Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop

Welcome! Today Sewing Over Pins is a stop on Plum and June's Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop. Here's a little Q&A about me and how I like to sew!
Plum and June
How long have you been quilting?
I learned to craft with a needle & thread as a kid. I've dabbled in some crochet, needlepoint, cross stitch, and embroidery over the years. My mom has a lifetime of garment sewing experience and my great-grandmother was a prolific quilter. I (mostly) hand pieced and quilted a queen-sized double wedding ring quilt eleven years ago as a freshman in college. I took a break for ten years ;-) and started quilting again in the summer of 2011 when the online blogging community inspired me to dive back in!

Favorite quilting tip:
Stop when you get too tired.

Favorite blogging tip:
Turn off your word verification for the love of Pete! Here's how.

Favorite fabric:
I'm still in love with Kate Spain's Terrain line. Tired of hearing me talk about this fabric crush? I also love her new Cuzco line ;-)

Favorite quilting tool:
I love that by dropping my heel on the pedal, the Bernina 1630 will lift or drop the needle!

Favorite entertainment while sewing:
Whatever's in my Netflix queue! Recently it was Brothers & Sisters. Right now it's Breaking Bad. Up next is Foyle's War and Friday Night Lights. I generally save hand stitching for road trips when Mr. Pins and I listen to episodes of This American Life.

Binding - by Hand or Machine?
A quilt has to be pretty special (and small) to get a hand stitched binding. I haven't done one of those since February. I've got my machine-sewn attachment process down pat, though, so I'm very pleased with the finished product!

Favorite finished project:
My Marine Den quilt has to be my favorite finish thus far. This design floated around my head for months, and I was so happy to develop the skills to actually put it together. I'd love to make an improved version and write a pattern for it soon!


It took two weeks for me to finish piecing, quilting, and binding this baby quilt back in April. I'd love to do the next version in blues!

Here are the other quilts that have kept my hands busy over the last year.

I've also pieced blocks for Austin Modern Quilt Guild donation quilts and hand stitched some Rose Star blocks thanks to selfsewn's great English paper piecing tutorial.
There's plenty of quilty goodness to talk about on the blog, so you won't hear too much about my husband (Mr. Pins), my mishaps in the garden, our two parrots, or my efforts to exercise more often than I eat queso. I love being a part of the online quilting community. Seeing other sewists' creations has definitely inspired me to push my limits, pick up new skills, and take on ambitious projects I would have otherwise been too scared to attempt.

There's lots more fun to be had on the blog hop! Poke around and make some new friends :-)

Last Thursday:
Rebecca from Sew Festive Handmade
Marti from 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks

Today:
Kati from Kati's Quilting
Caroline from Quilting in the Cold

This Thursday:
Jamie from Sweet Baby Jamie
Janine from Rainbow Hare Quilts

43 comments:

  1. so nice to get to know you a little better! And THANK YOU for telling people to turn off word verification - drives me crazy!!

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  2. Thank you! loved reading about you! Janelle

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  3. You have made some beautiful quilts and your Rose Star blocks are lovely, looking forward to seeing what you do with them!

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  4. Just hopping by on the Blog Hop. Love your mosaic! You have some lovely things there. I am a recent convert to paper piecing but I haven't done anything half as fancy as your collection of goodies. Wonderful!

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  5. Very nice to meet you, you paper piecing is just gorgeous!!

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  6. I had NO idea that the word verification was an auto feature. All this time, I thought I had mine turned off, and I DIDN'T. Sadness! That's fixed now. Thanks for the link.

    Also, I love your work! Your quilts are absolutely gorgeous! :)

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  7. Hi Claire, nice to meet you. Your projects are beautiful. Your paper piecing has inspired me.

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  8. Love your fabric choices. I still love Terrain :)

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  9. I love your work. Awesome color choices.

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  10. Heh, I'm just watching an old episode of Foyle's War right now

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  11. Hey, nice to meet you! And I love your logo and your quilts :)
    I second your advice to stop when you get too tired - I tend to be starving and exhausted before I ever realize it's time to quit!

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  12. It's so great to get to know you a bit better! Thanks for participating in the blog hop! You definitely have some beautiful projects!

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  13. So many beautiful things on this page - all your quilts and blocks are lovely! I haven't heard of Foyle's War but I loved Brothers and Sisters and FNL (I was so sad when both ended!) so I'll have to check it out. Great getting to know you better!

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  14. Stop when you get too tired, lol, I love it! :P It's very true. I make all my mistakes after 9pm. :) It's really nice to meet you!

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  15. You have great style and select wonderful colors!

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  16. Beautiful projects! Love your color/fabric style. And yes stopping when you are tired is great advice.
    Nice to meet you1

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  17. I love your choice of colors. Thanks for sharing!

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  18. NIce to meet you Claire. Your paper pieced blocks are inspiring me to whip up a few one of these days. Noticed you have a quilt called Cascade. I just published a pattern called Cascade. Completely different though. Check it out on my blog.

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  19. Love the quilts and blocks you show. You should do the pattern for the MD quilt.

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  20. I love your quilts :) Austin is one of my favorite cities :)
    Thanks for linking up :) ...yes, I smile a lot ;)

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  21. Hello, I came here via the blog hop and just wanted to say hi! I love the look of your blog, I'll be coming back again - nice to meet you :)

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  22. I love your mosaic - you've made some beautiful quilts :) I hope everyone is listening to you 'turn off your word verification' advice!

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  23. Wow, you've done so much and everything looks fab together in your mosaic :) I too am guilty of working too late, that's such a good tip!

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  24. You use lovely fabircs :) Nice to 'meet' you here on the blog hop!

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  25. Stopping by from "Let's Get Acquainted." Love the colors and all your projects. How long did it take you to get the hang of your machine binding attachment? I'm contemplating buying one for my Bernina.

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  26. It was fun getting acquainted with you! I love your quilts! Especially the Marine Den. I love your fabric color choices too!

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  27. So great to meet you, Claire! Your Marine Den quilt is stunning -- I love your color mix for that one. I'm a huge Foyle's War fan; if you haven't seen them, you're in for a treat!

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  28. Your paper piecing is lovely!

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  29. Love finding someone else who loves paper piecing! You have some gorgeous blocks and quilts here :)
    I'm with you on the Cuzco thing - those peacocks are just so lovely!

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  30. Well, hi there, nice to meet you! I've seen some of your Tweets over on Twitter, and can I just tell you, I LOVE your "handle" it cracks me up whenever I see it. I'm following you now, so I hope to see lots of you over there! :)

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  31. You've obviously had a very busy year! Nice to meet you :)

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  32. This is why I love this hop. I find fabulous blogs like yours! Awesome blog design, fantastically modern finished work, and you seem super fun. I'll be in Austin for Quiltcon with a couple quilty friends, are you planning to go? If so, we should meet up!

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  33. Hi there, sorry I am so late to visit your blog, but I am glad I did, your quilts and blocks are just gorgeous. I love your designs and use of colour. Nice to meet you :-)

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  34. Nice to meet you on the blog hop. I also love your ombre diamond quilts and the way you play with value. Very unique!

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  35. Nice bloghop post. You make really lovely quilts. Thanks for sharing.

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  36. Nice to get to meet you - love all of your beautiful blocks!

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  37. I'm a little late catching up on the Blog Hop this week, but I'm enjoying catching up and poking around your blog! I just started Friday Night Lights with my current quilt, so that's my new project TV as well! A bit melodramatic, but not bad, is my take. :)

    Also, I love your blog title. I sew over pins too. We all need a little danger in our lives, right?

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  38. I always love all your projects :D Stop when you get tired is excellent advice! I always end up "unsewing" more than sewing when I sew after 8pm! Breaking Bad is such a good show, we finished season 4 this weekend. Friday Nights Lights is great too, my husband and I were so sad when we finished it!

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  39. Hi great to get to know you a bit better! Some wonderful and inspiring quilts.

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  40. Your blocks are amazing! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with them. It's good to have found you through the blog hop!

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