for beki (and hello)

Hello. I'm Chris, a lonely marketing coordinator telecommuting from my Kansas City area basement. Instead of long coffee breaks and 3-martini lunches, I make stuff and blog about it at Pink Picket Fence.

I have two girls (2 and 12) and love to sew for them. And quilt. And embroider while watching Mad Men. I have a weakness for vintage linens, and a talent for finding really cool stuff I have trouble storing. Like the rest of you, I jumped at the idea of a virtual quilting bee, because it's kind of a fun little experiment and it justifies my fabric obsession nicely. Thanks to Beki for organizing Twelve Square and Tracy for setting up the technical stuff. (Tracy, can we borrow your uber-cool button?)

So, here we go... this is my October block:


I liked the challenge of the simplicity of a 'stripes' instruction. Good call, Beki. Also, I swear the brown and white stripe is brown, and not blackish like it is appearing here. Maybe I've been staring at this too long.


It's been fun watching all of the blocks emerge. A little intimidating as well. This is one crazy talented collection of ladies. I'm so flattered to be included. :)

My stripes

Here is my first block. I love the fabric that Beki sent. Especially that orange and white paisley piece. I added some more Amy Butler, to bring out the turquoise, and there you have it.
I went back and fourth...almost did something wonky, then I decided not to. I can't wait to see them all together, and I can't wait until the one for November arrives!

Beki's block

I don't want anyone to think I'm an overachiever or anything, just because I got this block done a week after I received the fabric. Ok, so maybe I am sometimes, a little bit. But this may be the only block that I finish this early. I just got so excited, and I'm actually kind of amazed that it took me 5 days to start sewing.

This block surprised me a little. I didn't know what to expect when I opened the envelope, of course, and when I saw the flash of orange I jumped up and down a little bit, I'll be frank. I've got orange fabric galore in my stash, being as it's my favorite color, and I think I expected this to go in that direction. But when a handful of prints with light blue gravitated to Beki's two fabric choices, plus this crazy stripe print, I just let my intuition go. And maybe I was a little bit inspired by the ribbon. I was a little bit nervous, but I forged ahead anyway.

You asked for stripes, so I pieced the fabric into strip(e)s for you. I had to get a little crazy, though, of course, with some "stripes" in opposite directions. I really hope you like it!

Hello from Kristena

First, let me just say that this is so neat! I love hearing everyone's voice in one place and seeing that we're all alike and yet... not. Thanks Tracy and Beki for being such organized and thoughtful ladies!

So I'm Kristena.


I went to school in South Carolina and majored in English at this little place. Then I went on to that silly corporate job at this huge place. And then my dear prince rescued me.

I always knew I wanted to be an artist. But somewhere along the way, that piece of my identity was lost. Just for a spell. While pregnant with our firstborn (who just turned 2! I also have a 6 month old.), I pulled out the trusty sewing machine and never looked back.

I also knit, crochet, paint, thrift, and bake. And whatever else comes along. Yeah, I totally flit from one project to the next. :)

Personally, I see creativity as a gift from a very creative God. So no matter how silly it may seem, adding art and beauty to the little bits of life is very important to me. I'm inspired by Scandinavian, Japanese, French, and old-school Americana design. And old stuff. And babies. And pop culture.

I blog at Thimbly Things, and I Flickr here.

Okay, so that's plenty about me. Now what about the rest of you? :)

Hello there

Hello there, my name is Katie. I am a stay at home mother of three kids, ages five, three, and one, with a mad passion for anything crafty.
I have always loved to bake...

and shortly after my youngest was born, I taught myself how to sew,

and knit,

I am truly addicted. There is not a day that goes by, where my knitting needles stay on the shelf, or my sewing machine stays in the closet. I am in love with being at home with my kids, and crafting our days away.

I never liked working outside of my home. Even after graduating college, and working in the fashion industry, where I got to travel a bit, I longed to be home. I would day dream about cleaning, baking, and hanging out laundry on the line. To me, I am living the most perfect life.

You can see more of my everyday life here.

I am so excited to be a part of this project. So honored to be surrounded by all of this talent. This is going to be good.

OK I'll go next...

Hmm, about me…

Once upon a time, I moved to Portland, OR from Berkeley, CA for a web design job. I quickly grew tired of the grey cubicle walls and corporate mindset, so ventured out to find some brightness in the world. I came upon and married a bright, beautiful boy, popped out two sweet babies (Holden, 4 ½ and Esme 2 ½ at the time of this tale) and quit the day job to mom them at home. Now we spend our days singing, playing and painting with whatever color we choose, quite opposite of my previous corporate life.



For me, crafting provides the essential balance I need after long days of conversing with people under 3 feet tall. Blogging about it has allowed me to connect with like-minded crafty bloggers, also essential to my sanity.



I’ve been sewing and crafting for as long as I remember and secretly adored home ec class. I love anything vintage and scour thrift stores and opp shops for a bit of the past to weave into my creations.



My favorite quilt style mixes modern design with vintage or reproduction fabrics, or vice versa. I’m so excited about the explosion of creativity that’s happening in the craft world right now. I think I have over a hundred design*sponge posts tagged on my bloglines for inspiration. Seriously.



I tend to play it safe when it comes to sewing for other people, so my goal for this project is to experiment with different styles, color combinations, patterns and techniques. I adore anything by Denyse Schmidt, so am thinking of a DS theme when I’m up to bat.



I blog at WhatKnot and dabble on flickr inbetween crafting and parenting. I’m so looking forward to this adventure and am grateful that I was asked to participate, Thanks Beki! And thanks to Tracy for creating this awesome space!

Introduction to the graphic designer

Hi!

I guess I'll start out the twelve by twelve blog with an introduction. I'm Tracy, from Madison, Wisconsin, where it is currently this strange combination of Octobersummer, with heat and humidity and pretty falling leaves. I don't get it.



I'm a graphic designer with a photography habit, and I do some sewing and knitting every now and then. I wouldn't say that I'm a proficient sewer, necessarily, but I've been figuring things out on a fairly regular basis for about a year with simple-ish lap blankets and oddly proportioned stuffed toys.



I finished my first quilt in May, a gift for a newborn baby of a friend of mine, and I've been slowly plodding away at squares for a yellow quilt since then. I tend not to plan a whole lot when I piece quilt blocks, but rather just see how things work out, letting my design eye tell me where to put things.



I love wonky lines, unexpected design elements, interesting color combinations, and contemporary patterns.

I have been watching some of the other virtual quilting bees around blogland, and wishing I could participate in one too, so when Beki asked me to be a part of one that she was putting together, I couldn't have been more thrilled. I am so excited to see what everyone comes up with!

You can find me on flickr, and at my blog homebase
Prickly Pear Bloom.

And also, I'm new to blogger so it may take me awhile to get used to the interface here...