Hello, and Welcome! Please come in.....
make yourself at home
Today is my turn for "Blog around the World"
Please, sit down, get comfy and let's get started......
Can I get you something? a tea perhaps .....
So tell me, who is Janeen van Niekerk?
Well, first of all a child of God, a born-again Spirit filled believer, a radical if you will...
Wife of Herman, mother of Kevin, Heather and Johan,
Owner of Pepsi (Jack Russel), Frank and Chibi (spoilt cats)
Retired Psych. Counselor and now full time Quilter, Pattern designer, stay at home slave.....
quirky sense of humour - just ME...
More tea?
When did you start quilting?
I'm not really sure... I loved sewing in general since I was in Primary School and they let us use those tiny Singers with the handle you have to turn to get it to sew, but we never had a sewing machine at home so it was just something in the back of my head.
Only once I re-married in 1991 (first husband died - all okay, was very long ago) and my 2nd husband bought me a sewing machine did I really start to make small items and generally something for my babies.
We lived in a small town and the women had a small quilting group which I tried to "apply" to but because we weren't very important in the town, so the answer was NO! Boooooo!
I made small quilts on my own and read about them in books from the library...
Why the love of Paper Piecing?
Only last year in 2013 did I learn that there was such a thing as Paper Piecing - had no clue that it even existed until about Feb '13. Watched YouTube videos on how to and from looking at Images on the Internet, saw a "bird" pattern made by Johanna from Shape Moth and joined in the Forest QAL she and her friends were hosting.
This is the first ever quilt I made with Paper Piecing. Blocks were from all over.
Somehow this was just what I needed and was looking for, and soon I was making patterns from different designers and once I got going I just couldn't get enough! I love art and painting and drawing and mosaic etc. so this was like adding sewing to all of the art and BANG! we got
Quilt Art Designs.....
Only problem was that I could never find patterns I liked, so I decided that I needed to make my own blocks. I tried to find someone to teach me how to make the patterns, but that was a bust.... I had to basically figure it out on my own.....
This pattern is one of those very first ones.... Not very exciting but actually works....
My daughter and her boyfriend suggested that I start a small blog and a shop at Craftsy......
In the first 2 months of very nervously starting out and putting about 5 patterns into my very own "Indie Designer Shop" I had officially started something that I liked and that I wanted to do....
People started downloading those patterns at the speed of white lightening and so many emailed me and told me that they had also been looking for something just like the patterns I was making,
so on we went....
Now I have my patterns in Craftsy, Etsy, EQ7, Pattern spot and Thread Bias
(all buttons are on my sidebar)
I've also had my E-books on Amazon for a while, but I decided to take them off because they are pattern downloads and on Kindle you can't print them out.....
now all available in my shops
What's happening now?
In 2014 we saw the start of Paper Piecing 1/4" Digital Magazine and that's been very exciting... still growing the ideas....
For now the magazine has it's own blog - www.qadpublishing.blogspot.com
Magazine is a quarterly and shows paper piecing can also be fun!
Can only get better....
We made our own Art Quilt in a QAL -
I joined a club where we swap postcards all over the world - love it...
I started the "In the Garden" Block of the Month and that's been a total blast for me as well as those following along.
We also have a Friday's Paper Piecing party day
where people link up their beautiful creations
Need to quickly just add: Winner from Friday - Link #7 (Dreamworthyquilts) - email me please!
I was invited to submit a few of my Art Quilts to a Quilt Show in USA in October (wish I could go with the quilts, but the Post Office won't let me....booo!)
I've made friends with other bloggers in other countries,
learned new skills (Free Motion Quilting - ongoing....),
making videos tutorials for You Tube
Having loads of FUN!!
Still thinking about the African Fabrics online idea.....
just need a better name...
That's it - that's ME ...
Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me, stuck by me, left a positive comment and joined in the general fun.... XOXO...
Going to Nominate for the next Blog Around the World - Connie from Freemotion by the River
5 comments:
Your patterns are fabulous! The teapot pouring tea............lovely.
I love your patterns! I've seen them on Craftsy and they are definitely on my to do list.
It's nice to learn a little about you. Your patterns have filled a niche in my quilting life too. I had no idea you were so new to foundation paper piecing. Best of luck.
Nice post Janeen! It is fun to learn some more about the person behind all that paper pieced madness ;)
Some amazing paper pieced patterns, visiting you from Vera's blog.
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