MEET PENNY JORDAN

I’m so excited about today’s blog hop because it brings with it a new method of talking about quilts: podcast! Penny has her own podcast where she talks about her love of knitting but recently her new found love of quilting is starting to sneak in and I love it.

I love Penny’s sense of fun when it comes to fabrics and colour – she’s a girl after my own heart. So who is Happy Spider…

Penny is Happy Spider

1. How did you come to be a quilter?

I’ve only been making quilts since September 2013. However, I’ve been sewing (both by hand and machine) since I was a child, and used to make and alter a lot of my own clothes. I am predominantly a knitter, but the quilting bug caught me big time and I think it’s here to stay. I’m very flattered and excited to be involved in the MQAL and hope I’m up to it!

2. What is it that you love about being a quilter?

I love the methodical process – each small task builds on another, and requires precision to get to a beautiful finished object. Obviously, that can also be super annoying. As with knitting, I also like the meditative quality of quilting/patchwork. Particularly when making gifts, there is a lot of time to focus your love and well-wishes on the recipient (provided the project is going the way you want it to!).

And I love playing with colour… it’s always about colour with me.

3. What are your 3 favourite quilts that you’ve made that reflect who you are as a quilter?

This is easy, as I’ve only made about five tops and finished two quilts! My first quilt definitely taught me a lot and I gained a lot of confidence from it. I made a rainbow baby quilt roughly based on Tula Pink’s City Blocks.

I also recently finished the top for Crystal McGann’s Modern Medallion, which I never would have thought I could cope with and it’s my favourite thing right now!

I think the first taught me that sometimes you just need to see it all sewn up before you can understand how it will look… and the second showed me that I can trust my instincts and don’t always need to plan and obsess about every detail from the very start. I think both of these quilts say a lot about my relationship with colour and the ongoing battle I have with my own perfectionism!

A Bit of Fun:

If you could only have one or the other for the rest of eternity what would you choose?

1. Fabric: Solid or Pattern? This is hard! Pattern, I guess, because there are plenty that read as solids from a distance so I could still have some variety ;)… Is that cheating?

2. Quilt Styles: Pattern or Improv? I’m not really fluent enough to differentiate, but isn’t this kind of a spectrum? I don’t think I can make a call!

3. Seams: Open or to the Side? Open. I don’t care if it’s fiddle-y, they just look better to me.

4. Stitching: Hand or Machine? Machine. I’m a speed freak. However, I am constantly hitting new obsessions so may change my mind in two minutes.

5. Binding: Hand or Machine? Hand. I love hidden stitches.

6. Food: Sweet or Savoury? Savoury. Got to have my Salt and Vinegar chips, baby!

7. Entertainment: Books or Music? Books. However, I do read a lot through audiobooks so I can multi-task.

8. Entertainment: Television or Movies? TV. Nothing like ploughing through a series to get you through a big project. A movie is over before I’ve even worked out what I’m doing!

9. Computer: Mac or Windows? Windows.

10. Drink: Coke or Pepsi? Coke Zero.

You can find Penny in the following places: Blog | Instagram