Among the blogs I follow regularly is I Think Sew: Quilty Musings by Gail Lizette. Gail is an award-winning quilter I met a few years ago through the Portland Modern Quilt Guild. She makes quilts that are deeply personal and strikingly original. If you are a fan of hexagon quilts, I encourage you to check out the ones that Gail has designed and created. Here is a link to her most recent one, Hexie Hummingbird.

Gail surprised me a few days ago by nominating me for the One Lovely Blog Award, which has been described as “sort of like a chain letter with a nice sentiment.” That’s because someone nominated her for the same award and she is paying it forward by nominating others, according to the rules established by the award’s creators. Thank you, Gail, for thinking of me!

The Rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you, and give a link to his/her blog.
• List the rules.
• Display the image of the award on your post.
• List seven facts about yourself.
• Nominate (up to) 15 bloggers for this award, and notify them to let them know you have nominated them.

So . . . seven facts about me:

1. I have a fraternal twin sister, whom I adore. I am eight minutes older, and I never let her forget it.
2. I like to listen to standards and smooth jazz while sewing, although sometimes I’m in the mood for Gordon Lightfoot or ’70s rock.
3. I love wordplay — puns, plays on words, word games, you name it. If you look at the names of my quilts, you’ll see what I mean.
4. All of my cats are named after royalty. (Sometimes literary royalty. My current cat is Cordelia (Coco for short). Do you recognize the name? Hint: Cordelia was the daughter of a king in a Shakespeare play.)
5. I have always loved being tall. At my peak I was 5′ 10¼”, same as my mother. I have shrunk to 5 foot 9 but I still claim to be 5 foot 10.
6. For as long as I can remember, green has been my favorite color. Almost every one of my quilts has a bit of green in it.
7. I am an incurable optimist, and I am grateful for every day. (Okay, that’s two facts but I had to get them both in.)

Now I am to nominate a few blogs for the One Lovely Blog Award. I nominate

Nicole at Sister’s Choice

Cindy at Hyacinth Quilt Designs

Barb at Block and Border

Kristin at Kristin LaFlamme Textile Art

Anne at Springleaf Studios

Why these blogs? They belong to quilters whose work I admire. I like the way they express themselves on their blogs. I learn from them. Their styles run the gamut from traditional to modern so they reflect the current quilting scene. These quilters also share bits of their personal lives, which adds an interesting dimension to their posts. I love reading about their quilts, of course, but I also love reading about their homes, family, pets, do-it-yourself projects, travels, and, occasionally, travails.

I know one of these quilters personally. The others I know only from their blogs. I often think how fun it would be to chat with them over a cup of coffee or glass of wine.

The One Lovely Blog Award has been circulating for a few years, although no one seems to know who started it or when. I arrived on the blogging scene quite late (2012) so it’s possible some of these quilters have participated before. With so many former bloggers abandoning their posts (play on words intended) in favor of Instagram, I’m grateful that the quiltmakers listed above (some of whom do Instagram also) still take the time to share their creativity and feed our souls through beautiful pictures and thoughtful words.