Keyboards and Quilting

Now, I'm not inherently crafty. That is, unless you count:

• Slapping hot glue, some straw, and orange paint on an empty laundry detergent jug and calling it a Halloween decoration
• Making Shrinky Dinks
• Latch hooking half of a pig pillow 
• Churning out beaded keychain animals (namely lizards) like there's an impending bead shortage

Truth be told, I haven't actually done any of these things since I was about, say, twelve, but the creativity, photoshop, color choice list is still a good measure of my level of craftiness. Even if I'm not exactly the second (or hundredth) coming of my girl Martha Stewart, I still consider myself a creative person. It's just that my medium is Photoshop, not a knitting needle or a bottle of Mod Podge. There's even a bit of overlap between what I do—create with a keyboard—and what I'm learning to do—quilt. Yes, the two couldn't be more different on the surface, but there's common ground in their bones; namely, precision and color.

First up—precision. Though I haven't yet started my classes with Kathy, nearly two years of working at The QP have taught me that points matching is kind of a big deal. Okay, so it's a really big deal. True story—the very first photos of quilt blocks that I posted on our Facebook page were edited in a way that cut off several of the points. Whoops! Kathy told me, "Quilters neeeed to see the points. It's what we work so hard on!" From cutting to sewing, I'm hoping my triple-check-the-locks-OCD comes in handy in my quilting endeavours. Time will tell!

Next, we have color. In graphic design, color can make or break your design. Something as simple making a button chartreuse or lime green can alter how people respond . Hours upon hours of watching customers choose fabric has taught me it's all for naught if the colors don't work. Though what works for someone may make another gag, loving your colorway is a very personal and pivotal decision.

Since I'll be sharing my fabric choices with the you and everyone else on the Internet, I'm really pulling for minimal gagging. Here's a sneak peek of a quarter of my colorway for my first project.

I'm a sucker for dark purple!

"Hello, hello, hello!"

I'm a rarity in the quilting world—someone who doesn't quilt or sew! When I worked in-shop (more on that later), my status as a "non-quilter" came up frequently and our customers were always surprised. "How can you not quilt when you're surrounded by inspiration all day?" they'd ask. Well, as you can tell from the name of my blog, I'm on my way to dropping the "non" in "non-quilter".

Before I get carried away, let me introduce myself—my name is Teri Seal and I work for The Quilt Patch, one of the largest quilt shops in Michigan. As my mother-in-law, Kathy Seal, owner of The QP, would say, I'm the resident "Computer Girl". I run the online shop, post on Facebook, edit QP Quilts & Co. patterns, and so on. After my son, E, was born at the end of last year, my husband, Gordie, and I decided it was best for me to be a stay-at-home mom. Swapping my 9-to-5 job for his beyond-adorable face was a no-brainer. Even though it means working in ten-minute increments and often late into the night, it's completely worth it to not have to miss one second of his childhood.

Although I'm anti-self-portrait, I don't want you to have to make

up a fake Teri in your head. Here I am, glasses glare and all!

In fact, E's a big reason why I've chosen to try my hand at quilting. Though I'm busier than ever, it's something I've wanted to try for a couple years (shhhh—don't tell Kathy). Plus, none of my hobbies—reading, watching movies, baking, sledding*, and playing board games—involve making something long-lasting, something greater than the sum of its parts. I find it fascinating that something so meaningful and cherished can be created by sewing bits of fabric together. Though it may be awhile (if ever) before I'm in family-heirloom territory, I've gotta start somewhere and there's no better time than now!

*Can you still consider something a hobby if you only do it a couple times per year? Hope so!!

This is the first of many photos of E. You're welcome! C: