2013 New Blogger Blog Hop ♥ The Rainbow Revolts

Hello everyone, and welcome to The Rainbow Revolts! I'm so excited (and a little nervous!) to be able to have you all here to see what I've been doing so far ♥ I'd like to give my thanks to Plum and June for organizing this wonderful event and for including me and so many other wonderful bloggers! I've loved getting to know everyone and bulking up my bloglovin' list, I hope everyone else feels the same ♥

First, an intro, then a little Q&A! My name is Gwendellyn, I'm 23 years old, and I currently live in Tucson with my husband and our cutie cats (and a roommate! One of my bff's from high school). I learned to sew when I was around 6 or 7, tiny projects that my grandma helped me with. She used to make all of my Halloween costumes, until I was 13 and I finally made my own! I loved working with clothing, both sewing and altering, and attended FIDM for a year in 2010. Unfortunately I couldn't keep attending because of financially problems, and this led to a big period of decline for me creatively. I didn't design, I didn't sew, nothing. It was depressing! Finally, this past December, I stumbled upon mrsmcporkchop's blog and had my eyes blown wide open. What am I doing, in my poorly decorated home? There's things to make! I had always avoided "home sewing" because I thought, and I think this is hilarious now, that it was incredibly boring. I found quilts to be ugly for most of my life! I had no idea about modern quilting, and how my love for fabric could find a place within quilting. It's hard for me to continue garment sewing because of cost and availability of patterns, but now I can get some scraps from a local fabric store at $4/yard, and have so many options on things to make. It's a powerful feeling! One of the other reasons why I really took to quilting is because I've always loved learning about other cultures and their traditions, and I've always felt a lack of that in my own life. It's great to draw from other cultures, but there's something special about continuing an art to be proud of from one's own background! Learning about the history of quilts, and how it's such a traditional American thing, has made me fall more in love with it because it's something about my history to be proud of! I think I also sort of like looking like a grandma before my time ♥ 

Okay okay, now that you know me a little bit, have some questions and answers!

L: My first completed quilt top, made from a Posy jelly roll! R: Simple patchwork stripe for the backing

When did you start quilting/who taught you?
I starting my quilting journey in January with the Skill Builder BOM over at Pile o' Fabric, then went on to start Swoon in February. I'm self-taught, by which I mean I sit by myself at home and pore over tutorials and videos and tips and tricks all day, haha! I just recently joined my local quilt guild, and I'm really looking forward to having a lovely group of people around to guide me throughout my beginning stages. It's important not to fall into bad habits! I will say that I've been really honest with myself through the process, by which I mean that I haven't done much taking apart and re-doing of anything, unless there's nothing salvagable about it. I really like having a record of my learning stages, and seeing my seams slowly start aligning more and more! I hold myself to higher standards with each new project I take on, so I don't stay lazy about certain things. I think it's working out fairly well for my first few months of quilting!

Current Skill Builder BOM progress! One and a half months behind at this point, whoops...

Why did you start your blog?
I started this blog to be able to have a place to readily open myself up creatively by sharing my work, get feedback, and be able to start being a true part of the quilting community. I love being on Instagram and sharing and exploring there, but it's obviously limited compared to having a blog! By the way, if you're wondering about the name, it's really just a name I came up with one day that amused me. I needed a new aim handle and was thinking about variations on rainbows or something. I like it because it's sort of like, a sentence - The rainbow revolts! Like it's an uprising! Or it sort of sounds like a band name, yeah? Introducing, The Rainbow Revolts!! Or it could be a criticism, such as, "[That] rainbow revolts [me]". Revolting rainbows. Horrifying! I have no idea where I'm going with this now, haha.

Swoon progress! Block 7 is patiently waiting to be sewn; 8 & 9 have fabrics picked but haven't been cut yet!

What is your favorite/least favorite part of sewing/quilting?
I actually haven't finished a full quilting project yet - crazy, right? I can definitely say that my favorite part of sewing in general is the fabric. I love fabric! It's the best way I've found to satisfy that urge for color and design in my life. When it comes to quilting, this makes my favorite part the planning process - being able to touch the fabrics and test them out together and make something harmonious. It's so fun to play around with textures and prints and colors! The rest of it is all the actual hard work and follow through, haha. My least favorite part is ironing (during the winter it's my favorite part, oddly, but during these 100+ degree summers? Ehhh...), closely followed by attempting to take reasonable pictures with my cell phone. My husband said that after I finish my third quilt we can save up for a good camera for me - a good deal, I think! 

My Scrappy Trip Alongs. I'm not terribly good at them yet, but I'm sticking with it!

What other hobbies do you have?
Right now, my hobbies are centered around crafting - lots of cross stitch and embroidery, especially! I used to do lots of garment sewing/modifying, not so much anymore. I also do some work with coloring for lineart! I don't make much time for it anymore since I get antsy sitting on the computer too long these days, but it used to be one of my favorite creative pasttimes.  Video games are another hobby of mine, me and my husband are currently playing through Ni no Kuni - highly, highly recommended, by the way! I love movies as well, classics and new; especially anything by Sofia Coppola and Quentin Tarantino (both for very different reasons, mind you!). 

The embroidery letters are from the Daisychain ABC's; the cat is made from various designs from this book ♥

What other social media do you actively use?

I'm on Instagram pretty much all day, these days! It's so perfect for us crafty types, huh? I have a Pinterest account as well, but I don't use it all that often! 

Foundation paper pieced desserts from Ellison Lane Quilts' summer sampler series!

Do you have any quilting or blogging questions?

Yes, I do! I'd love to hear how quilting changed your life, or what it has brought into your life. This is something that I think about a lot personally, and I'm very interested to hear what others have to say about it! Besides that, if there's any tips that you've been given have that improved your quilting more than any other, what is it? I think I need a few ;)

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Here's who else is on tap (my normal mosaic post will be up this weekend, don't worry!): 

Friday, June 28
Green @ So Sew Green
Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme
Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap
Kathy @ Kayak Quilting
Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts
Paula @ The Sassy Quilter
Kris @ Sew Sunshine
Camilla @ Faffling

So go visit them, too! ♥ Have a great weekend everyone!