Find Your Quilting Style

Hi everyone,

I have been swimming in quilting blogs, classes, podcasts, and everything I can get my hands on lately! If you haven't delved into the quilting virtual world yet, you might be shocked at what you're missing. I thought I'd share a few of the things I've been finding these last few weeks.

First off, if you think you are interested in quilting, but don't really know if it's for you, I recommend doing a few of these things to find your own quilting style. Maybe traditional patterns are for you, maybe you see a mixed media project that really excites you, or maybe you find the modern quilting movement fascinating. You won't know until you start looking, reading, or listening to what your options are! Maybe you even venture off on your own completely new niche. Try a few of these spots to start with:

• Craftsy.com offers a HUGE variety of instructional videos on different quilting techniques and projects. In the short month or so since I found out about them, I've signed up for 8 classes. Seven of them were FREE! One of the free ones that is great to start with is "Piece, Patch, Quilt: Basic Quiltmaking Skills" by Gail Kessler.
• Another free course I stumbled upon, which BLEW MY MIND, was the lecture series from QuiltCon 2013. Go check it out if you want to see what "modern quilting" is all about, and if it makes you as fired up as it did me.
• Have you heard of MODA? They are a fabric manufacturer that revolutionized the popularity of pre-cut fabrics, giving them fun names like the jelly roll and layer cake. They have fun things cooking all the time in their "bake shop" using pre-cut fabrics. Right now they are having a blog hop, called the MODA LOVE Blog Tour. 
• It started September 2nd and ends September 13th. Each of the fabric designers for Moda posts on their given day, showing a quilt they have each made from the same pattern, with their own fabric from their new lines. I think it is so fun to get to "know" these designers and see how different they each are in their approach and style.
• Hurry and get in on the fun because they are all hosting giveaways as well! Leave comments on their blogs and they will choose winners to receive free fabric from their collections on the 13th. I may or may not have been checking the blog hop every morning on my bloglovin' feed before I even roll out of bed.
• Finally, I have come across a few podcasts that are fun to listen to. Pat Sloan is the host of the American Patchwork and Quilting podcast. I love her interview style, and she has very interesting and talented quilters and creatives each week on her shows. This is a great way to find out about what is going on in the industry, as well as discover different styles and techniques. If you have a smartphone, just search for it in your podcast app. I listen to it while I'm sewing or doing dishes or folding laundry. Another podcast I found was Modern Sewciety with Stephanie Kendron. She even interviewed my friend Emily Herrick from Crazy Old Ladies not too long ago. That was a fun episode to listen to!
• All of the podcasts include show notes with the websites and links for blogs of the interviewees. I like to follow up on some that I'm particularly intrigued by.

I hope that gives you a fun starting place to dig in to exciting happenings in the current quilting world! Leave us a comment about your favorite blog, podcast, website, or other resource for creative inspiration.

Thanks for reading, and let us know what you'd like to hear about next.

Sew long.  <--Ha!