Would it surprise you to know that I have never had a proper sewing lesson in my life? Well, I haven’t. And I don’t think I will break the trend anytime soon. I am a totally self-taught quilter and learned everything I know today about quilting by reading others’ quilting blogs, examining online tutorials and picking apart Google images of quilts….Now that I say that, it seems like it would have been far less exhausting and time consuming to just attend a class or two….But, my secretly stubborn personality would not allow anyone else to show me how to do something – I’ve got to figure it out myself, I’ve just got to!
(…you can imagine my parents’ regret when it actually came time to instate their rule that we had to learn to drive stick before we could get our drivers’ licenses…being the oldest, I was the first to have a go at it, and I would imagine that is the very reason why, when it came time for my sister to learn, the rule turned into a mere suggestion…we Phelps/McKinley women can be a little set in our ways at times (oh, ok. All the time.) and I am positive my dad didn’t want to have a repeat of his driving lessons with me – haha! :))
And, since becoming a mom, I am starting to see that my intolerance of instruction is 1. Being genetically reflected in my 3 year old’s budding stubbornness…you can’t show her how to do something to save her life! 2. Reflected in my overall parenting approach. I like to let my kids figure out the world around them through trial and error (…of course always trying to avoid any major accidents from happening) because that is how I prefer to learn.
My husband, on the other hand, is a sponge. He seeks others’ opinions and advice on everything. He asked so many questions of his dad growing up that his dad coined the phrase ‘I don’t know, I’m not the answer grape’ when my hubs would get a little too eager to learn. Consequently, he wants desperately to show our kids the workings of the world and spread the wealth of his knowledge to them in any way he can, because that is how he prefers to learn…I appreciate his passion and admire his attempts, but unfortunately for him, our daughter, being 99.9% a reflection of my husband’s personality, has inherited the steadfast, unyielding, ‘you can’t teach me nothin’’ side of my personality…. J (a part of me loves that!) Ah, well, I guess we can hope that the twins appreciate instruction a little more than my daughter and I do, and are able to give my husband the much needed audience he deserves!
So, back to the blog at hand… Here’s a small list of the Blogs I use/used to teach myself how to quilt. These ladies are fantastic and offer so many wonderful tutorials and inspiring photos of their own creations. I check them regularly and am always impressed!
Cluck Cluck Sew
Red Pepper Quilts
Crazy Mom Quilts
Oh! Fransson
A Quilt Is Nice
Cabbage Quilts
P.S. My parents’ rule about driving stick…..was, looking back, one of the BEST rules (and I didn’t have many) they ever had for me. Its purpose was to keep me out of a pickle – be able to drive home in any car under any circumstance…and I, of course, plan on passing that rule on to my kids. And you can bet I will be ready and waiting for all of the ‘I got it, mom!’ ‘I know!’ ‘Just let me do it!’ s that come my way :)
(…you can imagine my parents’ regret when it actually came time to instate their rule that we had to learn to drive stick before we could get our drivers’ licenses…being the oldest, I was the first to have a go at it, and I would imagine that is the very reason why, when it came time for my sister to learn, the rule turned into a mere suggestion…we Phelps/McKinley women can be a little set in our ways at times (oh, ok. All the time.) and I am positive my dad didn’t want to have a repeat of his driving lessons with me – haha! :))
And, since becoming a mom, I am starting to see that my intolerance of instruction is 1. Being genetically reflected in my 3 year old’s budding stubbornness…you can’t show her how to do something to save her life! 2. Reflected in my overall parenting approach. I like to let my kids figure out the world around them through trial and error (…of course always trying to avoid any major accidents from happening) because that is how I prefer to learn.
My husband, on the other hand, is a sponge. He seeks others’ opinions and advice on everything. He asked so many questions of his dad growing up that his dad coined the phrase ‘I don’t know, I’m not the answer grape’ when my hubs would get a little too eager to learn. Consequently, he wants desperately to show our kids the workings of the world and spread the wealth of his knowledge to them in any way he can, because that is how he prefers to learn…I appreciate his passion and admire his attempts, but unfortunately for him, our daughter, being 99.9% a reflection of my husband’s personality, has inherited the steadfast, unyielding, ‘you can’t teach me nothin’’ side of my personality…. J (a part of me loves that!) Ah, well, I guess we can hope that the twins appreciate instruction a little more than my daughter and I do, and are able to give my husband the much needed audience he deserves!
So, back to the blog at hand… Here’s a small list of the Blogs I use/used to teach myself how to quilt. These ladies are fantastic and offer so many wonderful tutorials and inspiring photos of their own creations. I check them regularly and am always impressed!
Cluck Cluck Sew
Red Pepper Quilts
Crazy Mom Quilts
Oh! Fransson
A Quilt Is Nice
Cabbage Quilts
P.S. My parents’ rule about driving stick…..was, looking back, one of the BEST rules (and I didn’t have many) they ever had for me. Its purpose was to keep me out of a pickle – be able to drive home in any car under any circumstance…and I, of course, plan on passing that rule on to my kids. And you can bet I will be ready and waiting for all of the ‘I got it, mom!’ ‘I know!’ ‘Just let me do it!’ s that come my way :)
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