Around the World Blog Hop.

Written by Laura Chaney, daughter

I’ve seen the Around the World Blog Hop posts on almost all of the quilting, sewing and crafting blogs that I read regularly, so I was super excited to be nominated by Shelley at The Carpenter’s Daughter Who Quilts!

1. What am I working on?

Um, well it feels like all I’m working on lately is moving! I’m in the middle of moving across San Francisco, so currently my quilting and sewing materials are spread out between my two homes. I’ve made sure to have my handwork with me at all times though, so working on a new idea for an English Paper Piecing hexagon project has been my most recent project. As soon as I get my studio set back up I’m starting up again on a secret quilt for a friend that I hope to get finished up within the next six months!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Using non-paper pieces for the support/stabilizer materials on my English Paper Piecing definitely makes it different from traditional EPP. It started with the containers in the book Mom and I published with the American Quilter’s Society (Contain It! English Paper-Pieced Style Containers) where we started using Timtex and Peltex in place of the traditional paper.

In the project above, I’ve used die-cut hexagons made of Bukram instead of paper. When I’m done with the whip stitching on the project I’ll take the basting stitches out, but won’t remove the Bukram. I’ll add some decorative quilting to help keep everything together. I’m not sure how it will turn out, but I really do enjoy trying new things within such a traditional genre of English Paper Piecing. 

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

Oh my. Deep question time. I quilt and sew because I like the creative process, like “collecting” pretty fabrics and making pretty things with them. However, over the last six years or so I’ve really started to thrive on the community of the quilting world, especially as Mom and I have worked more and more together on our book, this blog and other sewing projects. My favorite week each year is going to the AQS Paducah show. I always come back super energized and excited to engage in new projects and try new techniques. Now that Mom and I are AQS authors it’s even more exciting because we’re able to engage with the quilting community in a different way than before.

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

For quilts, I definitely tend to make them for a person, or for a specific challenge that Mom and I have for each other. I’m not so great at just wandering into my studio and picking out a pattern and fabric and having at it.

EXCEPT for English Paper Piecing. I have hundreds of basted hexagons, organized by color family with no specific project in mind. I love making the traditional Grandmother’s Flower Garden with EPP, and have a whole collection of them made up with no immediate plans for using them.

I think this is one of my favorite things about the EPP handwork. I know that there are a million and one things I can do (eventually) with my GFG blocks, but until then I’m just going to enjoy the pleasure of making them.

I’m supposed to nominate three other bloggers to carry on this blog hop, but I’m having trouble finding bloggers who haven’t already participated or who aren’t so swamped with other projects that they have the time to participate. To buy myself another week I’m going to nominate Mom to post next week!! Since we share this blog for our joint work I think it’ll be fun to have her answer these questions, too.

If you’re a crafty/sewing/quilting blogger who would like to be nominated please email us at PrairieSewnStudios@gmail.com!