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Friday, November 2, 2012

Feature Friday - Ariane Kring of Ariane Quilts

Hi! My name is Ariane Kring. I am 35 years old and a quilt blogger from Kingston, Ontario. My blog is called Ariane Quilts.



I've been blogging since December 2008 and quilting since August 2008. I've always been a crafter. When I was a young girl I always asked for craft kits and supplies for Christmas or my birthday. I tried many crafts, mostly paper crafts and painting. After I had my three kids, I did a lot of cross-stitching. The only sewing I really did was hemming pants which I was not very good at. The summer of 2008, I became really stressed out. Between work, kids and the normal life duties of a mother, I felt like I needed something: something for myself, and something to concentrate on so that I wouldn't stress so much. I took a holiday back home to Northern Ontario. My mother was going through some old quilts. These were all utility quilts that she had sewn for us kids. I remembered the warmth and comfort those quilts brought.
When I came back to Kingston, I decided to make a little baby quilt. I loved choosing the fabric and coming up with a pattern. I found it so exciting and inspiring. I had no idea what I was doing. I went online and discovered the blogging community. The tutorials helped me learn how to quilt. I was hooked. I just had to make more quilts. I became very inspired by scrappy quilts. I made three scrappy twin size quilts in my first six months of quilting. One of those was a hand pieced and hand quilted tumbling block quilt. The first year and a half I made mostly traditional scrappy quilts.
 
 
As I discovered more online, I started adding a bit more of a modern twist to my quilts. I loved the modern fabrics, but also loved traditional patterns. I love the mix of modern traditional quilts. I started designing my own quilt patterns. Putting my own twist on these modern traditional quilts. With inspiration from the online quilting community, I made a queen size carpenter star quilt for my youngest brother's wedding. I made a scrappy jumbo carpenter star block surrounded by a border that I designed with hst's. I quilted it myself on my 30 year old Kenmore sewing machine. That was a challenge.

   

I still have never taken a class. I've learned through trial and error. I've also been encouraged by the online quilters and the local quilters in the quilt shops and my quilt guild. I have become an executive member of my Local Quilt Guild. I have found this group to be so inspiring and encouraging.  This year I've made many smaller quilts. My favorite is the quilt I made for my daughter's grade 7 teacher. I used a very simple pattern found online on the Film in the Fridge blog called rectangle squared. I adjusted the measurements to make the blocks larger and sashing thinner. I love the modern fabrics in this quilt and the simplicity of the pattern. It was fast to make and fit into my busy schedule.


 
 

I do inspire to do more with quilting, like teaching classes and publishing patterns. I love to encourage other quilters, and do my best to inspire them through my blog. I do plan to make quilting a huge part of my life as I get older. It's one of those crafts that can be shared and bring a lot of comfort to others. I think that's why I love it so much!! I do hope you join me sometime on my blog, and share my journey as I grow and become a better more creative quilter. 

Here's the link to my blog: Ariane Quilts

Thanks so much to
The Needle & Thread Network blog team for having me here. I'm honored!!

9 comments:

  1. Good for you Ariane! Your quilts are lovely! I too was not good at mending or hemming when I started quilting (and I'm still not) and I too was largely self taught. We learn so much from our groups. Keep on quilting!

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  2. Very lovely quilts Ariane!! It's wonderful to get to know another member of TN&TN:)

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  3. Wonderful post Ariane and it is nice to see a young quilter keeping the quilt world alive and well.

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  4. Great post! Your quilts are lovely! I also started out hand piecing and hand quilting and though I really enjoy the comfort that process gives me, I also love using my machines so I try to combine using both methods.

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  5. I enjoyed reading about your quilting journey! It seems most of them start out with some form of crafty creative childhood, and then we wend our way into quilting.

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  6. Great story ariane! I think many of us pick up quilting like you have, it is such a good way of escaping the stress of the world! And I am so glad that you are inclined to share what you have learned, its a hobby that can last the rest of your life...

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  7. You are well on your way to inspiring all your readers. Your quilts have a great livelyness to them!

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  8. Ariane, you deserve a pat on the back. Your quilts are extraordinary! Thank you for sharing your journey thus far with us. Your enthusiasm for this craft will make your continued journey exciting and enriching.

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  9. Lovely quilts! Those tumbling blocks looks great!
    Carol

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