Blog Hop with a Difference

I'm sure by now, everyone has run across a blog participating in the Blog Hop With A Difference.

It's like a relay, passing the baton from one creative blogger to another, but three creative bloggers. The plan is that it continues on to the next. 

The purpose of the blog hop is for each blogger to tell their readers a little about their life as a creative person and what makes them tick. I have the honor and privilege of having being chosen by a relatively new, but very dear friend Susan of Desertsky Quilting.

So here we go . . . .

I'm Edith, a.k.a. Edi of Edi's Crafting Life.

I'm going to follow the questions I've seen on some of the blogs who have participated.

1.  What am I working on right now?

Oh my, what am I not working on?  I have a goal list of 9 or 10 things at the moment that I try really hard to touch at least once a month. I've discovered over the course of the last 8 months that it's really too many especially when some of the them are very time consuming like counted crosstitch. I try to keep a variety of techniques:  something that gets done on the machine, embroidery, applique, crosstitch, etc. So I'm working on a hand-applique quilt from Tilda, machine pieced mystery quilt from Quilt Doodle Doodle, embroidery of the Christmas story called A Long Time Ago in Bethlehem.

2.  How long does it take to create a project? 

I'm not a designer, at least not yet, of any original designs. Most often I let the project I'm working on "talk to me" about how creative we're going to be. Sometimes I following the instructions that come with the designs I'm working on. When Wendy of Sugarlane Quilts asked me to test her Gnome for Christmas pattern, I followed her instructions. I've done the same on the Quilt Doodle Doodle mystery quilt. Tilda and Bethlehem, not so much. I want to be able to use my Tilda, so I haven't gone over-board on embellishments or embroidery - just enough to make it cute. With Bethlehem, because I'm planning on it being a wall hanging, I've been able to let my imagination run and have used everything from beads and buttons to dimensional mediums like yarn and dimensional stitches like the turkey stitch. The more involved I get with the embellishments the longer a project takes. Bethlehem has 12 blocks and I've managed to do at least one per month to keep within my deadline of having them all stitched by the end of the year.

3.  What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?

At the moment, I'm having a love affair with my sewing machine. I've enjoyed sitting at the machine and letting it do all the heavy labor. Other times, it's needle and thread by hand with a good audio book or movie. Sometimes, I just like to sit quietly with no background noise.

4.  How does my creative process work?

Since I don't design, I don't really have a creative process. I carve out whatever and as much time as I can to work on my projects. As I said, most of the time I let the projects talk to me. I take other people's designs and make them personal and add my own creative touches to make it mine. I always like the base (someone else's design) from which I'm working (or I wouldn't do it in the first place) and make it mine so that it doesn't just look like I just did a duplicate of theirs. They've already done theirs :) Now it's my turn. Or they wouldn't have shared it. Doesn't mean I didn't like theirs, but it's theirs and I want my own :) They are my springboard, my inspiration to stretch myself, to challenge myself, to be just a little different and pull that creativity out.

5.  How do I become inspired and stay inspired?  

Inspiration comes from a lot of different sources as long as we keep our eyes and minds open. I'm always amazed at the creativity in our world. My inspirational sources:  Pinterest, other  bloggers, books, patterns, pictures, people, friends.

I get lots of ideas and patterns from Pinterest. It is also a great source for finding new blogs. It can also be very overwhelming and very distracting, especially if you have a short attention span which I sometimes do.

My problem isn't staying inspired, it's trying to find time and energy to do all that inspires me.

6.  What is my signature style?

I wish I had a signature style. I like so many - shabby, Victorian, modern, traditional, feminine, humorous. I live with guys, so much of what's around me is masculine or at the very least, utilitarian. So things aren't super fussy. So I guess I'd have to say eclectic - someofeachie (some-of-eachie).



Now is when I should pass on the baton. I'm relatively young in BlogLand, so those bloggers I asked had already been asked or I couldn't get in touch with. So unfortunately, I don't have anyone. But you can see from my sidebar who I follow on a fairly regular basis. Please take some time and check out their blogs. If you are starving for inspiration, I can guarantee you that it's out there.

Before I end my blog, I have to say that the people I have "met" in BlogLand have not only been inspirational, but have been genuinely kind and considerate people. Some have become really good, trusted friends - as much as we can be on the internet, but would be people that I would love to have in my neighborhood, church and would love to spend time with on a regular basis over a cup of tea or coffee. They have become people I rely on for advice and counsel and a good laugh.  I want to thank them for all their support and encouragement as I navigate my way through BlogLand and the quilting world.

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Thank you for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.