FriYAY Friends :: An Interview with Lindsay Mayland of Happy Hour Stitches

Good morning, everyone!

Welcome to FriYAY Friends and my stop on Lindsay's lovely Charming Mini Blog Hop! This pattern is so versatile and works up quickly-- a perfect way to add a little extra zest to a room or table or to make a pretty handmade gift. You can find the Charming Mini Pattern on her blog, Happy Hour Stitches.

1. Tell is a little about yourself, your family, your hobbies, your creative background, etc. Hi, everyone! I’m Lindsay, a quilter from Iowa, and the blogger behind Happy Hour Stitches. I’m a website and social media editor, but between work, chores, and spending time with family and friends, I squeeze in quilting during my “happy hour”. (And I’ll be honest, a glass of wine is usually involved.) Six years ago, I didn’t know how to sew. After collecting yards and yards of fabric (and eventually running out of room for it), I decided that I needed to put it to good use. I became a self-taught quilter and have loved it ever since. I’m still learning a lot, experimenting with designs, and growing as a quilter every day — and I love sharing the journey and passion with other quilters!

2) What inspired your Charming Mini pattern? I’m a collector of mini charm squares – they’re so cute and easy to grab at your local quilt shop. But my collection grew too large, and I needed a way to use them in a quilt pattern. This pattern uses most of two mini charm backs (especially if you do the pieced back). And it’s easily customizable, so you can make it in any size or with any fabrics! A few years ago, I made a Christmas table mat using this pattern for everyone in my family – I got rid of a lot of mini charm packs that way!

Pillow by Tracie @joyfully_tracie

3) What’s it like being the editor of All People Quilt? What’s your favorite part of your job? I’m incredibly lucky to have a job that includes a lot of my passions – quilting, teaching, and social media. I love to interact daily through the website and social media with quilters from every walk of life. The pictures they share with us, the questions they ask, and the quilts they love help us to provide the best patterns and tutorials we can to help quilters be successful in their creative endeavors. And that’s an amazing thing to be a part of!

4) How is creative community important to your work? I didn’t come from a family of quilters and none of my friends quilt, so the online creative community is what drives me creativity. I love to join quiltalongs and blocks of the month and share my progress with others! I find inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram posts, help and advice from Facebook questions, and motivation from blog comments. Quilters are such a kind and generous community!

Mini quilt by Vanessa @punkinpatterns

5) What word of advice or wisdom do you have for other makers on their creative journeys? Enjoy the process! I see so many quilters who are hard on themselves – their points don’t align correctly or their machine quilting isn’t perfect or their supplies aren’t the best on the market. Life is too short to stress about these tiny imperfections! If you enjoy the quilting process, every quilt you make will be full of love and joy!

Thank you so much, Lindsay, for sharing with us today and for sharing the Charming Mini Pattern! Y'all can find more of Lindsay's beautiful work on Instagram @happyhourstitches. I am on Instagram @stringandstory, and I will be back here on Monday sharing about my fun afternoon making my own Charming Mini mug rug, free motion quilting it, and a few other thoughts on free motion quilting as well. In the meanwhile, I would love to connect with you on Instagram! 

Happy quilting!
HollyAnne

PS Be sure to visit the other stops on the hop!
December 5: Lindsay Mayland of Happy Hour Stitches
December 6: Tracie Henkel of Riceford Streams
December 7: Vanessa Lynch of Punkin Patterns
December 8: HollyAnne Knight of String and Story
December 9: Sheila Sinclair Snyder of License to Quilt
December 10: Pat Sloan 
December 11: My BONUS POST back here at String & Story about free motion quilting my very own Charming Mini.

PPS This might be the last FriYAY Friends of 2017. It's a hustling and bustling time of year! I still have a number of other really exciting #MachineQuiltingMonday and #TipsTuesday posts planned, though, so keep checking in! FriYAY Friends will resume after the new year. :-)