My Modern Muse - Di of Random Thoughts Do or `Di`

Today`s it`s the 7th installment in  the My Modern Muse series, and I am super excited that my wonderful bloggy mate Di of Random Thoughts Do or `Di` has come all the way over from Southern California to chew the fat and tell me what she loves about quilting and what motivates her to create her beautiful quilts. If you don`t know Di, pop over and say `hi`.  She is a super talented sewist, an awesome cook, a terrific photgrapher and has the most beautiful family. She`s also the brains behind the Stitch Tease Bee!

Today I took Di away from the normal chaos hustle and bustle to a quieter spot in Marrakech. Here`s what she had to say.

The Pharmacist`s Club, Marrakech

Annabella When you are offline, what things in life inspire you to create your beautiful quilts?
Di Seeing things in a magazine, nature and architecture. I'm not very creative but I am a wonderful copier, putting my own spin on things.
 
Annabella  Apart from your immediate family, who has been your greatest creative inspiration in your life and why?
Di My godfather/uncle was a very creative man. He always was my cheerleader whenever I would make something. My best friend from the 6th grade (she's still one of my besties) and I would make all our clothes. We would fight over who got to make the outfit on the cover of Seventeen magazine. So being competitive inspired me too. Usually the magazine would come out and within two days one of us would be wearing that outfit to school!

Seventeen Magazine 1970 (image courtesy of www.forties-fifties-sixties-love.tumblr.com)

Nowadays, it is all my blog friends who are so creative and innovative and always create a spark in me that keeps my sewing machine running at a frenzied pace.

Annabella Which blog do you find a constant source of inspiration? 
Di I hate to name names because there are so many, but the ones that I read all the time are Lily's Quilts, I'm a Ginger Monkey, Where the Orchids Grow, Freshly Pieced, Ellison Lane, Pink Penguin and all the girls in my Stitch Tease bee.

Annabella Is there a piece of music you love to listen to while in your sewing space?
Di I've discovered Spotify and it is a wonderful resource for free music. Right now I love Rumer, Adele and Amy Winehouse. I usually listen to an artist over and over again and then I jump on another genre. I also enjoy pop country music like Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. I am a sucker for the old standards, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Annabella The quilt you brought with you is one of my favourites.  I know it`s very special.  Can you tell me why?
Di Circle Me Back 2 Amsterdam is a recent favorite. I made it last year but bought the fabrics in Amsterdam 9 years ago when I first began to quilt.

Circle Me Back to Amsterdam quilt

This quilt is special because I designed it based on an inspiration from a bag Ayumi at Pink Penguin made. It is made with linen and I used the quilt as you go method to quilt it. I learned so much by making this quilt. I sleep with it on our bed every night. It is really warm and makes me smile every time I see it. It is a wonderful way to remember our trip to Amsterdam, too. You can read more about this quilt here.

Annabella Who is a creative inspiration who you would most love to have 30 minutes of their time?  

Di Kerry of Very Kerry Berry, Ayumi, Suzuko Koseki...all the paper piecing wizards out there. They are my heroes.

Annabella  Do you have a go-to quilting book?
The two Material Obsession books are full of beautiful quilts and lots of inspiration. I also like Malka Dubrawsky's Fresh Quilting.

Annabella Do you pin? Where can people find you? 
Di Yes I do pin...a few too many fattening delicious looking recipes and lots of quilt inspirations. http://pinterest.com/ylmommyx4/  Sometimes I have dreams of quilts. When I was an avid cross-stitcher I used to have dreams of little x's chasing me all night long! But I love all the blogs and also search Flickr, Pinterest and Design Seeds for inspiration. 

Di`s Grannies with sashing mock up

Annabella  Do you ever get the quilter`s equivalent of `writer`s block`?  What do you do to get through it?
Di All the time! So when that happens I usually join a new quilt-along and get inspired to start something new.

Di`s Sewing Summit Challenge drawstring bag

 Annabella  What is your favorite ever line of fabric?
Di Right now it is Echo by Lotta Jansdotter. I love the feel of the fabric, the colors and patterns all equal a very beautiful line of fabric. I am using it now to make the Made in Cherry quilt.

Made in Cherry quilt

Annabella Who is your favorite designer?
Di I am not true to one designer and usually don't even pay attention to who designed the fabric. I can usually recognize a Denyse Schmidt and a Suzuko Koseki, but that is about all.
Thank you Annabella for honoring me to be featured in this series.

It`s been wonderful spending some time with you Di - thanks so much for taking part! 

Next week is the last week in the March series but I have a couple of crackers for you! Be sure to pop back on Monday and Friday.  In the meantime, have a great weekend.