Monday 4 February 2013

A flurry of blog awards

Recently, I have been the surprised recipient of not one but two Liebster Awards (from Erin at Sew at Home Mummy, and Lia at Lia's Handmades), and a Versatile Blogger Award (from Anna at The Crooked Banana).  All these awards were totally unexpected and very kind, so a big thank you to the lovely ladies who nominated me.


 

This post is rather long, so if you actually intend to read it, I recommend grabbing a cup of tea or coffee and a chocolate biscuit for sustenance while you are reading.

The rules for the Liebster Award are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Answer 11 question asked by the person who nominated you.
3. List 11 things about yourself.
4. Nominate 11 of your favorite blogs that have less than 200 followers.
5. Ask your nominated bloggers 11 questions.

And the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who nominated you.
2. List seven things about yourself.
3. Nominate up to 15 blogs that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.

In the interests of efficiency, I'm going to consolidate my responses to these awards by answering the questions from Erin and Lia, listing 11 things about myself (to cover the random things part for both the Liebster Award and the Versatile Blogger Award),  and nominating 11 blogs with (mostly) less than 200 followers.

Here we go!

Questions from Erin:

1. What's your favorite movie?
I find picking favourites really hard.  I will confess that the movie I have watched the most times (at least once a year since it was released 10(!!!) years ago) is Love Actually.  Please don't judge me too much.

2. Tell me something about the town you grew up in.
I grew up in Wellington, and although I have lived elsewhere, it's where I live now too.  I could tell you so many things, but if you have two minutes to spare, I would rather just show you.  The area I live in now is at around 1:18.




3. Where do you think you got your "quilty" or "crafty" gene?
Definitely my mum - she started off my sewing and quilting journey through her own creative endeavours.  I think there is a quiet creative streak in all my immediate family members though - my dad might not craft, but he is very creative (and usually successfully so) in the kitchen.  I also had early sewing and stitching experiences with both my grandmothers, one of my grandfathers was a talented wood-turner and the other just liked making anything - toys, gadgets, small houses.


4. If you had to pick a movie star who's most similar to you (in any way), who would it be (and post a picture, please!)



Ok, so I don't really look like either of Alexis Bledel or Zooey Deschanel, but I do have fair skin, dark hair, blue eyes, and a fringe (or bangs, if you're from the US).

5. What is your most favorite quilt block you've ever made?
Again, I can't pick a favourite, but I keep coming back to simple patchwork squares.  4-patch, 9-patch, up to 64-patch - they're all good.


Simple patchwork love

6. Do you have a name for your sewing machine?
In my mind, I think of her as Little Bernina - kind of like the little Bernina that could.

7. How many sewing machines do you own (and what brand(s) are they)? (and if you have a picture of "Betty" or "Violet", please, post!)
Only one - my 25 year old Bernina Sport 802.  I am very sentimental about this machine, and will never get rid of it, but I would like to add a machine with a larger throat space and higher stitch speed to my collection one day.

8. What kind of space do you create in (i.e. a spare room, the dining room, the basement, a closet) do tell!
I don't have a dedicated sewing room, so I alternate between sewing on my big dining room table (especially if I am quilting) and sewing in the lounge on a little "vintage" (i.e. old and beaten up) tray table on wheels so I can watch TV at the same time.

9. What does your significant other think about your crafty ways?
I am single, so, nothing.  To any wannabe Mr OntheWindySide, I would misquote the Spice Girls - "if you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friendsquilting".

10. Have you ever participated in an online/virtual Bee? Which one(s)
Yes - at the end of last year I signed up for the Simply Solids bee, my first one.

11. If you had to pick one word to describe you, what would it be?
Sharp.

From Lia:

1. What is your favourite colour and why?
If you ask my stash, aqua.  Why?  I have no idea.  If you ask my wardrobe, black.  Why?  It goes with everything, don'tcha know.

2. The weirdest food you've ever eaten?
I don't think I've ever eaten really weird food, but I have some strange food habits.  For example, it wouldn't be unusual for me to have pastrami and mayo on toast for breakfast.

3. Most desired holiday destination?
Where do I start?  I think I might plan my next holiday for Japan - but there are so many other places I want to go as well.

4. Your biggest wish for the future?
The usual - health, wealth, and happiness.

5. What is the colour of your car?

This colour!

6. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would stop sneezing all the goddamn time.

7. How many sewing machines do you own?
See my answer to Erin's question 7 above.

8. What is the first item you ever made (sewn) and do you still have it?
I don't even remember what age I was when I learned to sew, so sadly I don't still have my first sewn project.

9. Where in your home do you sew, do you have your own craft room?
See my answer to Erin's question 8 above.

10. Do you have a  favourite quilt fabric designer? And if so, who?
I don't have a favourite, but I find Denyse Schmidt fabrics and Anna Maria Horner fabrics turning up in my projects on a very regular basis.  I also think that Jay McCarroll is a genius and totally underrated fabric designer.

11. What would you rather receive for your birthday, a nice meal at a restaurant, or an afternoon shopping at a fabric store?
Tough tough question.  Can I have both?  No?  Ok, probably a nice dinner - much more shareable.

11 random things about me:

1.  I am the oldest of four children - I have one sister and two brothers.
2. We all have Sunday dinner at my parents' place every week.
3.  I am allergic to cats.  Yes, I have cats.
4. Despite my complete lack of sporting ability, I have, at various times, played or taken lessons in cricket, tennis, hockey, netball, swimming and golf.
5. I am a terrible singer, but I love singing - mostly in the car.
6. My siblings like to make mix CDs for my car, because I inevitably learn all the songs on them.  Then they laugh at me when I rap.
7. I am a huge fan of Gilmore Girls.  I have all seven seasons on DVD and tend to watch the whole series right through once a year.
8.  Even though I don't generally like hand-sewing, my favourite part of making a quilt is hand stitching down the binding.
9.  I am extremely impatient. Why I like quilting so much, when it requires quite a lot of patience, is something of a mystery to me.
10. One time when I was a kid, a wasp crawled into my mouth and then crawled out without stinging me.  To this day, if I see a bee or wasp nearby, I shut my mouth real tight.  I have still never been stung.
11. I was looking at my blog stats today, and one of the search keywords was "how to meet a man who quilts".  Made me laugh.

My questions for the bloggers I nominate:

1. What is the first quilt you made like?  If you have a picture - please let us see!
2. What is your favourite part of making a quilt?
3. Do you have any pets?
4. What would your karaoke song be?
5. Have you ever been to a quilting conference or retreat?
6. Who in your non-quilting life knows you have a quilt blog?
7. What is the strangest search term you've seen in your "Search Keywords" stats?
8. How did you choose your blog name?
9. Are you a member of a real-life quilt guild?
10. What is your favourite sweet treat?
11. Do you like to have something to listen to while you are quilting - like the TV, music, an audiobook?

11 blogs I'm nominating:

Kiwi quilt bloggers represent!
1. Jaffa Quilts
2. Milly Made It
Lawyer-types in the house!
3. Everyday fray
4. Surely not another project
Yeah, I'm young, I quilt, so what?
5. Sew, Quilt, Explore
Keeping it fresh in Europe
6. Sy, elsk, lev (Sew, love, live)
7. Made in Home
8. Displacement Activity
O Canada
9. Chez Roo
Too good - these ones already have more than 200 followers!
10. Kitchen Table Quilting
11. St Louis Folk Victorian

9 comments:

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Fun answers!! Gotta get with my quilting, hahaha! Totally agree about Jay McCarroll too :)

Anonymous said...

How to meet a man who quilts ! Ha ! Those search keywords are so funny sometimes :)

I also agree that Jay McCarroll is a genius. The fabric he makes ? Perfect for clothing. Perfect.

LC said...

I, too, sneeze all the goddamn time. Sensitive noses we have.

Camilla said...

I did make a coffee and I did read it all! Really enjoyed knowing more about you. I love Wellington it's so quirky and stylish and I totally agree au out Jay McCarroll. Why doesn't he get more coverage. Now to check out some of those other blogs!

Elmosmate said...

Very interesting... can i borrow Gilmore girls? i have never seen it! Congrats on nomination. I will check out the blogs and the answers with interest.

Salsy said...

Awards or not...love your new header. Very Modern and fresh..and even a small breeze hinted at!

Chez Roo said...

Mmm, pastrami and mayo on toast for breakfast sounds delish! I love your new header too, and thanks for the sweet mention of my blog :)

Karyn said...

Thanks, Adrianne. I really don't know where to start in answering the questions!

jeifner said...

I did read it all while consuming an unspecified amount of chocolate bisciuts. Fun for my brain and mouth :)