joyorudis

I'm a wife, mom, quilter, and owner/editor of BlockCentral.com (quilting information site), MyQuiltBlog.com (quilt blogging site), and Quiltsy.com (quilt auction site). I live on a farm outside a very small town (pop. 920) and I LOVE the fresh air.

Favorite Song of all Time: Nessun Dorma from Puccini's opera, Turandot. I'm not a big fan of opera, but this aria makes me cry and feel incredible all at the same time. The power of music is amazing!

I do love my quilting and crafting books and I have a serious addiction to the "For Dummies" books.

My favorite movie is "The Music Man". I've watched it at least 50 times. Yes, I know it's weird, but I just love the setting, the story, and the gorgeous dresses worn by "Marian the Librarian".

Law and Order Criminal Intent, Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, The Closer, Cold Case, and City Confidential. Crime drama rocks!

Quilting, crochet, knitting, and cross-stitch are my favorite way to spend free time. I'm also learning to draw and paint.

I decoupaged in the 70's, did ceramics in the 80's , but the other crafts have remained a constant.

I like to design my own quilts versus using patterns. My first two quilts were made from designs I drew on notebook paper. Now I use quilt design software as my drawing tool. I also make strange little quilts from doodles in CorelDraw or sketched on plain paper. I guess these are my "art quilts".

I'm not really allergic to anything, but I do dislike the smell of cigarette smoke.)

Negative people bring me down, so I do my best to avoid them.

I collect old quilting magazines, "Quilter's Newsletter Magazine" in particular. I also collect old, funky crochet booklets from the 60's. Gotta love that style! If I was 20 lbs lighter, I'd wear them!

I've recently begun collecting old sheet music...anything before 1920. I look for interesting titles and cover art. I plan to use them as "art" for my walls. :)

Other Things I Like: Cute things, whimsical things, bright colors, odd colors, refrigerator magnets, hard candy, old things, batik fabric, anything handmade, stark b/w photos (like bare tree limbs in winter, etc.), pincushions, and cotton yarn.

Things I Need (or that I'm always running out of/losing): sewing thread (white, natural, or gray), sewing needles (sharps, betweens, etc.), thimbles (cheap, medium size), flat-head pins, and seam rippers.