The Name Game: Millions of Thoughts

I'm so happy to have Andrea here from Millions of Thoughts. I started reading her blog originally when the complete name was Millions of Thoughts Trapped in My Head--I just knew there would be interesting things to read and see, and have never been disappointed!

Hi there!  I'm Andrea and I blog at Millions of Thoughts.   I'm a wife of one, mom of two boys, alpha master of a dog and cat...and a quilter.   I am currently addicted to chocolate, jicama, sushi, and smoked oysters.  I love reading trashy romance novels and I watch my soap opera every day (usually in fast forward, but still...)  

I love to quilt.  When I quilt,  I can only work on one project at a time, and need to completely finish it before I start another quilt.  I love to work in solid colours.  When I design a quilt,  I design the pattern first in black and white, and then add the colour.   I used to be a closet quilter until the world of blogging opened my eyes to the world of others who share the same passion as me. 

How did you choose the name for your blog?

Millions of Thoughts (trapped in my head)  came about years ago in 2006 when we had moved to Alberta from coastal BC.   It was my musings of prairie life vs coastal life.   I had just started a teaching job in a rural school, and my previous experience was at the poorest inner city school in the Vancouver region.  I had so many random thoughts about my new life on the prairies, and wanted to remember it all - so I started  an online journal.  Back then in 2006, blogging was so new and not as public as it is now.      Once I started quilting, my blog became more of a way to document my quilting progress and a way to connect to others in the online quilting community.  I had no idea what an amazing experience it would be for me.   

 Were there other name you considered, and can you share any of them with us? 

I had not considered any other names at the time.  I really just had all of these thoughts that I needed to write out.    I sat at the computer and when blogger asked me for a name - I chose Millions of Thoughts Trapped in My Head -  without realizing how long I would keep up my blogging and how the process would evolve over the years! 

Now that you are recognized by Millions of Thoughts, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else?

I am not sure that I am recognized by my blog name - but, it will be hard to transition to a new name.  Millions of Thoughts has been with me for so long!  

 (Andrea's Moda Bake Shop pattern for Urban Shades is here, along with two other patterns)

Now that my blog is more quilting focussed I would like to rename it eventually.  I still love to dabble in quilt design and construction of simple, graphic quilts.    But, I have this gnawing part of me that always needs to learn more.  Recently, I've purchased a longarm quilting machine and am training to become a pro at it so that I can quilt for others.   My new longarm quilting business will be called Urban QuiltWorks, so I'm sure that over time, I will transition my blog slowly to that name.  

Andrea and Millie--I think they are both cute, don't you?

Thanks, Andrea! I hope you will all head over to her blog and say hi.

Coming up:
Fiona from Celtic Thistle
Elizabeth from Occasional Piece-Quilt
Kelli from Seriously, I think it needs stitches

March Modern Madness (aka how a nonquilter chooses a winner...)

As I mentioned, it is that time of year, March Madness. This year, like every year, there have already been major upsets, when lower seeds beat the higher ranked teams, upsetting everyone's pick for the NCAA basketball champion.

As a joke, not even knowing whether he would read my blog or not, I mentioned that it would be funny if our son, Aaron, played along with the 2013 edition of Fat Quarterly's Modern Madness, you know, choosing a winning fabric line. I sweetened the pot by bribing him offering him some baseball cards.

Well, he took the bait, and stopped by on his way home from work the other day with his bracket completely filled out! Of course he doesn't have a clue what any of these fabric lines look like, nor does he really care. He based his choices solely on their names.

Here are his choices for the Final Four (in the interest of education, so he will know what he chose, I have attached pictures):

2twenty Thr3ee by Cosmo Cricket:

Heaven and Helsinki by Patty Young for Michael Miller:

PB&J by Basic Grey for Moda:

and Mixteca by Eleanor Grosch for Cloud 9 Fabrics (and he will probably be happy to know that this choice is certified organic...)

This morning I received this picture (and along with a text saying that this would be a good option for bracket filling payments). Haha. I made sure he knew that receiving said "payment" also implied his permission granting me blog posting rights.

His scientific method of choosing the two fabric lines going into the finals? 2wenty Thr3e (because he was a huge Michael Jordan fan growing up and that was Michael's jersey number) and PB&J (because that was what he had for lunch on the day he filled out the bracket), with 2wenty Thr3e advancing all the way to the winner's slot.

I'll be posting updates on both his progress and mine. But really, just having him fill out the brackets was so unexpected and fun that the rest of it doesn't really matter to me. And buying the baseball cards? Well, like Mastercard always says...priceless.

The Name Game: Needled Mom

This week, Mary is here from Needled Mom. She lives in southern California and once in a while, especially when Mark and I are spending a week at the coast of central California, we talk about how we should get together for a quilting weekend. At the very least, we should get together and meet each other! 

Mary, how did you choose the name for your blog?

Okay....let's see.  How did I choose a name for my blog?  I didn't even know what blogging was six years ago when a friend of mine mentioned her blog and told me I should start one so that we could "keep up with each other".  She lives in Maine and called herself "Midlife Mom".   We joked about me calling myself "Needled Mom" since I loved to sew and had worked my career as a nurse - think shots here!!!  Anyway, it stuck and she helped me start my blog.  Talk about clueless!  I had to learn all of those cute little phrases such as HSTs, FQ, SIL, LOL, etc., etc., etc., but what a wonderful experience it has been.  I have met some of the most talented, friendly and helpful people through blogging and been inspired beyond my wildest dreams. 

 Now that you are known by Needled Mom, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else?

I can't imagine changing my name now that I am known by it, but maybe I should be "Needled Grandma" since we have 26 grandchildren.   Seriously, I am happy with what I am as it IS what I am - a mom and a lover of anything that has to do with needles.

 My mother started my love of sewing when I was about 4 years old.  I was hyperactive and loved machines.  She sat me in front of her sewing machine and let me play.  I made a skirt all by myself when I was five and have not stopped sewing since.  I made all of my own clothing, including my wedding gown and bridesmaids dresses and then discovered quilting.   While I spend more time quilting now, I still love sewing clothing for the grandchildren. 

Easter is just around the corner. Isn't this one of the most amazing things you have ever seen?

Thanks for playing along this week, Mary. We must get together sometime soon. 

I hope everyone will stop by and say hi to Mary at Needled Mom.

Coming up:
3/25, Andrea from Millions of Thoughts
4/1, Fiona from Celtic Thistle Stitches
4/8, Elizabeth from Occasional Piece-Quilt

Somewhere over the rainbow...

Clockwise, from top left: Shuffle by Riley Blake, Gingham by Michael Miller, Pearl Bracelet by Lizzy House for Andover, Mirror Ball Dots by Michael Miller, available from Westwood Acres.

Che' Fab, a modern division of Cherrywood Fabrics.

Stitch Basics by Michael Miller, available from Fabricworm.

It's hard to get my head out of the clouds when I see a rainbow stack of fabrics.

The Name Game: Blueberry Patch

One of the best things about starting the linky party for Really Random Thursday is that I have met lots of great bloggers who also appreciate the random things that happen in everyday life. One of them is Cathy from Blueberry Patch and I'm thrilled to have her here today. 

 How I would love to look at these lush flowers every day!

She comes from the Fraser Valley of Canada, and in addition to being a quilter, she has a blueberry farm.

One of these Denyse Schmidt "Proverbial" Quilts is on my short list

Cathy, how did you choose the name for your blog?

I never every get tired of seeing quilts made from the Swoon pattern

 

I can remember sitting at the computer as I fiddled around starting my blog.  I was trying to be clever and I don't know how clever I was.  We live on a little blueberry farm in the country.  It just seemed to make perfect sense to call my blog Blueberry Patch.  

 Were there other names you considered, and can you share any of them with us?

I remember one of my friends suggested Cathy's Cwilts. Too silly!  

What a great sewing space! 

Now that you are recognized by Blueberry Patch, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else? 

 Now that I am here and have been blogging for 2 years with this blog name, I am quite happy with it.  Content in fact.  It still fits well.  Friends and family refer to my sewing room as the Blueberry Patch or the Patch.  It works.  So I am not in any way thinking of changing the name.

And we try to have blueberries every day.  Just so you know.  

 Cathy has a great recipe here

Thanks for playing today, Cathy! 

 

I hope you will head over to the  Blueberry Patch and say hi to Cathy.

Here is what you can look forward to in the next couple of weeks:

Mary from Needled Mom, 3/18

Andrea from Millions of Thoughts, 3/25

WIP Wednesday, 3/6/13

You will undoubtedly start seeing a lot of progress pictures from my current charity donation quilt. Yes, I have started way sooner than I usually do. Mark thought it would be a good idea if I could get it to his cousin, Ione, who does the fabulous machine quilt, a little sooner than usual so she isn't pressured to work her magic in record time just because it has taken me so long to get the quilt top done.

So for lack of a better name at this point, "Swooning with Oakshotts":

I'm going to have to work on my camera settings because the blocks in that picture look so flat. If you have seen shot cottons by Oakshott, you know that they practically glow because they are woven with two different colors. Just gorgeous.

Six blocks are done. Ten more to go. I had a few minor setbacks, first when this happened,

and then when I decided to sew the right side to the wrong side. Anyway, each time it required spending a little quality time with my seam ripper.

I'm also working on some crocheted Lego blocks for this little Lego fan (I found the pattern here):

Linking up to WIP Wednesday. Thanks, Lee. I think you have me back on the road to weekly productivity.

WIP Wednesday

I bet you are saying to yourself, "Hey, wait just a minute here. It's not Really Random Thursday. Does she have her days mixed up?" Yes, I realize what day it is. This is my first non-Really Random Thursday post of 2013. Whoot!

Last weekend I was at one of my favorite quilting retreats--Quilting in the Pines (you can see pictures from last year here). This was the ninth year and I have attended each one. Over the years, our group has gotten smaller, and there were only four of us, although I think there were maybe 60 to 70 women in total, from as far away as Orange County (Los Angeles) and even one from Anchorage!

There was a little snow on the ground when we arrived. It was cold but didn't snow while we were there. And this happy face soon melted.

Our table looked like this all weekend.

And I didn't take many pictures. Not sure why. But here are a couple of pictures of things I worked on. The front of Farmer's Wife is completed! Now to put the back together, including the remaining thirty blocks, and get it to the longarm quilter!

I worked on some braids, for a project that I'm not quite ready to show yet.

And started my charity donation quilt for 2014. Swoon blocks with Oakshott cottons--such beautiful fabric.

I'm always happy when points come together like they are supposed to:

 Our good friend, Jullie, came to visit us on Saturday and brought homemade cookies. Yum.

Jennifer, me, Jullie, Dotty

(Not pictured--because I cropped her out--because she hates having her picture taken--is Deborah)

In lieu of a picture of Deborah, here is the quilt she was working on, Greek Cross blocks made out of Joel Dewberry's latest line. SO pretty!

I didn't participate in the "challenge" this year (where every participant gets 1/2 yard of the same fabric) and I forgot to take pictures. Doh. Except for this really cute little quilt (hi, Judy!)

And she used open zippers to make the flip-flop part. So clever!

Late Saturday afternoon, it rained just a little bit. At the same time the sun was shining.

I was kind of in a hurry on Sunday morning when it came time to pack up. I just wanted to Finish.This.Block. Being in a hurry is usually never a good idea.

Ooops...If it wasn't for the fact that it is going into a charity auction, with the hopes of raising significant money for a great cause, and the fact that it is a ginormous block, so the mistake is equally huge, I would be tempted to leave it.

I'm linking to Lee for the first time this year. I can't tell you how happy that makes me.