themselves! Thank you so much for sharing your inspiration. Many of the inspiration sources resonated deeply with me, since I, too, seem to find inspiration just about anywhere. I’ve decided to share some of the top sources of inspiration, as shared by you, my readers.
But first, a winner! Mr. Random chose comment 362 as the winner of the fabric bundle and two patterns of choice from Quilting Jetgirl. Congratulations Amanda! Please check your email and get back to me with your mailing address and patterns of choice!
Here are some of the top sources of inspiration pulled from your comments:
Blogs, Instagram, Pinterest, and other online inspiration
Many of you find inspiration in the beautiful things that others have made. Our extensive online community of creative souls makes it possible for us to draw inspiration from such a wide world of creativity!
Color and Texture
Color and texture is literally EVERYwhere, and you creative folks can see it! Many of you said that color, either in nature or in general, and texture were top sources of inspiration for you.
A palette created for my Color Inspiration {22} post. Color in nature!
Patterns in Life
Whether a gorgeous miracle found in nature, or a man made structure, patterns in life inspire many of you to create. Some of the top sources are:
Nature
Geometry
Tiles
Architecture
Art
People
People in our lives inspire much creativity. Some create for charity, so the knowledge that someone in need will be gifted a quilt filled with love drives the sewist’s inspiration. Some create for their family and friends. Children, especially, seem to be a big source of inspiration. Sometimes, it’s the people in our lives who have passed, or the one who taught us how to quilt who inspires us most.
Learning New Techniques
Some of you are inspired by the desire to learn new techniques, or experiment with different mediums.
Peace & Quiet
The ability to escape to a place of silence and peace is inspiration for some. I can certainly relate to this as a mom of two-soon-to-be-three rambunctious and spirited children. Life is busy, loud, and often chaotic. Moments of silence and peace are inspiring indeed!
The amazing quilters of the past, and the creativity of the ones who first began to sew scraps of fabric together to create quilts are inspiration.
Materials
The materials themselves are a source of inspiration for many. “A lovely hand-dyed yarn or fetching pattern on fabric are my starting points and then I go from there to find a pattern to use them with.” shared Laura aka aprilshowers.
The NEED to Create
This is my favorite, and also a strong source of inspiration for you creative folks. Many of you mentioned that the root of your inspiration is simply a need to create. Afton from Quilting Mod nailed it with her comment:
I’ve discussed this feeling before, and agree that for me, while inspiration truly comes from everywhere–family, friends, nature, texture, color, blog and IG posts, people who need or request quilts, architecture, pattern, fabulous fabrics and threads–my sewing is driven by an innate desire to create.
Thank you for sharing your sources of inspiration, and most of all, thank you for creating. Each of you makes the world a bit more beautiful with every stitch!
There’s a hashtag going around social media that reads #quiltconhangover. Even though I’m with child and didn’t have a single alcoholic drink during my trip (that’s more than I can say for some others, though!) I definitely am feeling the effects of my post-QuiltCon return to reality. After a full 19 hour travel day Monday, I’m exhausted. My head is spinning, too, although not in a dizzy way. The ideas and inspirations from those four whirlwind days have left me on a sleep-deprived “high”, ideas spinning around my brain, leaking out in the form of little sketches of pattern ideas and names. One such pattern idea, as an example, will be entitled “Mind Blown: The Aftermath of QuiltCon”
A couple people have already asked me to tell them about my favorite part of QuiltCon. To be honest, I don’t think it is possible to express in words the vast amazingness of the experience. This was not only my first QuiltCon, but it was also my first quilt show or event of any kind, AND my first time meeting any of my quilty bloggy friends and fiber world heroes. The only word I could use to describe the week was “whirlwind”, but in an absolutely good way. Everywhere I turned, there was another familiar name (usually the blog or internet tag name–I’m so grateful for the huge nametags!), a gorgeous quilt, an admired designer, or a fabulous booth to take in. I was fortunate to attend two uber informative and appropriately comfort-stretching all-day classes, as well as three great lectures. I honestly could talk for days about everything I saw, everything I did, and everyone I met.
For now, though, I will answer the question: what was your favorite part of QuiltCon?You. Over the past year (can you believe I’ve only been blogging for one year!?) I have formed some fabulous friendships with quilty bloggers across the country and world. Even without having met a single one of you in person, I can say that I feel like I am a part of your lives, and you a part of mine. We have swapped ideas, we’ve offered each other encouragement and advice, we’ve shared fears and unexpected pains, all via the reading, commenting, and replying to blogs, Instagram posts, and other online communications. Sure, technology poses new challenges to the balance of life, but boy does it also enrich our lives and create unprecedented opportunities. I’ve said it before–you are my quilt guild. QuiltCon was my first time meeting ANY of you quilting, blogging friends. The experience of walking around, seeing a face I *think* might be familiar, looking down at the name tag to confirm my suspicions, officially introducing myself (“Hi, I’m Kitty Wilkin… aka, Night Quilter”) and then hugging like old friends, was simply amazing. Mind blowing. Whirlwind. Time and time again, meeting up with cherished “old friends” and meeting face to face for the first time ever, hearing voices, taking in mannerisms that are impossible to convey in blogland, firming and reaffirming these friendships–that was my favorite part of QuiltCon. I won’t try to name all the names of the amazing blogger friends I met, so if you’re wondering if I mean you, the answer is YES! You!
Three quilty bloggers in particular stand out, though, so I’ll do a *little* naming of names. First of all, I was finally able to meet (and stay with!) my sewing soul sister, Stephanie from Late Night Quilter.
Over the past year, Stephanie and I have met, discovered we are totally sewing soul sisters just living across the country from each other (she lives in Austin, TX and I’m in Monroe, ME), decided to start a Late Night Quilters Club facebook group together, watched that group grow to over 2,200 strong in less than 7 months with the help of Michelle & Mandy–and still stay overwhelmingly nice and supportive–, chatted pretty much daily via texts and messages online, and jumped into various other joint ventures, constantly supporting, encouraging, and helping the other. Needless to say, we have become friends. Great friends. And yet, before QuiltCon, we had never met in person. Stephanie is as wonderful in person as she is online, and it was SUCH a treat to meet her, meet her sweet husband and four energetic kids, stay with her, and have her as a steady, friendly, calm, peaceful presence amidst the whirlwind of the week.
Late night sewing session with Stephanie, Late Night Quilter.
The second “meeting” that stood out as epically awesome wasn’t even technically an in-person meeting! Before heading to Austin, I emailed another close bloggy friend, Angie from Gnome Angel, asking if she was headed to Austin. Sadly, living in Australia and having a little one, she wasn’t attending, but said that some of her Aussie quilting friends would be there and told me to hunt them down. When I found Gemma from Pretty Bobbins, and then finally put it all together that she was one of the Aussie quilters Angie had encouraged me to find (I’m slow), I was SO excited! Trying to resist the urge to jump up and down (okay, maybe I did a little bit) I swapped pins AND hugs with Angie all the way in Australia (thank you, Gemma!!), and was able to tell her and share the excitement immediately via Instagram. The world is an amazing place!
Finally, meeting Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirlwas another highlight. I first met Yvonne through Beth at Plum and June‘s New Bloggers Blog Hop earlier in the year. I was trying to think of why I feel particularly close to Yvonne since we primarily converse through blog reading and comments, but then I realized that Yvonne not only reads blogs, she is also consistently the first commentator on a post, with a thoroughly thought out and sincere comment. These frequent comments have opened the door to conversations that have built deeper understanding and closeness over the past few months. Yvonne also has been writing more open and reflective posts about the deeper aspects of quilting, self, and community, which really help me to see inside her thought process and quilty soul (in an open and awesome way). I would definitely recommend her recent posts The Four Agreements and Community {Discussion}. Meeting Yvonne in person was such a treat, and I’m so grateful for the time (as sporadic as it may have been) we had to hang out in person. As I told her yesterday via blog comment-conversation, I keep catching myself thinking how I could see us being great friends if we lived nearer to each other. I catch myself because–duh!–we can be great friends even though we live across the country from each other. Just one more amazing aspect of this blogging community and the simple communication allowed through modern technology. Somehow, the only photo I have with Yvonne is the one above, with the other new quilt bloggers, so here she is modeling her Jetgirl flight suit pre-QuiltCon!
Yvonne modeling her QuiltCon Alter Ego flight suit–can you believe we did not get a single photo together in our Alter Ego attire!?
By highlighting these three wonderful women, I in no way wish to downplay the intense joy and excitement I had in meeting all of you quilty bloggers at QuiltCon. I am overwhelmed with emotion at the sheer number of fabulously talented and sweet people I was fortunate to meet and get to know during my week in Austin. Just look at all of these pins and cards! It’s only the tip of the awesome iceberg.
I also want to share my experiences from the classes and lectures I attended, and share some of my favorites from the amazing collection of quilts displayed at the show. Like I said, I could talk for days about QuiltCon! I plan to share more in the coming weeks, mixing my QuiltCon reflections in with my slow reacclimation to “real” life, as the changed quilter and designer I am. Thank YOU for reading.
I grab a needle and thread once the kids are in bed
Night Quilter 