the 2014 new quilt blogger blog hop

June 10, 2014

hi! and welcome to my stop on the 2014 new quilt blogger blog hop! i want to give a special thank you to beth, over at plum and june, for organizing and hosting this event, because if it weren’t for her, you may not be reading this right now!

my name is christina, and i am a twenty-something year old, born and raised in indianapolis, indiana. (hence the name, “wholesome midwestern.”) i am currently a preschool teacher at head start, which is a federally funded program for low income families. my job is very challenging, yet very rewarding. those kiddos sure do keep me on my toes!

aside from crafting, i have a younger brother and a younger sister who are my pride and joy.

oh yeah, and of course my boyfriend, brian, whom i love dearly. these three characters make my world go round.

if you want to know how i came up with the name for my blog, which is pronounced “whips” and “toots,” (although i’ve been told at first glance some might mistake it for something a little more naughty, lol) you can read all about it here. long story short, it stands for “works in progress & tutorials.”

being artistic and working with one’s hands runs in my family. i, myself, have loved creating since as long as i can remember. i got more serious about art in high school and college, when i started making personalized gifts for people. (which is still my favorite thing to do!) i used to be a huge papercrafter, then i was into “mail art,” but when my mom gave me her old sewing machine, i fell in love with quilting.

(here’s what i sew on now)

i’ve had to teach myself everything i know about sewing; from the most basic things, such as threading a machine…to the much more intense, such as binding a quilt (which i still hate doing by the way!) it has been a struggle, but it has also become my favorite past time, and i’m very proud of how much i have learned in such a short amount of time. the online quilting community has been an AMAZING help!

i just completed my first quilt about a year ago, for mother’s day, so when it was suggested to choose my “favorite” quilts to showcase during the hop, i didn’t have a lot to choose from, lol. however, here are a few…

i’ve become a big fan of making pillows…just because they are quick, easy, and so versatile. the first is a “one up” pillow i made for brian, for valentine’s day.

the next is a pillow i made for a good friend when she was diagnosed at a very young age with breast cancer.

and the other two i just completed this past weekend, for my sister’s graduation presents.

for christmas, i made this blanket for my brother. i was really happy with how it turned out. it was the first time i had used denim, which was difficult because it had a little bit more stretch/give than i was used to. it was also the first time i had used flannel as a backing, and i REALLY loved the weight it added. i washed it on christmas eve, right before giving it to him. it was so warm and crinkly, i almost didn’t have the heart to give it away.

being so new to quilting, paper piecing has been a saving grace for me. i love the precision of it. it was a little harder to learn, and can be tedious at times, but the overall result is so worth it in the end. i recently made this mustache quilt for my good friend’s son. there were no nips, tucks, or puckers on the back, and the binding was almost flawless, so it was nice to see my progress coming along.

and the final project i want to share with you, is my zakka swedish bloom work in progress. i couldn’t have wips & tuts without a work in progress, right?! lol. i think this project showcases my personality the most, because i had myself in mind while picking out the fabrics. i kind of wanted to go vintage, but i wanted it to be colorful and lively as well. there are only 9 blocks total, so i am almost ready to put the top together! you can also tell which flowers i made at the beginning of my quilting journey, and which ones are newer/better! lol

i haven’t been blogging very long either, so really the only advice i can give is don’t take yourself too seriously. i’m sure you’ve noticed that i don’t like capital letters. i use slang and “text talk.” my pictures aren’t professional quality, and my quilts aren’t ready to be sold at pottery barn. i like to have fun when i blog, and i type as i would talk to someone in front of me. i don’t get bogged down by making perfect posts or projects with no mistakes. i use it as an opportunity to document what i am working on, and share my thoughts with my family and friends. “to thine own self be true!”

as far as a piece of quilting advice goes…i would have to say that more is more. quilting is an expensive, time consuming hobby, so you’ve got to commit. i learned the hard way that $1.99 a yard broadcloth and cheap thread only wasted time, money, and energy in the end. trying to skimp and get by with scraps while paper piecing only lead to frustration. not taking the time to properly stretch and tape down the backing, and/or being too lazy to baste with enough pins, resulted in unwanted puckering. invest in quality products that are going to last you awhile, and know that it takes patience and practice to piece quilts.

my question for you all, is what is your creative process? do you find a fabric you like and then pick a pattern to go along with it? do you have a specific recipient in mind and then go from there? do you jump on whatever the current quilting bandwagon may be at the time? do you join quilt alongs that have predetermined patterns, and sometimes even fabric suggestions as well, to keep you on schedule? i have a lot of fabric in my stash and don’t know what to do with half of it. here’s hoping you can help me solve that “problem,” lol 😉

i’ve been told i’m long winded, so i apologize for being so chatty! but if you’ve stuck with me and made it this far, i certainly appreciate ya! my last interesting tid bit about myself, is that i am an avid reader. however, when i was bitten by the quilting bug, i kind of put books on the back burner. so, in order to get myself going again, i set a personal goal to read 30 new books, before i turn 30 in november. doh! i let the cat out of the bag about my age. if you’d like to read reviews on the books i’ve read thus far, and/or suggest something for me to read next, you can go to this post.

here is a link to the tutorials i have shared thus far, but be aware, they are not all about quilting.

i’d love if you would continue to follow me on my journey to become a stellar quilter!