2015 New Quilt Blogger Introduction Post

Hi everyone!  My name is Deb and I live in Tasmania, Australia – what I like to call “down under Down Under” (In case you aren’t familiar with Australia, Tasmania is the small island state at the south east end of the mainland 😉 )

Tasmania is famous for it’s world-heritage listed conservation areas and it’s Tasmanian Devil (take a listen to this creature!)

I am part of the “New Bees” hive in this year’s New Bloggers Blog Hop and I hope you will also take the time to visit my other hive mates who are blogging this week:

• kim @ lelandavestudios
• cassandra @ thenotsodramaticlife
• colleen @ colleenscustomquilting

Let me tell you a few things about myself :

1. I am a 42 year old married mum of three children – a girl aged 9 and two boys aged 7 and 6 who were born only 14 months apart. I’ve been with my husband for nearly 22 years and married for 15. 2. Parenthood came as a bit of a shock to me and my husband after nearly 5 years of trying, countless tests and a diagnosis of “unexplained infertility”. Then, one day…(gulp!!) we find ourselves expecting our 3rd child in 3 years! 3. I have a background in music and attended a Conservatorium of Music after High School where I studied Classical Piano. I taught piano for many years, both at a private music school and in my own home based practice but stopped teaching a few years ago. I now play piano once a month at a local elderly care home, where the wonderful residents sing the “golden oldies” to my piano accompaniment!

4. Nowadays, the only piano teaching I do is to my own children and I recently completed an online Certificate in Education Support which allows me to work as a Teacher Aide/Assistant in schools. So far, work has been only on a very casual and relief basis.

5. My husband and I made the move to the cooler climate of Tasmania in 2013 to escape the oppressive humid heat of northern Australia (and in part to “shake things up a bit” after turning 40!)

6. In my younger years I HATED anything to do with sewing and kept a gifted sewing machine untouched in it’s dusty case for decades before catching the sewing bug shortly after our move in 2013 (see post here). I began quilting the following year in 2014 and am now completely obsessed!

7. I  began my blog @ newcreativestate in March this year as a way to keep an online diary of my quilting journey and connect with other quilty people. I’ve always considered myself a creative person and enjoy writing. I think that blogging is the perfect combination of creativity and expression.

Now onto a few of my favourite quilts:

Union Jack Mini Quilt

Churn Dash Quilt

Marcelle Medallion Quilt

Amy Butler Quilt

You can also check out other recent finishes in the Gallery slideshow in my sidebar.

My quilting style definitely involves bold and saturated colour. Because of this natural inclination, on the top of my quilting bucket list is to make a “low volume” quilt!

My Quilting Question – what type of quilt would be against the norm for you?

My Quilting Tip (which was shared with me when I made my first quilt):

• When you trim back your quilt top after quilting, leave an extra quarter inch of batting and backing fabric around the edges. This creates a fuller binding.

My Blogging Tips :

• Be proud and take great photos of your quilts! When I finish a quilt, my family and I love to search out the perfect location for a photo shoot. This could mean taking a quilt on a hike, bike ride, camping or 4 wheel driving expedition!
• Also, be very careful when editing a potential post not to accidentally hit the publish button before it is finished (Oh believe me, I know…!)

I’d like to say a special thanks to Cheryl, Yvonne, Stephanie and Terri Ann for hosting this year’s blog hop.

This is our final week and I’ll be sad when it is all over.  Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you all a bit better.

Deb 🙂

Advertisement