Our guest star this week is Megan from Fowl Single File. Megan had to fly in all the way from Washington State. Unfortunately, my limo driver is on vacation this week, so Tom Selleck offered to pick her up for me. I don’t usually allow him to drive the limo because he likes to race. Last time he drove it, he got a speeding ticket and I ended up having to pick it up from the impound lot. I had to make an exception this time as I was over-run with clean- up detail in the Green Room. You see, I don’t usually lend my room out to just anyone, but when they asked if they could have the Emmy party there, I couldn’t say no. Someone got the brilliant idea to spray champaign from the bottles and I’ve been cleaning the ceilings all morning.
Anyway, Tom just dropped her off and here she comes! Megan- you look a little windblown…Tom, you drove the proper speed, right? Tom? Oh, nice. Well you better pay that ticket right away, because I am not bailing you out this time. You and your mustache may be cute, but even I have my limits. Sorry, about that Megan.
Suzy: So, sit down and tell me a little about yourself, your family, your other hobbies…I have to tell you, you live in my favorite part of the world.
Megan: I have three sisters, of which I was the middle child for much of my formative years. I completed my BA degree in English Literature at the University of Puget Sound – go Loggers! Yes, our mascot was a big lumberjack guy with a great bushy beard and an axe. How’s that for the first 22 years of my life in three sentences or less?
Megan: Skip to the present day where I’m a stay at home mom to an almost 5 year old little girl. Before she was born I was working in a special education preschool at a local elementary school but haven’t been back to work since I gave birth. Can I just say that I LOVE being a mom and all the crafty outlets it provides?! I have someone to sew clothes for, a constant captive audience for the cute things I’m learning to crochet, and someone who’ll try out all the fun kid crafts with me!
Suzy: Your crafty little counting sheep are incredibly cute. And I bet your daughter loves them. Do you have any other hobbies?
Megan: Other hobbies? Sometimes it seems that I have no hobbies outside of the realm of craft. Then I remember my passion for children’s literature and children’s illustrators (I still want to be a librarian when I grow up). I also enjoy hiking (nothing too extreme) and canoeing. I’m still experimenting with gardening, too. My thumb gets a little greener each year.
Suzy: When and why did you start blogging, and where would you like your blogging to lead?
Megan: I discovered the crafty side of the blogging world while Googling around for ideas to use at my daughter’s fourth birthday party. After some pointing and clicking I learned that tons of crafty people were sharing their ideas and talents – and I just had to join in! Up until then I seriously thought that blogs were for people who had a political agenda…a virtual soap box, if you will.
Megan: I think I started my blog in September of 2009, so almost a year ago! I’m happy with where it’s at right now. It encourages me to finish the projects I start. I’m glad to have a venue that allows me to “show off” what I’ve made and gather inspiration from what other crafty folks are showing off. I think that’s all I really want from blogging right now.
Suzy: There are so many things on your website that inspire me from your sheepy bean bags to your cute cupcakes. Who or what inspires you?
Megan: I’m inspired by other “cute” things that I see – craft blogs with lots of eye candy, magazines and the craft book section at the library, the work of other crafters at bazaars, the adorable whale print on my daughter’s jammies…anything, really.
Suzy: Name a few of your favorite websites that you go to for inspiration.
Megan: It’s hard to narrow them down. I seriously follow a ton of crafty/party planning/baking blogs. Right now I don’t go more than a couple of days without checking these blogs:
Crafterhours
From an Igloo
One Pretty Thing
Sew Can Do
Trillustrations
University of Cookie
Suzy: You seem to do a bit of everything, craft-wise. What are your favorite things to create?
Megan: Right now I’m expanding my newly-acquired crochet skills, so that’s what I’m spending a lot of time on. The variety of things you can create with a hook and yarn amaze me! Plus, it’s something I can do pretty much anywhere while other things are going on. I also LOVE to create anything that my daughter can wear. Hair accessories, skirts, and appliqued shirts are all I’ve done so far. I’d love to try my hand at making her a dress, though. Have you seen the cute kid fabric out there? I enjoy browsing virtual fabric shops and drooling over the fun designs.
Suzy: Is there another type of craft that you would like to learn in the future?
Megan: I’m itching to learn how to make fancy sugar cookies. I keep seeing the cutest, neatest, most amazing decorated cookies all over the place (except in my kitchen). I have yet to even find a recipe for sugar cookie dough that I like and anything beyond Pilsbury frosting in a tub, food coloring, and sprinkles is new to me…just the mention of Royal Icing makes me nervous. I’m sure I’ll attempt it one of these days when I’m feeling either brave or desperate.
Suzy: You have so many successful craft projects. Is there one that just never seemed to come together? I know I have several “errors in judgement” hanging around my closet. Do you have a crafty horror story?
Megan: I don’t have a major blunder or horror story to tell. It’s not that I never make mistakes, it’s that I rarely dare to try anything that looks too tricky or intimidating. I’m cautious by nature and I tend to stick with things I’m comfortable doing…not very exciting, I know.
Megan: My errors are the type that I keep making over and over again. Like miscalculating measurements. No matter how much I plan ahead I either buy way too much or not quite enough fabric. I’m also incredibly impatient and unskilled when it comes to cutting fabric pieces for patterns. I usually end up with crooked edges or my pieces are off by a few inches and I have to start over. Also, I have to be very careful when I work with printed fabric. I have such a difficult time figuring out which way to place it while sewing so that the print isn’t upside down on my finished product.
Suzy: Can you tell us about your workspace?
Megan: My space is not photo worthy, nor is it clean and tidy enough to share. I can tell you that everything’s pretty cramped because my little work area is in the catch-all room of the house. It’s the spare bedroom, the toys-that-are-too-big-for-Susannah’s-bedroom-room, the extra closet space room for my husband’s clothes (yes, he has waaay more clothes than I do), the let’s-hang-onto-this-because-we-might-need-it-someday-room….you get the picture.
Megan: In one corner of the room I’ve got my mother’s sewing table. I don’t use it for sewing because the height is not quite right, but it folds out into a nice area for cutting fabric. The most basic of basic sewing machines (and that’s probably for the best because it’s hard for me to really screw it up when there’s only a handful of simple functions) resides on a rectangular folding table that I found on sale at Staples. A folding chair from our card table set is what I sit in. Oh yeah, and there’s an ironing board along another wall. Not much to speak of, really, but it works for me!
Suzy: Thank you so much for coming by! I am so glad to finally meet you! And before Megan leaves, I wanted to mention that she will be offering a giveaway on her blog once she reaches 200 followers. She is almost there, so please stop by Fowl Single File and show her some love!
Don’t worry, Megan. I’ll drive you back to the airport. Tom can finish cleaning the Green Room for me. Maybe we can do Chick-Fil-A. I have coupons…
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