What do you do and what inspires you?

I am applying to an internet quilt group to act as a lead for a week.  They had a list of questions to answer and I thought it would be interesting to share some of my answers with you.  The questions were thought provoking.  They asked what my quilting style was like, what inspired me, how my quilting relates to the subject I want to share with the group.  

The process of answering the questions was interesting and introspective.  It made me think of what I do, what I like and what inspires me.  Maybe we all should sit back every once in a while and answer these questions.   Here are some of my thoughts.  How would you answer these questions?

In fact, just for kicks and giggles, before you read on to my answers, why don’t you jot some notes about your thoughts and either link your blogpost in the comments or write them in the comments below.

What is your style, what do you do that adds to techniques chosen, what and who inspires you, scope of work and other things about you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are my answers paraphrased and combined in several paragraphs.

What is your style:
I have a laid back, don’t sweat the mistakes attitude. I try everything I am interested in and sometimes take risks.  I believe we need to push through the fear of failure we all have!

What do you do that can add to the technique chosen:
I have done the International Cotton Robin and the Modern Robin Challenges for almost 10 years now.  In my 4 guilds I also get involved with challenges so I can interact with the people.  I love coming into contact with things I would normally not do, colors I wouldn’t pick up and styles that are not mine.

I do art and fiber art quilt work and mostly Modern and Improv Quilting.  Started as a traditional quilter, I could never live up to the perfectionists who match every seam. I am not afraid to try anything, sometimes I succeed wildly..... and sometimes not so much.  It is part of the journey, right?

What and who inspires you:
I am inspired by so many things; mostly those amazing people in my Fiber Art groups ( SAQA, CFAL and Fiber Explorations).  I have developed relationships with other internet artists and we share knowledge and information informally.  I find that such an asset.  We don't have to socialize with each other later so we can talk with honesty about each other's work.  It isn't all flattery, and that is the way I like it.


Scope of work:
I do rusting, stencilling, fabric manipulation of various sorts.  I do some machine piecing, some handwork, some embroidery, some dyeing.  And Eco-dyeing, I am learning from a real Medicine Man from the Tuskalosa Tribe!!!  Sometimes I get overwhelmed with it all!  But I continue to make quilts and art and give them to people who love them.  Sometimes I sell some art or a quilt, sometimes I get a commission.  But it is not what I live for. My charity work is for Animal Charities rather than children, which makes me somewhat of an outlier in the quilting guilds.

Other things you want to say:
My sewing room is a mess, my seams don’t always match..... I am the every woman of quilting. I do what I love and buy more fabric!  I own a long arm but work freehand not computerised (which is cheating, right?) I make my own mistakes and learn from them!  (Or like them and repeat them.). I am President of the largest and oldest Animal Rescue in the area and have trained dogs for over 40 years.  I currently own the two Basset Boyz down from five 100+ lb Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs. Hence the Quilts and Dogs moniker!

Hope you liked the concept and will challenge yourself to answer some questions on your own.