Around The World Blog Hop & a Giveaway

Please click to play the video I've popped in this post whilst you have a read...fitting song, yes? no?  I thought of it as soon as my online friend Maria of Mia Creates blog fame asked me if I'd like to participate in this blog hop.  If you'd like to read her post about the Around The World Blog Hop, please click HERE.

Before I go on, I guess I should let you know a few facts about me, that you may or may not already know....

•  I was due to  be born on December 13th, I kind of went dormant (shuddup, it doesn't explain anything, let alone alot about me lmao) for about 2 months,  but back in that era, if the baby was still alive, they let you cook as long as you wanted, within reason, and so I arrived on February 22nd, weighing in at a healthy by the late 60's standard baby weights...9lb's 10 oz's.
• My favourite colour is purple, has been for years....but it used to be a different colour.....can you guess what colour it was?  See below for the giveaway.
• I love owls, and have lots of hooty gear and fabric...but always on the lookout for more....hey, it's not a collection once you stop collecting...at least that's what I keep telling people lol
• I have 1 daughter (almost 29 yrs old, tomorrow in fact.....Happy Birthday baby girl, love you xxx) and 1 son (16 years old), my daughter has given me two wonderful gifts, in the form of my 2 gorgeous granddaughters, and this is my all time favourite pic of them both.

The big sister on the left is TaShie and she turned 7 years old last week, and the little cutie on the right is Justice and she will be 1 yr on January 1st 2015

Now, it's time to get on with the 'official' blog hop stuff.....I have some questions to answer now, as part of the hop, so for new readers, you can learn a little about crazy ol' me lol  *Rubs hands together.....come in to my parlour said the spider to the fly!*

1. What am I working on? 

I am thinking I should be narrowing this down to just one thing, but pffft, as if I ever have just one thing on the go....maybe in an alternative universe I'm that good, but now, in this world, I tend to have lots of things on the go, and have to eventually get around to finish them...hopefully! Recently, I made 2 Bionic Gear Bags, for 2 very close friends (1 is my bestie!)....I really need to make me one, because Terri and Marc, well more so Terri, keeps rubbing my nose in it, that they've got BGB's and I haven't lol  Here's their two that I made.

 The above 2 pics are of Marc's, and the 2 pics below are Terri's, which you can tell from her name badge!

If you'd like to make a Bionic Gear bag for yourself, click HERE to purchase the pattern.  If you happen to leave a comment on that site, be sure to tell 'Ripstitcher' that I sent you!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

There's a genre for 'crazy lady crafter who can't make up her mind what she wants to make'??? lol  I didn't think so, but to answer the question....I believe my work differs from others within the same genre spectrum by the choices in fabric I make....I have a large collection (always sounds nicer than stash don't you think?  Plus I have run out of spots to 'stash' my fabric anyway haha) of fabric that I've been collecting for years, so some is more dated to say the least.  This is a pic of just part of my collection of fabric....the collection kind of spans across a few bedrooms and the living room/lounge room!

3. Why do I create what I do? 

 Simple answer.....because!  I know that's not an explanation as to why, but it's why I create the things I do....because I can....is that a better answer? lol  I enjoy creating things, whether they be my own design, or using a tutorial or pattern that someone else has designed.

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

The longest part of my creative process, is deciding which fabric or fabrics to use....seriously I pick a pattern out (sometimes that takes a while to do as well) and immediately I have a mental picture form in my head of what fabric I can see the item being made in, then I have to go find the fabric to complete the puzzle.....doesn't always happen.....sometimes I make do with an alternative fabric, mostly though, I go and acquire the necessary fabric choice at the shops or online....ahem, so what if it's self enabling!

If you had asked me 7 years ago, if I'd ever make a quilt, then I would probably still be laughing at you...I used to joke around in a friends online group, that I was never going down the quilting vortex, but now, I've made a few quilts, some were following patterns and some were just what I like to call 'put togethers' as in you have a pile of blocks and you work out how many are needed for the desired quilt size (which in my case, is usually for Aussie Hero Quilts) and sew them together....Shock, horror and amazement, I even FMQ (Free Motion Quilt) most of  them myself lol

*Insert drumroll* My nominations for next Mondays (8th September) Around the World Blog hop posts are:-

Patricia whom I met just a short while ago via Facebook, and I was laughing as she'd put links to blogposts in the FB group showing her messy sewing room....between you, me and the lamp post, hers is like a showroom studio at it's worst compared to mine at its best...and no, I'm not showing you mine lol  To read her Around the world blog hop post, click HERE next Monday and whilst you're there, consider following her blog....she doesn't have many followers, and I think she deserves millions :)

In my efforts to find another person to participate in the blog hop, I asked Marc from Daisy-Jayne...you might remember her from the FRIENDS swap last year....we ended up partnered together....and just so happen to live in neighbouring towns...so we manage to catch up at least once a fortnight, if not more often.  She's crazy, vivacious, creative, clever and oh so funny.  Go on over and check out her blog post, by clicking HERE.

I'll be popping a reminder post up next monday in case you forget to go check their blogs out!

Ok, now for the giveaway.....if you would like the chance to be the lucky new owner of this item

then please leave a comment saying what you think my favourite colour USED to be....it's purple now.....but that's not what I used to favour......all correct answers will go into the draw, and on 15th September, I will use the random number generator to pick the lucky winner.....open to everyone....international entries welcome.