hi my name is julie

this is me.

my first blog post has the story of how i got into quilting.

i've been doing this for over 7 years now...

but it took me a while to start up my blog

{i'm not much of a writer}

so for a few years i read other people's blogs.

then i took the jump.

& it's been a blast ever since!!

my style is all over the map.

here are a few of my more recent quilts...

braid quilt w/ nest by tula pink.

concrete garden & square city - both with hunky dory by chez moi

play school quilt w/ make life by sweetwater

the candy box w/ hushabye by tula pink

wonky log cabin

hexagons w/ neptune by tula pink

those who know me

know i'm in love with pretty much anything tula pink makes.

so it should come as no surprise...

that this is the fabric i picked for my month.

i'm not sure what blocks i want yet

so i bought lots.

9 pc of neptune

dark navy linen.

white kona cotton.

lt. blue kona crush.

& white kona crush.

i'm sure whatever blocks i pick...

that you guys are gonna help me make a beautiful quilt!

Hi, I'm Michelle

and this is my story. I have been quilting on and off for 17 years. I first became interested in quilting when I was 16. I babysat for a woman who was taking a beginner's quilting class and I can remember her making snowball blocks. I was already crocheting, knitting and cross-stitching but I did not start quilting then. Five years later, I visited my cousin in Southern Ontario who lives near a Mennoite community well known for their quilting. I was in awe and decided to take a course. My very first course was hand applique and I made hearts. I enjoyed it but had made the decision to go back to school, so quilting was put on the back burner. After I graduated and got a full -time job I decided to try quilting again. I took a beginner's course at a high school. I did not have a sewing machine at the time so everything was hand stitched. I really enjoyed the class but realized that hand stitching was not for me. I ended up going back to school again, while staying at my job in a part-time position. Finally, in 1999 I got a sewing machine for my birthday. I quilted for a few years making baby quilts for my nieces and nephews and wall hangings.

With the birth of my son in 2003 and my daughter a 1 1/2 later I had to make a decision about whether I was going to continue quilting. I took a refresher course in 2005 at a local quilt store and decided that my family and quilting were both my passions and I could not give either up. Since that time I have moved back to my hometown, where I have more hours to quilt. I do work full-time so I fit in bits and pieces of sewing here and there. I have a quilting room which makes things much easier. I really enjoy making quilts for others, using what I know about them to try to figure out what they would like in a quilt. I have been blogging since last March and a whole new world has been opened up to me. We do not have the same selection of fabric here in Canada, and I feel that blogging has provided me with an oasis. I do not yet know where I am going with my quilting but I do know it has been because of the support of incredible women like you, that I will go even farther than I imagined.

Hi, I'm Amy.

Hello new friends! I have totally enjoyed all the introductions so far, so I thought I'd add mine.
I live in American Fork, Utah with my husband, two daughters (11 & 8) and two boys (5 & 3). I started playing with quilting when my mom taught me as a teenager, but was always totally embarrassed if anyone ever found out. It wasn't until after had had my first baby 11 years ago (today!) and became a SAHM that I really started quilting in earnest. And it soon became my sanity saver and creative outlet. As much as I love being a mom and being with my kids (because they are hilarious -most of the time) it's helpful to have one thing that stays done and is totally within my control.
I've always loved old, scrappy, traditional quilts (think pioneer, Civil War and Depression-era) but in the past two years I have become totally enamored with modern quilts as well. I'm itching to make more along those lines.
I have also loved getting into the quilt-blogging world. Even as a 'grown-up' I was always a little sheepish to tell people that I am a quilter because it sounded like such an 'old-lady' thing to do. Finding other young women who understand the creative joy that comes from collecting fabric, cutting it into small pieces, and sewing it back together has been awesome.

Many thanks again to Julie and Audrie for putting this group together!

Hi my name is Stephanie

I was born and raised in Bethlehem, PA. My husband and I were friends in high school, but didn't start dating until after high school. We got married and eventually had a baby boy, Jackson who will be 2 this March. Before becoming a stay at home mom, I was a florist. Creating all day was my job, so when I got pregnant and decided I would stay home with my baby, I was very worried that I wouldn't get to be creative. Well that was wrong! 2 months after my son was born (May 2008) I bought a sewing machine and have been sewing ever since! One of the first things I made was a quilt, just a small one for my son. Although, it wasn't until this past summer, when I was drooling over the beautiful quilts I had seen on a few blogs, that I had really gotten into quilting.

My main inspiration comes from fellow bloggers, and fabric alone.

I am so excited to be in the group and look forward to all the new things I might learn from all of you talented women.

Hi, I'm Vicki

Hi everyone! I wanted to tell you a little about myself and show you my idea for when it's my turn later on in the year.

I live with my family in the suburbs of Kansas City. We've been here for 6.5 years; my husband and I both grew up in Utah though and that's where most of our extended family lives. My two boys are 9.5 and 5.5 years old and I have a little girl who's 14 months old. I've been sewing since I was about 6, made my first quilt with my grandma when I was 13, and started quilting "for real" the year I got married, 1997. I've made baby quilts for all my neices and nephews who were born into the family as well as my own kids--oh wait there is one new baby boy that I haven't made a quilt for yet, but I am going to do that really soon! I've made several other quilts too and currently have 3 UFOs that I really want to finish before I start on a Jane Stickle quilt later on this year.

So I was browsing photos in the DQS8 flickr pool the other day and saw something that gave me an idea:

At first I was thinking one-inch squares but decided that would be way too crazy. This block has 36, 1 1/2" squares and has a 1 1/2 white border, and ends up at 12.5" square. It will be a lot of small square cutting, but I'm hoping to have each of you make a block like this for me when we get to September. I'm thinking about making sashing strips out of more 1.5" squares, and then a sort-of wide white border around all the quilt blocks with one more border of the 1.5" squares. Does that make sense? Would you hate me if I asked you to make me a block like this?

Hi, My Name is Rebekah

I'm Rebekah and I blog at dontcallmebecky. I started quilting after I purchased my sewing machine back in 2006. I've become a fabric collector since then and I love making quilts that are either modern or quilts that show off a particular fabric collection. I can get a little impatient with the whole sewing process, so I usually like to stick with patterns and quilts that aren't too fussy or complicated.



You can see the rest of my quilts in the quilting section on my blog. The two books that have inspired most of my quilting have been The Modern Quilt Workshop and Denyse Schmidt Quilts. If you don't already own these books, you should definitely check them out!



My favorite quilts are usually the one that I just finished or the one that I've been using around my house most frequently. But lately it seems that the above quilt has been getting lots of attention. I'm going to spend 2010 focusing on using my fabric collection rather than staring at it, so I wanted to start the year off by using up some of my scraps for the bee blocks instead of buying new stuff to play with. Wish me luck in keeping my goal!



I'm so glad that Audrie and Julie invited me to join this group and I'm looking forward to working with all of these creative women in the next year!

Hi, My Name Is Audrie

I thought I'd do a little introduction post about myself... I know I have a little tiny 'About Me' section on my blog, but that hardly cuts it, no? Hopefully you'll all join in and talk a little bit about yourself, about your quilting, and whatever else you feel like sharing :)

So I was born in Singapore, moved to Australia when I was 17 to study, and kind of forgot to leave. I did move back to Singapore for about 4 years to work and be with my family, then back to Australia. And after I moved back to Australia in 2005, I got this crazy idea to go visit a friend in the States, which is when I met my husband. I moved to CT in 2007, we got married, bought a house and adopted two cats.

I took up quilting by sheer accident. Last May for some reason I thought to make my MIL a quilted table runner. I did my research, went to the fabric store and got what I needed, made a table runner. Which led to baby quilts. Which led to 56 finished projects (40 of which were baby and large quilts) in 8 months. Yeah, I know. All I can say is, I'm glad I found something that I really love to do.

As for sources of inspiration, I'd say they are mainly Denyse Schmidt's and Suzuko Koseki's work. I love modern quilting, and I love discovering new colour combinations. And let's not forget all the amazing quilting blogs out there.

I don't know any quilters outside of the virtual realm (although I have a friend who's toying with the idea) so I'm glad to have my blog and this bee to share my quilting with. I may be new to it but I honestly can't remember life without quilting now. I know many of you can attest to that :)

Anyway I urge you to talk a little about yourselves here... I hope if we get to know each other better, we'll work together better too! I'm so excited that our bee has started, and I can't wait to see all the quilts we'll make together!!

- Audrie

P/S: Rebekah, I received your fabric today and I'm SO excited to begin your block!