Hi everyone! Welcome to Day 26 of our Glorious Autumn Block Party. Today we have Sandi Andersen as our featured designer.
Visit the Block Party Headquarters for more info and upload your completed blocks to the Flickr group.
Featured Designer: Sandi Andersen
How did you get into quilting?
Quilting came naturally because almost all of the women in my family were quilters, along with all the local ladies at our church. I remember going to Ladies Aid Society meetings with my mother, Mary, and sister, Judy. My Grandma Goldie would be there, Great Grandma Lillie, Aunt Marie, Ophelia, Cora, Maudie, etc. They all inspired me to be a quilter and to enjoy stitching!
Since I have shared my first quilt in a previous designer profile, I thought I’d share my second quilt. This baby quilt for my son, Devlin. Read about it here.
How/when/why did you transition from a quilter to a designer?
My first quilt was made for my daughter and I didn’t think of myself as a designer then but I certainly made a specific design even though it was made from clothing scraps. As the years went by, I thought of myself as a designer because I tended to buy fabric and be inspired by a memory or an event that would end up as a quilt or a craft project. I rarely bought patterns because I enjoyed the challenge of creating my own design. Today, more than fifty years since I learned to sew, I still thoroughly enjoy the challenge of taking fabrics and a bit of inspiration from a memory or even and making it all come to life in a quilt!!
Which quilt is your favourite? Did you design it? Why is it your favourite?
My favorite quilt changes with the seasons and the holidays! Right now, I am enjoying the quilts that celebrate Halloween. The day after Halloween, my favorites will be anything that celebrates the bounties of Autumn and harvest. And then it’s Christmas! Oh, I do love Christmas quilts! And maybe I do have a favorite that I’ll share. It’s my “Brick and Tile” quilt that was inspired by the memories of the little town where I grew up, Lehigh, Iowa. You can see the quilt here.
Just thinking as I write this, that I do have a favorite small quilt project and that’s the candlemat I designed for Michele’s swap a couple of years ago. It was so much fun to see so many different fabrics used in that little candlemat in so many corners of the world! Tutorial is here.
How many UFOs do you currently have? At least two dozen that I know of…
What size of quilt do you prefer to make/design? I love to make small projects. I spent many years creating 1″-1′ scale miniatures and for me, the smaller the better!
What colour do you use most often in your quilts? Whatever the season is, that’s my current color palette. However, I do love pink a lot!
Favourite one-sentence tip for a new quilter: Easy… When shopping for fabric, remember that if you like it then buy it, but don’t buy it if it is what someone else thinks you should buy.
Favourite size and brand of rotary cutter: I prefer my small Fiskars that I’ve for many years.
Favourite quote or mantra: Good advice from my Grandma Goldie…”It all works out in the end.” Add my spin to it “and it may not be quite the way you planned, but it eventually works.” That applies to quilting because sometimes I plan a project one way and once I get started, I can clearly see that way won’t work and I figure out a new plan.
Block Party #26 – Maple Swirl
Here’s Sandi’s block, Maple Swirl. It’s another great block to use up scraps with a great fussy-cut centre piece. Head over to Sandi’s blog for the photo tutorial.
See the previous free quilt blocks!
Designer Give-Away
Sandi’s give-away is a kit so you can make four blocks into a table topper. It will include all the fabrics needed to make the table topper including backing fabric but not batting. Enter the give-away on Sandi’s blog.
