A: I have a few favorite spots...
www.fatquartershop.com
www.hawthornethreads.com
www.equilter.com
Also, locally at Joanns & my local quilt shop, Among Friends.
Q: How do you find the time to make all this stuff?
A: I don't really know. I feel like I waste alot of time in each day. I have come to realize in my old age (I'm 36 *wink*).. that I carve out time for the things that I want to do and are important to me. So if I spend the day sewing, it's because I didn't do something else. It's a trade off and a balancing act. I'm no expert and I would not say that I have the balancing act down. A few things that I do notice that help me have time to craft are:
-I have my own space.. a room in my basement. I don't have to pull out and clean up after each crafting session.
-I have a tivo... silly yes, but it does HELP! Now I only watch the t.v. shows that I WANT to watch and don't waste time in front of the t.v. like I used to. I hardly watch any t.v. at night now (unless it's on in my craft room). Not watching alot of t.v. does free up more time than you think!
-I like to craft with friends. I have a few close friends that I have known for years. I know I can call them up and tell them I have some hair brained idea and they come over and help me make it. The kids run around and we sit and craft.... It's a good plan... I get a lot done on those days.
-I can't shut off my "crafty brain"... I draw on napkins at restaurants, snap photos with my phone and read LOTS of magazines... I am always "cooking" something up. I think this helps because when I do have time to sit and craft I can get right to work. I also have a sketch book. Which I HIGHLY recommend. You will not believe how many ideas you will forget if you don't write them down.
-My kids are out of diapers. They are older and we are INSANELY busy. I don't think I realized HOW busy you get the older your kids get... I am "away from home" busy now.. sports, dance classes, church commitments etc... The flip side of this is, when I am at home I can work. They don't have to be watched every second like when they are tiny... i.e. no one has drawn on a wall in my house in years! (and it had better stay that way!). My craft room is attached to our family room. So I can work and still spend time with them.
-I REALLY try to take the weekends off from blogging. I'm trying to do all this without making my family feel like it's getting in the way or like we always talk about it. I like to spend the weekends just "playing" with my family... Friday nights out to eat... Saturday nights home movie night... Sundays church... Sometimes I will sit and sew if we don't have anything else going on.. but I try to just relax with them on the weekends...
Q: Are you paid to blog?
A: Yes and No. I have advertising on my blog, through the BlogHer network and with other sponsors. When I decided to take on advertising I committed myself to providing regular and quality posts for everyone to read. If people are looking at my blog I want it to be "worth" their time. I also feel a responsibility to my advertisers to make sure I provide quality content.
I DO NOT get paid to write posts for specific companies. (i.e. pay per post)
If I ever receive any compensation for featuring a product on my blog it will be clearly stated.
When I mention products by name it is only to assist you in finding the products to replicate my projects, it is not because I received compensation to.
Any giveaway by a blog sponsor will be clearly labeled "sponsored giveaway". I do not receive compensation to host giveaways. If I ever do it will be clearly stated in the giveaway.
For more Frequently Asked Questions... just click here for a list of all my FAQ blog posts!
