My quilting thoughts and inspirations sprinkled with a glimpse of life down on the farm

Monday, August 18, 2014

Around the World Bloghop

I've been tagged!!!
Joanne of Canuck Quilter has invited me to take part in the Around the World Bloghop which is currently doing the rounds in blogland. Joanne has written her post *here*; do check it out as she has made some lovely quilts and produced several patterns for them. I enjoy the way she uses colour and I think her quilts work really well.
The topic for this Bloghop is our 'Creative Process'. There is a list of questions we can answer but I feel more comfortable just winging it for now...
While I am winging I will share some photos of some original projects of mine, just because I can!
'A woman's place is on her horse'
Possibly my first original quilt.
A wallhanging for my Aunty.
To be absolutely honest, I have spent a whole week thinking about my creative process. And to be equally honest, I don't feel any wiser :-)
When I worked in early childhood I not only worked with the children but also the adults. My favourite workshop to lead was 'encouraging creativity in children'. An aspect we talked about was giving children the time and the opportunity to play and explore the world around them, not just let them look at a pinecone for example but to have the time to feel it, smell it, roll it, take it apart even, if appropriate!
On reflection, I find this to be a very important part of my own creative process.
I play and explore - taking part in quiltalongs, blog reading, magazines, books, classes, chatting with others (email, skype, in real life) all add to the pool of information - blocks, colours, techniques and so on -  I have to call on when I'm in creative mode.
I made this block holder based on a block I had drawn up for a friend's Round Robin quilt.
I need time - my creative process requires a lot of time. When I am designing something from scratch, often a picture appears in my head. Sometimes it's just a glimpse of something and my mind needs to chew it over, get it all sorted before I can slice into fabric or sew a stitch. That thinking may just be a case of deciding what fabric to use, or the appropriate technique. Subconsciously my mind sifts and sorts.  Sometimes that initial mulling will form only stage one of my project so more mulling time is needed later on...this helps explain why I have projects banked up resting from here to Africa, but actually, I'm ok with that.
A table runner I made for a special friend :-)
Some of this thinking time is well away from my sewing space and I find my most valuable thinking time is when I'm outdoors (usually) going about my everyday life on the farm. Not that I am influenced by the grass and the trees but I think my brain must relax more then when I'm occupied with something else!!
[Of course there is other mulling time too, I can tend to dither over a colour or what should be a simple decision (Mum would probably tell you I've always been like that!); for that part of the creative process I need to trust myself more.]
Once the initial idea has come, my creative process is further enhanced by tools such as pen and paper, playing with the fabric, or EQ7.
The small runner shown above was made for a challenge I had with some friends. By using EQ7 I was able to easily play and change the colouring to get the heart effect, which wasn't evident in the initial block.
Let's do a Free Motion Quilting BOM!
'Birdy Love'.
I am lucky in that I work part-time at my local quilt shop, The Country Yard. Opportunities for creativeness abound there. Sometimes projects are technique based. Birdy Love (above) resulted from the desire to create a programme to help quilters with their free motion quilting.
The cushion cover below was the result of a series of technique classes; simple stitchery, needleturn, foundation piecing and English paper piecing.
I've just realised something that might sound kinda dumb. Some of my friends tell me that I have a definite style and say they can tell a 'Raewyn' thing from a bunch of other stuff. And now that I've been scrolling through these photos editing this post I can see there could be some truth in this! And I feel happy that I have chosen to call any designs that I do write up "Whimsical Miss" as I actually do now think the name fits! Woohoo! **insert a  very loud Penny Dropping sound**
(Whimsical Miss is the 'show' name of my little horse; I thought it sounded good for my patterns too!)

So there, in a nutshell are my thoughts and perhaps a little insight into what goes on around here.

Finally, I have invited two talented ladies to join this bloghop —
Suz, from All The Good Ones Are Taken is a quilter who always delights with her colour combinations and the personal touches she puts into her quilts
and —
Karen, from Karen's Quilts, Crows and Cardinals, has not long started up the Redbird Quilt Co. Her delightful work uses wool felt, applique and often features birds and flowers. She also has numerous tutorials on her blog.
Thank you both for agreeing to play. I'm looking forward to visiting you both on Monday 25th August and seeing what you have to say about your own creative process.

Thanks for reading along while I have been soul searching. It's been a worthwhile process for me - I'd be interested to learn about your creative processes too - have you ever thought about what makes you tick, what helps you to work, do you have a muse?
Happy creating

28 comments:

  1. I love your quilts with stitchery. Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great post indeed! Your work is so beautiful and inspiring - thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What an interesting post! You do have a distinctive style and colour preference.

    I often think about what I like, what I don't like and the reasons for both. It is a helpful exercise. Playing with fabrics and sorting them into colours or piles of intersting combinations is often my starting point when I'm looking for inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  4. gorgeous quilting there...I love them all, but really like the first one!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very interesting to go on this pondering and musing journey through your design process. I didn't realize these designs were all your own creations. That is a great name for your designs--they do have a definite feel about them.
    BTW, I got my degree in early childhood ed! : )

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think you definitely have a style that says it was Raewyn that designed this.
    It takes a lot of time to design patterns. I tried one and I think that was enough for me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear Raewyn,
    I love this blog hop because I read such a lot of interesting and heartwarming details from other bloggers, many things are equal to me and I feel the great Patchwork- and Blogger-Communitiy near me..often so far away.
    Hugs
    sigisart

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great post , I really enjoyed reading about your creative process and your work is beautiful , I especially love by he first project with the horse , gorgeous ! Thanks for sharing your creativity with us .

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dear Raewyn,
    I love this bloghop, too, because I can get to know so much new blogger. And today, it was also my day to post for the "Around the World Blog Hop!" :) So much fun, isn't it?
    Greetings from Germany, Rike

    ReplyDelete
  10. Absolutely delightful post!! I envy your your creative brain. Great choice of ladies to join in on the blog hop!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. A great post Raewyn. I enjoyed reading about your creative process

    ReplyDelete
  12. Informative post, I feel I know you better.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Interesting reading.. and I love what you make...
    Hugz

    ReplyDelete
  14. wow Raewyn i agree with Fiona,very interesting and your work is amazing,well done my friend.,xx

    ReplyDelete
  15. It is always fascinating to learn how others work. Every on e is so different.
    It is delightful to see you projects and how you created them.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Lovely post! I really like your description of taking the time to play and explore and let ideas and connections form, just like kids do, even when you're busy with something else. I enjoyed being introduced to some of your projects that I hadn't seen before. Love that first one with the horse! Thanks for mentioning my post as well.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great post with such beautiful projects and insight into your creative process. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I really enjoyed reading this post! I really like the quilts that you have design. You are very talented! I would like to design a quilt, but I know it would be quite a process and definitely, like you said it would take a lot of time and thought.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great post Raewyn, I really enjoyed reading all this about you & seeing some more of your projects. I love them all :-) You are very talented & tackle some tricky projects (to me they are VERY tricky) & always do them so well, & put together great colours & fabrics.

    ReplyDelete
  20. You clever lady!! I love the 'Birdy Love' it appeals and the colours are gorgeous. You worked in early child care. I was a teacher aid for about 4 years and even did my Certificate through Massey University. I was amazed my brain still worked!! Kids were fun to work with but I am not sure I have the patience for them now and they probably just wouldn't get me!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Really enjoyed this post, Raewyn. It's very interesting to read about other peoples creative process. And I agree that you can tell a 'Raewyn' project!

    ReplyDelete
  22. A very interesting read! What what you mean about the time time time required!! You are a very clever lady :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for sharing your creative journey and your style with us all Raewyn. Whilst I 'embellish' to make things my own I haven't yet created from scratch. Working up to it on the Cabinet of Curiosities course! One day!!!

    You've made it and I like your style. Go Girl!

    ReplyDelete
  24. enjoyed reading about your creative process and good for you for developing your own style!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. This has been so interesting :) Loved seeing your original designs. And loving your name for them too :)

    I have recently been spending some time thinking about creativity. I too need time- unallocated, no have to's- also to let the design come in it's own time. Importantly, when things just aren't working to walk away for however long it takes, because the ideas that come from giving "us" the break are always so fabulous :) That's about as far as I have got though, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Really enjoyed your post, Raewyn. I love all your quilt, but especially the first one for your Aunty.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I was in Early years education in the UK, I had my own preschool and I too loved seeing and encouraging a childs creative learning. I don't so much have a creative process, it's more of seeing something, saying ooh a lot, dribbling a bit, buying fabric on a whim, same with patterns and stock piling! I have though started a quilt with whim bought fabric and if I feel better tomorrow I may well finish putting it together. Thanks for the inspiration x

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to leave a comment. I read and appreciate them all and try my best to reply. Have a great day!!
(If you are a no-reply or anonymous blogger and would like a response, please leave an email address.)