Quilty Thoughts & Blog Photos

Last fall, Pencil girl and I attended the NW Quilt Show at the Expo center, here in Portland.
That's where we took the long-arm quilting class put on by Boersma's (McMinnville).

I was going through  my photos on my smarty pants phone this morning and I realize
I've been gearing up to this blog post for quite a while.
Why do I blog? Why do you blog? What's the purpose of blogging?
This seems to be a yearly ritual with me - to re-examine the reasons.

Check out the photo above?
Is this not a great presentation of these felted purses? As one with the background - the craft extended?

1. I take photos because they interest me.

I know I'm interested, but I can definitely say that most people are not. This photo could be printed onto paper - but why? No one, not even me, will ever view it again. However, in this context of the blog post, it obtains value.

2. By putting these photos into a blog 'story', I will read them again.

3. My memory's going.
Yours is too. These two photos of the modern-style blanket are from a book, not from the NW Quilt Expo. I was drawn to to the design and what fabrics the designer used. (polar fleece).
I don't even recall the book now but I took them about the same time as the NW quilt Expo.

Frankly, my phone camera doesn't like to rotate photos. I am reasonably sure that I took the first photo of this polar fleece blanket the same way as the second - yet technology trumped me again.

4. Keep up with technology.

Simple, but striking striped pillow case.

5. To recall design decisions.

I am enjoying Pinterest as a way to organize my thoughts on sewing design.

Many bloggers are making the switch to Instagram as a blogging platform. 
One photo, one thought.

My perception of Instagram.    I haven't used it as of yet.

My mind is full of random thoughts.
Blogging helps organize them, edit them & more importantly, get them out of my head to a place where they can be useful.





6. This is not a quilting blog.
I have zero interest in piecing this quilt but I can enjoy the result without having to make it myself.
My blog is not about any one sewing method. --Just random ramblings of things that interest me.

I have been able to distinguish that hand made items are valuable - by writing this journal. By writing things down, we start to understand patterns & repetitions in our thoughts.





A very useful add-on table. If you were going to make a thousand HST (half-square triangles) that all needed to be pressed.



This art quilt won First place. What makes it 'special'? What were the judges looking for?

7. My blog is a place to put photos of things I've experienced. Wait... wasn't that the number one reason?

The art quilt above is called "Flight Path". Those who read my blog know that I have a rabid interest in flying. Taking photos is a way to recall events that are brought to mind by the photo.

Seeing this photo again recalls a sunny spring day with airplanes taking off to fly out for breakfast and (random segue here) the need for less chemicals in my yard in order to attract fluttering  butterflies and hummingbirds (and segueing back) recognizing a particular round engine noise.

8. Writing to express to the world, "Who am I"?

Photos definitely say more about me than I do. Chatty Cathy was a doll who talked as much as I do. Yet, I do not share my most private thoughts with  most people. I can talk a lot about nothing at all. I work in retail where I can BS with the best of them. But I am innately careful not to share too much.

My blog allows me to do so to a select few.





3. Memory.

What a fickle creature. I've seen this purse pattern around the blogasphere in various formats and I am drawn to making this purse. Just a reminder.



Traditional quilting but monochromatic.




I was drawn to something in this photo - enough to take a photo. Was it the materials used to create texture? The actual material? The pattern?











9. Mostly, I just like a place that encourages me to write more and a place to dump my photos.




Oregon Coast Art quilt. Love those random squares and rectangles on the side sashing.






***bye bye photos taking up space on my smarty pants phone.