Tuesday 12 May 2015

Meet Maritime Blog Hop is Here!



Welcome to the Running Thimble!  I am a proud member of the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild and it's my privilege to take my turn on the blog hop and welcome you to this little piece of cyberspace. 

If you landed here from somewhere other than the blog hop, than make sure to check out the blogs listed at the end of this post.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

Now a bit about me and my quilts.

I made my first quilt in anticipation of my first baby (who is now double digits).  It was inspired from the only quilts I had ever seen: crazywork squares made of scraps with all the edges embroidered with a herringbone stitch.

First Quilt
My style has changed, but my favourite quilts are still made of scraps.  I love mixing a wide variety of fabrics: modern, traditional, batiks, 1930s repros... like in this plus quilt:


Having had to part with the quilt above, I just had to make another one using the same colour scheme which can be loosely defined as "anything goes bright with anything goes low volume".  I finished this top at MMQG's last Sew-In - always a highlight of my month.


Unless I am at the Sew-In, this is where the magic happens.  Full disclosure: It never is this clean, unless it's picture day, or my mom has just been here...



And speaking of my mom, I learned to sew from her, thanks to my desire to follow the "preppy" fashion that was all the rage in the era of the Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink.  Here I am, sporting my first hand made plaid pants.  I thought I looked so sharp!  You can't see it on the blurry picture, but rest assured that the pattern lines up at the seams.  To this day, it is the first thing I look at when buying clothes with stripes.

Welcome to the 80s...

I still dabble in garment making from time to time, but this is what I prefer to make:


Aside from quilting, my idea of fun times includes long distance running.  As I get close to a big race and training distances get longer, quilting takes the backstage and blog posts get more sparse.  Having just ran a full marathon two days ago Sunday (that's 42.2 km or 26.2 miles) I am nursing sore quads and tight hips and am not quite back in the swing of quilting things.  I have a long list of quilty things to do waiting for me when I find my way down the stairs to by sewing space.

EDITED TO ADD:  Oh my, oh my!  Did I forget to include a giveaway?  Truth be told, I have nothing prepared, so I will go home tonight and prepare a nice scrap bag with approximately 15-20 pieces all bigger than a charm square in my current favourite combo: half of them low-volume, and half of them random brights.  The giveaway is open until Wednesday, May 15th.

Thursday: THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED
Apologies for the earlier note that said open until Wednesday the 15th.
I really meant Wednesday the 13th.

It's been really nice getting to know my guild mates a bit better through this blog hop.  There is a lot of talent and inspiration in Maritime Modern Quilt Guild and I am glad to be a part of it.  Be sure to check Aimee's blog tomorrow, and visit the other ones you may have missed. 



Monday, May 4 - Maritime Modern Quilt Guild 
Tuesday, May 5 - Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge
Wednesday, May 6 - Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Thursday, May 7 - Tracy @ Quilting on the Dark Side
Friday, May 8 - Anja @ Anja Quilts
Saturday, May 9 - Val @ Purple Boots and Pigtails
Sunday, May 10 -  Linda @ Scrapmaster
Monday, May 11 - Jeanette @ Stamp Stitch Create
Tuesday, May 12 - Dominique @ The Running Thimble
Wednesday, May 13 - Aimee @ Candy Coated Quilts

48 comments:

  1. It's been great getting to know you, Dominique. Glad the Guild brought us together. Happy quilting...after you recover from the marathon.

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  2. Did you run Fredericton?! Lots of folks from the island were over for the race :) congratulations on a great run!

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  3. Hey! We have the same machine! :D

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  4. Lots of beautiful work to inspire and I admire anyone who can run a marathon ! Nice to visit you .

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  5. I cannot tell a lie. I covet your sewing space, Dominique. Though I'm pleased to say that mine is now the same colour. So fun to look at the progression of your quilts and I love how you combine the newest modern prints with "old stuff from my stash" as you say! Thanks for participating in the hop!

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  6. your sewing space is lovely!!! i'm in a dark and dingy basement right now, but i'm glad i at least have that! lots of great inspiration here as well.

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  7. Love your last Sew In finish. Kudos on your recent marathon. My youngest daughter started running several years ago and I have no idea where she gets the energy or stamina. She has done several halfs and signed up for her first marathon in December. (It is a lot warmer here in the winter than where you are.)

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  8. Oh my, I love that bottom left pic -- the quilt in blues & greens. Great combo. I think I may have favourited it already on Flickr (are you on Flickr?). annesimonot@sasktel.net

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  9. I'm visiting from St. John's, NL. Nice meeting you. Your sewing space is lovely as are your quilts. Thanks for sharing and for the giveaway.

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  10. I love you studio. Thank you for sharing a bit about yourself and your quilts. Love the low volume backgrounds you used in your pluses and mountains quilt.

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  11. Lovely quilts. What a wonderful space you have, so bright and the view out the window looks very peaceful. Visiting from Alberta but a bluenoser always.

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  12. Your sewing room is beautiful and I love, love scrap quilting too.

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  13. Lovely sewing space, so nice and airy.

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  14. I have purple scraps for you. See you Thursday at the meeting.

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  15. Your sewing space is incredible! Oh, those windows and the built in!
    I love your recent work with low volume and brights. Another to add to my ever growing list!

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  16. Glad to be visiting you this time Dominique! What a lot of light in your sewing room, that must be very helpful.

    And I love scraps and am collecting more! for an ambitious colour/low volume quilt. Congrats on another great run.

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  17. HELLO,a very nice post! Lovely workspace! Neat projects>the first quilt takes on a "stained glass"appearance to me ? very nice! ! Thanks for sharing!
    msstitcher1214@gmail.com

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  18. Hi Dominique! I've always loved your use of color and bold patterns. So satisfying. And a lovely studio too.

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  19. Love your scappy quilts. Inspirational!

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  20. As I am scrolling down and looking at your quilts, I am saying to myself that I want to make a plus quilt and I want to make the mountain peek quilt and so on!!! I love the colours you have chosen for your quilts !!! Beautiful!! I'm also now following you via Bloglovin so I look forward to more inspiration!!!

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  21. Good to meet you Dominique - I am enjoying the blog hop very much. xx

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  22. I love the bright/low volume color combo too! That plus quilt (along with all the others) is gorgeous! I'll be following you for sure, I like your work! :)

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  23. I am enjoying this blog hop. congratulations on your run! Your quilts are great.

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  24. I'm so glad to have discovered your blog! I love the plus quilt you made...the bright colors contrasting with the low volumes really catch my eye.

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  25. Your Plus quilt and your prickly bright/low volume quilt top are both beautiful, Dominique. It's been so nice to get to know you over the last year or two. Sure enjoyed getting a peek at your sewing room!

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  26. Oh gosh...now I have sewing room envy AND running envy! You are one remarkable & inspiring lady, I feel compelled to dust off my runners and get back to a regular running schedule now.

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  27. More lovely quilts and such a great space to work in as well! Plus running! Wow :)

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  28. Your sewing room is so beautiful and colour co-ordinated! x

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  29. Your quilts are wonderful and I absolutely love your studio..great colour choice on the walls! Those plaid pants rock..and deck shoes are all the rage again!

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  30. I love your quilting style and that gorgeous sewing room.

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  31. Although it's hard to tell from online pics, I'm guessing we must be close to the same age--the big hair of the 80s was really something.

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  32. I'm so happy to have found your new-to-me blog via a couple of your other guild members who I've been following for some time. I'm happy to be following you now, too. I'm especially fond of your low-volume/brights plus quilt.

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  33. I love all your quilts and your sewing room.

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  34. I love all your quilts and your sewing room.

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  35. Great post Dominique! You know I adore your quilts and I can only dream about having a sewing room like yours. It's so bright and spacious. Love your 80s look!

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  36. I love both of your low volume/brights quilts! So beautiful. And those plaid pants were very fashionable I'm sure.

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  37. Lovely post! You were brave to sew plaid trousers, they look so difficult to make. Now yoyou've got me wondering when they'll be back in fashion!

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  38. Love your sewing space! So much light must come in those windows. Gorgeous quilts!

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  39. Excellent work. I love the top right quilt in the set of pictures.

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  40. I too am a scrap girl. Love the possibilities. Quilters in Nova Scotia certainly do have awesome sewing spaces. Wow. We moved here from the prairies where there is wide open spaces and our sewing rooms are tiny in comparison.

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  41. Love the colors you chose for the plus and mountains quilts!

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  42. Just discovered your blog. Your quilts are awesome and you sewing studio is beautiful! Thanks for the opportunity to enter the giveaway. (shirparks@gmail.com)

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  43. Beautiful quilts and sewing studio! Thanks for the opportunity to enter the giveaway. (shirparks@gmail.com)

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  44. My first quilt (40+ years ago) was scrappy, and they are still my fav. I love your sense of colour!

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  45. I love how you put so many different fabrics together. I love that look but always struggle to put it together. I must do some pulls and beg your eye ;)

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  46. Thanks for sharing your blog and a picture of your sewing space as well as your quilts. Gorgeous!!

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Yay! Comments! I love reading all the comments and do my best to respond, (though sometimes, life gets in the way).