Week #2: Quilter #2 SARI a.k.a. sariditty

Quilter #2

Name: Sari
Well, technically it's Sarah..... but I've always been partial to my near and dear calling me Sari (pronounced SARE-ee not SORR-eye).  I was one of the lucky Sarahs/Saras to grow up with about 2 dozen others of the same name.  Borrrrringggggg.  No wonder I never liked the book Sarah, Plain and Tall.

This is me with my first love, Lincoln.
He's an OTTB (yeah you know me!)  <-- Naughty By Nature....anyone?!

Location: Altus, Oklahoma  <she says with a hushed tone so as not to let anyone hear her>
What's that?  You've never heard of Altus?  Yeah....neither had I.  And unless you or your spouse are one of the lucky exiled few to earn an assignment at this Air Force base, then you'll never hear of this town.  Don't bother looking it up on a map either.  There's nothing there except red dirt, tumbleweeds bigger than a VW Bug, and wives' tears.

*Maybe now is a perfect time to let you all know I have a very sarcastic nature to myself.  Nothing is ever off limits with me and my jokes.  And please don't take anything I say too seriously - I truly live life one day at a time...find as much joy as possible from each situation...and drink as much coffee and wine to combat the negative.*

Who I Am & What I Do: Well, now isn't this a loaded question?! I started out as a commercial pilot flying for an engineering firm in the MidWest.  Gave that a go for a couple years and realized that living on a pager that went off at any time of day or night was not ideal or my cuppa.  So back to school I went to turn my ability to speak Spanish into a secondary education teaching certificate AND also became a certified personal trainer/running coach.  Enter L-O-V-E...... yup.

I got married to my long, long time friend from college (Boiler Up!!) who happened to be an Air Force dude based down in Charleston, SC.  Bye bye, Indiana....Hello, sunny Charleston!  So I spent nearly 2 years there, and then we got orders to move to this "lovely" town.  I've been here 1 year, 9 months, 18 days....and cannot wait to break free!  And in the next 30-60 days we are moving - hubby has a new assignment (God bless 'Murica!!) over on the WV/MD border area!  Yay for trees!  And history!  And rolling hills!  And grass!  And CostCo and Trader Joe's and  Starbucks.... (you get the picture.)

And I do find the positives to situations, like I said.  Thanks to living through this assignment, I found my artsy side to this otherwise majorly Type A persona and channeled some deep-seeded artistic talents, which have become my quilting and sewing life.  Without that, I would be an institutionalized alcoholic.  (Joking!!  Please remember I am never totally serious!)

Why I Quilt: To maintain a sense a of self worth and sanity to be perfectly honest.  Plus I love math.  Like....lovvvvvve math! (I was the nerd who voluntarily did extra calculus homework in high school.)  I love nothing more than a fresh stack of brightly colored fabric, a sheet of graph paper, pencil, and my ideas to design, what I consider, gorgeous textile artwork!  My Gramma was an artist in many forms, and we lost her 14 years ago.  I truly feel closer to her with every stitch I make, and I somehow believe she's watching me from above and proud of me.  (Now I'm crying.  Ugh.)

What Fuels Me: Coffee. Wine. Chocolate. Sex. Pizza.   WHAT?!  Crap...my parents are probably reading this too.  Honestly though, I have a huge desire to prove something to myself mostly.  I gave up my career as a pilot and have felt like a shadow to this military lifestyle for a while now.  Having this quilty outlet as something I've found myself reasonably good at gives me a deep desire to produce quality results.  Each project is a goal to be better than before.  And thankfully, that's all I need for now.  And when I need a break from that, I have my sweet boxer boys, running (when the Oklahoma winds don't blow me over), FaceTime with my nieces and nephews, and amazing girlfriends.

Favorite Quilt(s) I've Made:  Ok, so I made a ridiculously simple shaggy squares quilt back in college 10+ years ago.  But as of this past summer, I've decided to quilt again.  I happily made a few birthday quilts for nieces/nephews and was quite pleased.  Then I went to a quilt show in Albuquerque with my mom (@cnytz51...look her up...she's amazing!  And if you're her Schnitzel & Boo recipient, then consider yourself lucky because I tried to steal your mini!) and was hypnotized by that dang HandiQuilter rep.  Crap.  $$$$ later I had an HQ18 delivered and set up mid-September.  So I got an itch to be awesome.  Not just adequate, but awesome.  Because, you know....go big or go home, eh?  I went with my patriotic side and made a 5x7 lap quilt of the United States using my lovely, lovely Kona Cotton in 50 shades.  I dove (dived?) in with FMQ and quilted each state differently.  I can't even begin to describe how proud I am of this first attempt of FMQ and the end result! More photos and closeups are on my InstaGram feed (@sariditty), and you can search the hashtag #unitedstatesofamerikona too.

"United States of AmeriKona"
*not sponsored by Robert Kaufman or Kona affiliates*

So then I kept going with my love of bright & happy colors and wanted to design something using the  32 new Kona Cotton colors.  I came up with a mish mash of triangles and squares then plopped that beauty on my HandiQuilter (his name is Herbie, by the way) and went to town with some silver metallic graffiti FMQ.  As we drove 6.5hrs to my parents' home for Christmas, I worked on finishing the binding.  Perfect timing!  And Oh.My.Word.  I LOVE IT!!  For me it was a sincere and major accomplishment proving I've found my niche and know I want to offer graffiti FMQ as a service for others.

"Kona Summer Jewels"
*not sponsored by Robert Kaufman or Kona affiliates*

 

Where You Can Find Me:

InstaGram @sariditty

Facebook www.facebook.com/designsbysari  (Oh yeah...I also paint and make custom signage and doo-dahs.  Check it out!)

Blog.....someone help me!  I've never blogged in my life, and I think I kinda want to!  And I definitely need a personal website where I can offer quilting services and items I've made.  Anyone got any suggestions?

And with that, I happily and enthusiastically ask for your feedback to make this week and my contributions what you want to see and hear!  I'm transparent to a fault, so please feel free to direct me in any way you want!  Thanks for sitting through this long-winded post!  

xo Sari

Post by Sari - Week #2:  Sari is a quilter based in Altus Oklahoma (but soon to be on the move!). She runs a studio called Twenty Eight Fourteen from which she shares her unique style and wonderful love for color! Follow Sari on instagram @sariditty or visit her at https://www.facebook.com/designsbysari