Pat Sloan Featured Quilter Interview

 

I'm so excited to have Kim Niedzwiecki of gogokim.blogspot.com/ as my Featured Quilter this week.

Kim's bubbly personality, lively blog and mad sewing skills are what drew me to following her work. Then when I meet her in person I was even more enamored. She is such a super gal and has fantastic hair.. seriously.. I'd DYE for her hair!

In my Featured Quilter series I introduce you to a quilter I love to follow, and ask them questions that I want to know.. the behind the scenes about how they tick.

You know I love talking about quilting as much as I like to actually quilt!

.. so let's get to know Kim a bit better!

How/why did you start quilting?
     I started sewing after my fourth child was born and there were no baby boy items that were not too cutesy.  After teaching myself how to sew to make things for him,  I designed a pattern for bibs and started a very small business sewing for boys and girls. After the CPSIA passed, I closed my little business and started experimenting with sewing other items. I did many internet searches looking for things to sew with free patterns and tutorials and was very taken with modern quilts. It was a good six months after I started doing research that I finally took the plunge. 

I fell in love with making quilts. I enjoy the challenges of each new quilt. With the internet, there is an endless amount of free patterns and tutorials with photos so that everyone can join in the fun at any level and have a good time with starting to sew.  I try to encourage new sewists any time I can because I know sometimes that first stitch is the hardest.

What is your favorite quilt thing to do?

I enjoy free motion pebble quilting the most. It is very fluid and calming. There is really no right or wrong and the finished product is always so unique.

What is your favorite project?

My favorite project is my very first quilt.  It was made with Harmony Arts Stumps Speak and Silent Stumps  fabric. I kept the center with all the words intact so that people would be able to read and connect to the words on the fabric. 

There is a simple scrappy border. The quilting is supposed to be the ripples of a water drop. I made this quilt for a very dear friend that had just received his PhD in Psychology and works with children and teens that have been abandoned or neglected. His own personal story is astounding and I wanted to provide him with  something that hopefully his patients could connect to in a personal and comforting way.  He loves the quilt and I will be making a second for his practice.

Do you have sewers or makers in your family?

My wonderful and beloved grandmother passed away last October. My father and his wife put together very special and personal boxes for myself and my cousins from the home that she and my grandfather shared for many many years ( I want to say 60 or more) . Inside the boxes were treasures of model trains, an embroidery set that has a little thimble basket with the thimble still in it that was my great-grandmother's, and a twin sized crocheted afghan that my great-grandmother made.

I was overwhelmed at all of the lovely momentous that were brought to me. I loved my father's parents and my great-grandmother very deeply and to have these in my home with me is very special.

What does your work area look like .. what is your favorite part of it.. what would you change?

     I am fortunate enough to have a designated sewing room that also shares a small space with my children.  I have lots of open space and enough room for my cutting table ( that is two tv entertainment centers butted up together), my sewing table and a couple of storage units.  My room is made up of thrifted items that I collected over the years,

I find it interesting to find and use things in a little bit different way to meet my needs on a budget. Less money on furniture for the sewing room means more money in the fabric budget!  My favorite part of the room is the windows! I have always needed to sew in front of a window and this space has two large ones, so when I am sewing I still get to see the squirrels, and birds and rain and sun. The windows help by bringing in extra light to help with my aging eyes too ;o)  If I could change anything about this space it would be the flooring, at the moment it has tile and that is very hard to stand on when I am doing marathon ironing or cutting. I would prefer hardwood or laminate flooring.

What is the last piece of fabric you bought. 

    The last fabric I bought was the beautiful Modernology from Art Gallery half yard set at the International Quilt Market. The whole set is stunning!!!! I wish I had brought a bigger suitcase and more money, IQM was like the land of OZ with all the array of color and wonder.

If you could only pick one word, what would it be? 

One word is very hard for me ( I talk A LOT) but it would have to be FABULOUS!

What was the best piece of advice you ever got, who was it from?

"Put lipstick on, you'll fell better." It was my mother that gave me that bit of advice and over the years and I have come to find out, she was right...but please do not tell her! Sometimes it is the smaller seemingly insignificant things that help make you feel better to tackle some of the bigger issues and with me and my lipstick, I might take on the world...or at least the dishes in my kitchen sink ( and look damn fine doing it too).

What was the most interesting trip you have ever taken?

My most interesting trip was the first time I went to New York City to work for my friend Shari disassembling the holiday decorations inside the New York Public Library. Every year around Thanksgiving the entire library is decorated everywhere and she was the coordinator. Everything is taken down on the New Year's weekend and so I went during that time.

It was the first time I had left  all the children at home and to be in such and amazing city, to be allowed to be in the library when no one else was there was quite an overwhelming and moving experience for someone like me that loves books and Ghostbusters.

What’s your motto/advice you live by?
"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." Mother Theresa.

I smile A LOT!  I like it when other people smile too, it brings me great joy to see happy faces!!!

Snow or Sun?

I am a sun girl! Give me water,sand and some sun and I will be your best friend forever!!!!

What are five things you can’t live without? 

1. My sewing friends, Sara@sewsweetenss, Amy@amylouwhosews and Jeff ( he is my tech support and the best graphic designer in the world)! These are the people that have given me support and advice in so many ways...I love them dearly and know I could not  do any of my sewing or blogging without them. (photo is Sarah, Kim and Jeni@incolororder)
2. Aurifil thread
3. my machine  and I have become spoiled in such a great way! 
4. Jack the seam ripper, he serves dual purpose by unsewing my mistakes but he also has become very useful with helping when my arthritis is acting up and I use him to feed the fabric under the presser foot. 
5. My rotary cutter, I can never see myself not having one of these wonderful tools. A serger, I do not use it all the time but when I do, I am so thankful that I have one.

Dog or Cat? 

Chinchilla! We had one when we lived in California, his name was Gillmore and he was the most adorable pet! He was soft and cuddled up right next to you. I think he has been the best pet we have ever had.


Visit Kim at http://gogokim.blogspot.com/ 

What did YOU love most about meeting Kim?

Who would you like to see featured?

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Comments

[Machelle]

Oops forgot to mention I really enjoyed Kim's positive outlook (it shows!) And the thought she puts into her projects.The"stump" words fabric was great

[Machelle]

Great interview! Now I need to go back and listen to the radio show I missed on Monday, and hear what else may inspire me!

[katie@ swimbikequilt]

Love that Kim! And her sewing space really is to die for--so much space and light.

[Michelle S]

I want to know more about her cutting table!?

[Sandi]

Really enjoyed meeting Kim. Her quilts are gorgeous! And she is so lucky to have those treasures from her grandmother and great grandmother!!!! I love books and Ghostbusters and would have also been in awe to get the chance to help take down holiday decorations at the New York Public Library! I have her Cathedral Window Pincushion on my long "to do" list. :-) And her motto is awesome. There is nothing quite like a smile to warm someone's heart.

[amylouwho]

I {heart} Kim too! You know you've met a kindred spirit when waiting in line at Costco the lady behind you says, did you make your bag? And who is the fabric designer? We've been friends ever since!

[Sara @ Sew Sweetness]

I loved reading this interview! The best part was reading about her grandmother. Kim is really a diamond in the rough!