Saturday Spotlight: Julia from Vintage with Laces

Hi, everyone!   Kris from Junk Chic Cottage and I wanted to do a regular feature on our blogs, something unique that hasn't been done before.   So we came up with an idea to 'spotlight the real life behind the blogger' in a more personal way.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland, and we thought it would be fun to bring you a closer look at the person behind the blog.

Every week on Saturday we will spotlight a blogger and have them tell us a little bit about themselves and their blogs.  You will be able to see and read about each of the bloggers on both Kris's and my blog. 

      

Today I'm so thrilled to have an international guest as my Spotlight! Julia from Vintage with Laces is such a sweet 'vintage' soul, and she's incredibly talented, too!  I know that you'll enjoy getting to know her better!

Thank you very much for inviting me to Saturday Spotlight, Susan!

Hi everybody! My name is Julia and I blog over at Vintage with Laces, where I share my seasonal decorations, sewing projects, mixed media and altered art objects and a lot more of my creative activities. Over the last about 2 years my style has changed quite a bit. I used to love everything very girly for about 10 years. Now I prefer a more simple and rustic look for most of my designs. I still love girly elements here and there, but often combine them with rough/rusty parts and/or dark colors now to create contrasts.

  

These two collages show my favorite creations since I started blogging.

I grew up in a small town in Germany. I’ve lived in a larger city for several years but never really liked it. I enjoy quiet surroundings and nature. I get claustrophobic in street canyons and the noises and smells of big cities drive me just crazy. I don’t like crowds and you only find me right in the middle of one during a flea market or similar event :).  I’d probably make another exception if I’d ever get the chance to see Tim McGraw in concert.

Here you see me at the age of 8 or 9, sitting on my bed crocheting. It was back in the 70s, when beds were green, lamp shades orange and my parents thankfully only had a black & white film in their camera :). My dad had his own opinion about hairstyles. They had to be practical = short. Yeah, right Dad, convenience is the most important aspect for any girl when it comes to her haircut, LOL. Well, I never wore my hair that short again.

When I was 16, I taught myself to knit and for the next several years, this was my favorite hobby besides reading. I haven’t knitted anything in a long time but now and then, I get one of my crochet needles out. I made these pot holders last year and they’re used a lot because I like to cook and bake. I don’t know where this comes from because no one in my family was really passionate about food and neither my mother nor my grandmother ever baked. I started to collect cook books when I was about 19. The first one I bought was about French cuisine and I still make Coq au vin (chicken, pancetta, mushrooms and onions braised in red wine) after a recipe in that book. I don’t buy cook books anymore but pin a lot of recipes to my Pinterest boards and even try some of them :).

I had never heard of quilts before our second vacation in the US, when we met a sweet couple. She had been a quilter for several years and I admired her work very much.

 

It took some more years though, until I started to quilt. After I had sewn some traditional quilts, I fell in love with hand and machine appliqué and made several wall hangings using these techniques. Above you see a part of one of my hand appliquéd quilts. Then I got intrigued by crazy quilts and learned how to embroider. Some years later, when I got hold of an issue of “Somerset Studio”, my journey into mixed media and altered arts started and there is no end in sight :). I love to combine different materials and techniques and enjoy to recycle or upcycle discarded pieces of wood, metal, paper etc. My sewing machine is still my favorite tool though.

I’m married to a supportive husband who is very creative as well. When we met over 28 years ago, he wrote poems. Reading some of them made me falling in love with him and I knew he was the right guy for me. He doesn’t write anymore but instead he now builds fabulous lamps from junk and creates gorgeous sculptures and wall art.

Some random things about me:

Even though I’m German, I label all my studio supplies in English. I just like the language and the words are often shorter than the German equivalents.

I like visiting hardware stores and can get totally excited over cool power tools while in contrast I’m rather bored at shoe stores.

I’m not a big sports fan but I like to watch Formula 1 races, snooker tournaments and the soccer European and World Championships.

I don’t kill spiders intentionally. When I like to get rid of one, I catch it with a glass and take it outside.

*****

Thank you again, Susan, for having me! It was a pleasure to be here.

Julia, thanks so much for sharing with us!  Please visit her at Vintage with Laces then head to Kris's blog to read about Patty from My Mountain Blessings.
Have a wonderful day! :)