Week 8 - Who is @manwhoquilts?

So, who is this man who quilts? I ask myself that all the time. Who am I? What am I doing? Where am I going to be a year from now? Why can't I remember what I ate for breakfast? What did I come in this room for?

Thinking about writing an "about me" post reminds me of a dating profile. There are several ways I can present myself. I can hype myself up to seem super chill and cool:

Hey, I'm Austin. I'm a twenty-something college graduate working in one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the state. I love working out and pumping adrenaline at the gym. I'd consider myself an artistic prodigy and have a talent for working with textiles. When I'm not creating art you can find me in the kitchen being a culinary genius or discovering some artist that you've probably never heard of.

Umm...too much? Yes, that's definitely too much. Another approach can be the honest approach. Like, SUPER honest:

Hi, my name is Austin. I'm single as hell, not very adventurous, and I'm not sure what I'm doing with my life. I like to quilt, which not a lot of men do. When I'm nervous I get gassy, and sometimes when I'm talking to you I either have no clue what you're talking about or I'm not really listening, but I'll pretend to anyway. One time when I was little I fell asleep while I was going to the bathroom and I pooped on the floor rather than in the toilet. Not sure how it happened, but my dad was the lucky one who got to clean that one up.

*Record scratch* No...that's not working either.

I think the best way to present myself is to be me, fart jokes and all. Ladies and gentlemen (I know the gentlemen are out there. And yes, I'm single! ;) ), let me introduce myself:

Hi, I'm Austin. I'm 24 years old and I live in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. I've lived in Salt Lake my entire life and I don't have any plans to leave. I graduated from BYU (Brigham Young University) with a degree in Urban Planning. I do work for one of the largest commercial real estate firms in Utah, but I'm just an assistant. It's not my career or forever job, but it's good for now while I figure out what I want to do. At some point I'll go to grad school and get a master's degree in architecture, real estate development, or maybe civil engineering.

I have five siblings, two parents, three siblings in-law, three nieces, and two nephews (soon to be three!). I love all of them and love hanging out with everyone. Yes, even my parents. My dad and I are gardening buddies and sometimes I can get my mom to take me out to lunch. Sorry not sorry, but my nieces and nephews are cuter than yours. That's just how it is.

 

Aside from quilting, I also love: corn dogs, whistling, architecture, pasta salad, plants, kettle chips, gardening, interior design, the idea of wood working, the idea of hiking and camping, playing the piano, writing backwards and upside down and upside down backwards when I'm bored, Liz Lemon, fart jokes, Amy Poehler, Betty Who, figuring out how to move different parts of my face, Adam Lambert, Beyonce, curry, Chinese food, Oreos, cars, YouTube, tech videos on YouTube, pop music, folk music, Frank Sinatra, naps, etc..

Here's the beginning of my quilting journey: one day I wanted to buy a sewing machine (during an awkward phase where I thought I was being rebellious because HELLZ YES, MEN CAN SEW!). I found my trusty little Brother CS6000i on Amazon, and saw that it had great reviews and was on sale, so I went for it. I decided I wanted to make my little nephew a quilt before he was born. Something about a hand-made gift made by a man seemed neat and special for me. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing, but I had an idea in mind and I kind of just went with it. The points weren't lined up, the quilting could have been better, and we won't even talk about the binding, but it was a fun learning experience and so satisfying to be able to hold something that I made with my own hands. I've loved learning and practicing and experimenting with quilting ever since and I hope it's something I do forever.

So there you go. That's me! :)