Around the World Blog Hop

Moira tagged me to participate in the Around the World Blog Hop.

Does anyone know who started this?  Or why there isn't a nice long list somewhere of everyone who has blogged an Around the World Blog Hop post?

Like Kate, I found the hardest part of saying yes was to find quilters to tag who haven't already been tagged ... so I suggest, especially since there's no master list anywhere, if you'd like to play along and answer the questions, just do it. 

Here are the questions and my answers: 

What are you currently working on?

As usual, I am working on next month's block pattern for the Block Lotto.  I can't share it with you, yet, but the sneak peek will go out later oday to those who have made September lotto blocks. 

I'm also very behind on finishing this quilt ... my September goal for a lovely finish and one I plan to enter in the local guild show early next month. 

How does my work differ from others?

I'm not at all sure it does except in the way that each of us creates quilts that represent our unique way of seeing color, fabric, shape and design.

I almost never use a quilt pattern, I often come up with my own patterns for the individual elements (blocks, borders), and I think as much about value as color when choosing fabrics and placing elements in the quilt. I often include traditional blocks. I prefer asymmetry over symmetry and I like mixing blocks, styles and techniques within a single quilt design. 

I think my quilt Cock-a-Doodle Tea Towel is a good example of my approach to quilt design. 

Why do I write/create what I do?

I am fascinated by understanding how thing are made and creating has been part of my life as long as I can remember. It is my therapy, my unstructured outlet to a structured job, the 'high touch' that balances what has been a mostly 'high tech' career. 

Quilting is a path to creating something that is both beautiful and functional. 

Creating the Block Lotto is a way to share the joy of quilting and help others try new things. 

What is my creative process?

This question is almost like trying to describe, how do you think? 

My quilts start with something and once that fixed something is decided, build upon it by pushing the boundaries of what is not fixed.   

That something might be a tea towel, like the one in the challenge quilt above that defined the theme and the color palette for the quilt, or the one below which a friend from the Block Lotto recently sent because she knew I'd love it. 

That something could come in the form of a challenge, like the word challenge on the 15 Minutes blog that specified choosing a word and using made fabric.

That something might be an idea for blocks, like this year's lotto blocks (and the Mod-Mod sampler quilt I designed from them) where I designed blocks and created patterns that I thought would lend themselves to Modern Quilting design. Here's my quilt-in-progress at the half-way point

I know it sounds kind of simplistic, but that's me ... I start with one fixed something, push the bounds of what's not fixed, and see where it takes me.

Tag–they're IT

I've tagged these three quilters.  Look for Bridget's and Cathy's posts next week.

Bridget at Nickel and Dime Ranch - Bridget is a New Mexico quilter that found me and invited me to go meet the Chicken River Modern Quilt Guild--a great group in Las Vegas (New Mexico). 

Renee at Quilts of a Feather - Renee is a New Mexico quilter that I found in the blogiverse.  I love her quilting! She's already posted her Around the World questionnaire (in response to being asked multiple times and finally saying yes.)

Cathy at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting - Cathy is one of the wonderful quilters I have come to know from the Block Lotto. I love the way she works with saturated colors.  Here's a peek at Wild Thing, her Mod-mod quilt in progress.  I think our two quilts may represent the two ends of the spectrum in terms of color and feeling.