Saturday 9 May 2015

Meet Maritime Modern: My Turn!

Well now...glad you're here!
I'm also glad it's Saturday. Saturday pleases me.
GREATLY.



Welcome to Purple Boots and Pigtails! Home to musings & ramblings about quilty things, springy things, motorcycle things, hiking spots and life in general. I don't tend to take life too seriously, especially where quilty things are concerned...it's all about the joy factor for me! Life is Good. It is also short. So we had best enjoy it. We should also enjoy chocolate. Daily.

I'm a fairly new blogger, started in January  of this year as part of my "What Can I Do To Make 2015 Even Better Than 2014?" project. I don't believe in New Year resolutions, even the smallest life improvement is a bonus in my mind, and with my raging ADHD they're bound to be forgotten anyway after about 3 days or 4 glasses of Jack. Why "Purple Boots and Pigtails" you're wondering?  It's my signature look when I ride my bike, my biker peeps have come to expect a certain level of quirky from me. Perhaps in time, if you hang out here now and then, you will notice it as well.

Me...in my nutshell...

I joined the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild in the fall of 2014. Took a long time to find a group of quilters that might accept my often unorthodox quilty ways and my often off the wall sense of humor. Last June I rode my Harley to a meeting and clad in leather from head to toe stepped into a room full of strangers. They didn't seem rattled by my appearance in the least, in fact, the lack of shock value was almost disappointing. I have come to love and expect quite the opposite reaction when I pop into a quilt store in all that gear...the ole gals are always rather bewildered by my presence and surprised that I actually know what a fat quarter is...clearly bikers aren't typical fabric shoppers. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself feeling quite at home the meeting. Months of decent biking weather kept me from getting back to the guild til the fall, but when I did, I jumped in with two purple boots! That's what I do...I jump in! I'm not a "dip-your-toe" kinda gal.

That's what happened to me a couple years ago when I discovered free piecing in patchwork. Blogs are wonderful things; I stumbled across an amazing and inspiring blog called The Patchery Menagerie written by Lynne Tyler and I was hooked.... done like dinner. My jaw dropping "Holy cow!" moment led to Purple Cow freedom! The rest is history. I'd been making traditional quilts for a long, long time and when I saw these liberated, free forms of quilt making my brain simply caught fire. I still love traditional quilts too, but these new ways challenged and excited me in ways typical patchwork had long ago stopped.

A few of my creations: free pieced & otherwise..
Oh, and pardon my salute to the Kona Nerds back when
I first realized "they had me" in their clutches...

Not much original stuff on the quilty front these days, I'm working on The Gravity Project. Normally I wind down my quilty ways at this time of year so I can concentrate on biking, paddling, hiking and drinking my way through what is a very short summer in Nova Scotia, but this year I have a hunch that I might continue to quilt...there is a new robot that demands attention. Gravity is a big quilt designed by Jaybird Quilts, it's made with 114 colours of Kona cotton. Since joining Maritime Modern I have been assimilated into a cult-like group of people I refer to as the Kona Nerds. My stack of Konas is growing every week, resistance proved to be futile. I curse them, those nerds, and their evil plot for solid domination of the Kaufman variety. I'm also chomping at the bit to get my brand spankin' new long arm up and running. I've managed to get the frame assembled without injuring myself, or anyone else, and have finally installed all the many bits and pieces necessary to get this giant thing wiggling. I'm hoping by the time I head to my nest Sunday night I might have had a meet and greet with the robot. It's more likely that I'll meet R2D2 himself, but hey, a girl can dream.

...Long Arm Love...

So there you have it...that's me in a nutshell. If I were a nut I think I'd resemble a walnut...with all those little compartments inside to hold all my interests. If you were a nut, what sort would YOU be?

Thanks for hopping in! Go ahead and leave me a comment to let me know you were here. It's always nice to know that someone actually reads this stuff...in fact, leave me a comment that answers my nut pondering and I'll enter you in a random draw for a half meter cut of that crown-wearing-skully fabric I've been coveting! (You can see it on my blog post called Round and Round. Can you believe I'm willing to part with any of it? I'm a bigger walnut than I first thought. Clearly.) I'll leave the draw open til May 13th @ midnight AST, the last day of the hop, to give you time to contemplate your inner nuttiness...and to give me time to figure out how the little random-number-picker-thingy works. I told ya, I'm new at this!

OH! I almost forgot, tomorrow hop on over to visit my pal Linda at Scrapmaster!


47 comments:

  1. Nice to meet everyone on this blog hop. Am a biker as well and know the feeling about walking in a quilt/fabric shop in full gear.

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  2. So happy that you found us! I am just a plain old quilt nut!

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  3. I don't bike any more, but I do dye my hair pink / blue / purple / whatever suits me this month.

    The ladies at my current group are great - doesn't faze them a bit! :D

    If i was a nut I'd be a peanut. Tiny, yet versatile!

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  4. I love these posts! I can't wait to see your wiggler in action! So excited for you!

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  5. Nice meeting you through this blog hop!! As a child I was known as peanut, probably because of my size and I loved to eat them at family gatherings!! Love your attitude and will enjoy following you!

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  6. Another great blog! I think our guild has a variety of mixed nuts - and that is the best kind.

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  7. I am a cashew nut - a little bent some days. Loved your blog!

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  8. I love reading your blog! It always makes me smile! Keep on quilting! No one nut describes me...I am just nutty!

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  9. This is the first time reading your blog. Love it!!! Will be following you. I'm just a nut - period!!!

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  10. Another enjoyable post. The Kona salute made me lol. Just keeping thinking about how much fun the Wiggler will be when wonderfully wiggled works begin to appear. As for the nut question, I would like to be an almond......I rather enjoy Ameretto. :-)

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  11. I love that you're a nut in our big bag of mixed nuts...Always enjoy your refreshing perspective on life!

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  12. Resistance is futile, Val. You will be Kona-ssimilated. And for the record, I prefer Kona Badass. Just sayin'.

    As for all this nut business, it's got me thinking of a certain Girl Guide tune. Here's a bad version of it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF5qJBTSQK4 Perhaps Dena, Anja, & I will do a better rendition at a future Sew In. So I'm going to go with an acorn.. in honour of said tune!

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  13. Nice to meet you. Visiting from St. John's, NL and our summers are even shorter than NS!! I, too, would be a walnut as I have so many interests as well. Thanks for posting and the giveaway.

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  14. I met my hubby on a bike so was also a biker for years , love the feeling of the wind in my face . I think you missed your calling ,you have quite a gift for writing and I love reading your posts . As for nuts I will say the cashew as I just love them .

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  15. I love how different every quilty person is, it makes everything so exciting! Found your through the Maritime Modern Blog Hop, I'll be following you after today, I like your style. :) I hope I would be a cashew if I was a nut...because cashews are absolutely delicious.

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  16. I concur with Jenn...acorn...although the tune in the video is not up to our usual Girl Guide standards. I often think I'm cracked. I love reading your posts, Val, and I'm so glad that you joined the group. Since we share a birthday, we're like family now. LOL

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  17. Hi Valerie! Really enjoyed reading this! :-) As to a nut, I affectionately call the kids "nut bars" here when they are acting crazy, so I guess I'd have to be a whole bar of nuts too!

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  18. You win for most entertaining post-I remember your first meeting well-I was amazed at your purple cow-incredible. I missed your workshop-sometimes just have too many other commitments on the weekends. I love that we are all so different in style/personality etc but it all seems to work. As for nuts-I think I'd be an almond-they are generally symmetrical and the same shape-just like my quilting-queen of squares and rectangles;)

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  19. Refreshing to know there are others who don't fit into the standard quilt mold and nice to know the doors are opening wider for those of us who don't fit the mold so well..Having been that person a very long time, I would say I am most like a macadamia because I have been around and fortunately I roll with the punches.

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  20. I am positively THRILLED that I was able to inspire you, and even more excited to see that you have continued to push the envelope and keep breaking those rules and doing fabulous things! You go, girl!

    Lynne (from the Patchery Menagerie)
    Millie is the cat

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  21. Lovely to read about you. Yep, resistance to Kona fabrics is definitely futile. Not admitting how much or many different colours I have. ;)

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  22. Love your cow and the quilts with words. All of which I'd like to be able to do in the near future.

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  24. A Brazil nut, my dad's favourite at Christmas time. I own some Black Kona, that is it. Those two things let you know I don't follow trends. Love your posts Val,keep me smiling.

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  25. Do I wish I lived near you: there are some really fun people in your guild! I would say I'm a hazel nut: small but with a strong flavour (for fabric)!

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  26. Great post!
    I always enjoy reading and viewing your ongoing excellent adventures!!

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  27. I found your blog very entertaining. Welcome to the Kona Kult.
    Barb@Witsend

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  28. Nice to get to know a little more about the nut that is you, Valerie. I used to ride. But that all changed when I became a mom. What kind of nut am I? I guess I would say I am a Beech nut. Not to be confused with those folks who like to hang out on the sandy beaches in the summertime. More like the variety you would find deep in the woods beneath a Beech tree. Or up in it! Kona Nerds, UNITE!

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  29. Good luck with the gravity quilt! We see lots of riders near us, there are some pretty roads edging Lake Ontario. As for a nut, I might be an almond--chocolate covered of course.

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  30. Good luck with the gravity quilt! We see lots of riders near us, there are some pretty roads edging Lake Ontario. As for a nut, I might be an almond--chocolate covered of course.

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  31. Congratulations on getting your long arm. I think you will master it real quickly. You sound like a fun loving lady and I look forward to following your blog.

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  32. Hello Valerie - lovely to meet you and I really enjoyed your post. xx

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  33. I would love to have purple boots! My kind of style, and I need a replacement for the ones currently duct taped together.

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  34. Great post! Nice long arm, you lucky girl! You certainly found a good group to join! If I were a nut, I'd be a cashew, because that's the shape I am when I get up from marathon sewing!

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  35. Your blog was such a fun one to read. I LOVE your purple cow. It is amazing how we get into quilting, your story is wonderful. If I were a nut I would likely be a cashew, fairly soft hearted and don't like conflict.

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  36. Your purple cow is perfect! My Jennifer's favourite colour. When she was little she wanted a purple bedroom. Alas, I was able only to go mauve. Guess what colour she painted her bedroom when she bought her condo?? You guessed it------Vivid Purple!

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  37. Lots of fun being your guild-mate. I would be a Payday candy bar - almost totally nuts!! Do they have that commercial in Canada?

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  38. Val, you crack me up! It's great getting to know you a bit more - great post. I had to laugh at the description of the first meeting you attended - I wasn't there but I can just imagine the scene: Biker gal walks in and people think "yay! another quilter" without noticing the all leather outfit!

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  39. Love the go fish quilt! Hilarious!!!

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  40. I'm so happy to have found you by chance really ... only because I happen to already follow one of the group of Maritime Modern Quilters. I'm now a new follower and happy to be. I, too, am giggling at your Go Fish quilt. I have a "fish nerd" husband so I'm pinning yours for future reference.

    Our Saskatoon Modern Quilt Guild is full of awesome nuts. Assorted nuts of the best type. I'd call myself a Pistachio because who doesn't love to say "pistachio" and because I'm a little green ... both in that I'm new at quilting and I have Irish heritage. Nice to meet you!

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  41. A hickory nut, People claim I'm difficult to find but they just need to look in my natural habitat. Now I'm off to search obscure online fabric sites for that fabulous skull fabric in case I don't win!

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  42. My nuts would be hot..but peanut since I have a hard shell exterior..I,m commenting again since you indicated that to be included in the draw...?

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  43. I love that I get to see your bad ass self in person. Your personality really shows in your blog. As for nuts, I'm a macadamia. I'm delicate and full of flavour. I like to think of flavour as colourful.

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  44. I would be a Filbert. Only because on a particular tipsy Friday night someone said that word - Filbert - and I may have peed myself a little with laughter.

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  45. well, can't miss an opportunity to have some coveted skully fabric,lol. I would be a brazil nut- tough to crack,but meaty!

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