La Tempête's Creatives - Meg of Up All Night

Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me the pleasure of furthering my La Tempête's Creatives series by introducing...Meg of Up All Night! She is, as she puts it, "a 20 something who drinks too much tea and stays up too late quilting". Read on to discover more about her and her quilting.

What piqued your interest in quilting originally?
Believe it or not, the book series of Elm Creek Novels, from the public library. I got one out, was hooked and had to sign up for a class at my local quilting shop!

How did/do you develop your skills and techniques?
The internet, books from the library, classes at quilt shops...mostly from free tutorials though.

How do you choose the fabrics you use in your quilting?
A lot of it is hit or miss. I have a lot of trouble doing colour for anyone else, because my personal opinion dominates too much, but generally I am a bright colour girl, with lots of white space and sashing. I like gimmicky novel patterns, and spots!

Have you picked up any special tips or tricks?
Oh, a few here and there. Mostly they are from more experienced quilters, especially in the shops. I generally go in with a problem and come out with 6 solutions!

What is your favourite part of the quilting process?
My favourite? The beginning. The ideas process - choosing a pattern, a block with some significance and going shopping, of course!

Least favourite?
My least favourite would have to be getting enough steam up to finish projects. I am easily distracted :)

Where do you find your patterns and what makes them appeal to you?
Mostly I like basic blocks, like the 9 patch or Ohio Star. I love to browse books like Material Obsession, and love people like The Sometimes Crafter, who posts block patterns online. There are a lot of "quilt along block parties", which involve a block pattern being posted every month and a flickr with everyone's completed blocks.

You're in your 20s; do any friends of yours quilt? What do they think of you quilting?
Not really. At all. It's kind of an amusing hobby of mine, but I guess everyone has their something.

Do you like to make 'pretties' or useful objects?
I would like to say useful objects, but everything I've made so far has been a "pretty"! So I guess both? I would challenge the idea that a pretty cannot be useful, and vice versa!

Your most wanted quilting items currently are...?
Ohhh. Left handed rotary cutter? Or an awesome stash of plain colours! Or some Heather Ross fabric [You and La Tempête both]! Or...I'll stop now.

When do you normally enjoy quilting?
In the winter. Something about summer makes me want to play outside, not be indoors. But time of day? Probably the afternoon/evening. Once everything vital is done around the house :)

Thanks, Meg!

Join us again next week for a knitty experience, in the 3rd installment of La Tempête's Creatives.