Sewist Interview – Maria of Mia Creates

Welcome to the first in our series of Sewist Interviews! Today I would like to introduce to you Maria Vazquez from Mia Creates. I first met Maria many moons ago when she contacted me to see if she could test some of my patterns…..and boy am I glad she did!

Can this gal sew! Such a perfectionist! I have never met anyone sooooo fussy before! If she has just ONE wonky stitch, she will unpick it! (Not like me, who just crosses my fingers and hopes nobody will notice! LOLLL) PLUS she is super reliable and super quick too! I always know I can rely on Maria to be the first to finish testing my pattern PLUS….she lets me know it if she doesn’t like something about the pattern too! Which is GREAT! Vocal, reliable AND a perfectionist! What more could I need in a tester? LOLLLL

Anyway…..enough of MY ramblings…..It’s over to YOU Maria! 🙂

When did you start to sew?

My mum was an excellent seamstress so from a very early age
I started collecting her scraps to make dolls clothes. Nothing fancy but it was
a start. I also used to get empty cardboard boxes and cut out windows then make
miniature curtains and home decor things with fabric.

Who taught you to sew or are you self-taught?

Originally it started with my mum and then when the internet
came along I started to learn from there.

What sort of things
do you like to sew?

I love making bags, quilting and anything to do with home
decor. I make clothes when I have to but don’t enjoy it that much. I’d love to
make babies clothing one day.

The first quilted bag Maria made. She even quilted the fabric herself!

Do you like to use patterns or do you prefer to make it up
as you go along?

I mostly like to use patterns or tutorials. Occasionally I
may make things up as I go along but I prefer to leave the hard stuff to the
designers.

The first bag Maria designed for her daughter to hold 40 colouring pens!

Have you made something that is your all-time favourite
creation? If so, why?

There isn’t any one particular item but anything to do with
quilting that has fabrics used from the kids clothes when they were small I
absolutely love.  Basically things that
have memories.

Do you have a
favourite fabric type you prefer to work with? Favourite fabric line or fabric
designer?

The one that sprung to mind when I read this question was
Amy Butler fabrics. Beautiful florals and gorgeous colours, otherwise anything
that catches my eye. I love cottons.

Some more of Maria’s Creations!

Any sewing secrets
you would like to share?

Only one springs to mind and that’s when I made a quilt for
a friend. It was completely finished then found that the seam allowance on one
of the blocks was short showing the batting slightly so I had to cover it up
with some appliqué. It looked really pretty in the end and she still is non the
wiser. That’s as much detail as I’m giving in case she’s reading this. LOLLL

What type of
machine/s do you have?

I have a Pfaff which I’ve had for about 12 years, never
gives me any grief and I also have a heavy duty Zoje industrial sewing machine
that can cope with any thickness of bag I want to make.

Do you have any
sewing goals?

It would have to be to make a quilt for a double bed. The
quilt isn’t the difficult part it’s the quilting. Who knows, if I ever get a
longarm I’ll have no problems.

Any UFO’s?

I always have UFO’s, some of them years old. Like the very
first quilt I attempted to make from my kids clothing. It just needs a border,
quilting and binding.

Work in Progress – Lap Quilt

When do you find time
to sew?

Whenever there’s a spare minute I’ll sew, I used to sew up
until 3am but these days I try to fit in a couple of hours in the morning, then
in the afternoon and a gain in the evening, that’s of course if I don’t get
distracted by the internet. I try to stop between 10pm and 11pm.  When I’ve had computer problems in the past
I’ve achieved hours and hours of sewing. These days I’m up at 4.30am and this
is a good time to get in some extra time before the rest of the household wake
up.

Maria’s Sewing Room

Do you have any other
hobbies you like to indulge in?

I love gardening although judging by the state of it at the
moment you wouldn’t believe it. I love to crochet which is mainly done when I’m
visiting my daughter. Anything that will keep me busy or else I have a tendency
to fall asleep. Must be a genetic thing because both my parents are the same.
We cannot sit and do nothing.

Anything about you
and your family you would like to share?

I’ve been married for just over 30 years and we have two
grown kids, a daughter and son ages 24 and 21. No pets now but we did tame
loads of feral cats a few years ago. My favourite place in the whole world
would have to be Galicia in Spain, where I was born. I’ve travelled to various
countries but that is the place that pulls at my heart strings.

Pictures of Spain

I love Spring and Autum and living by the sea. I love
chocolate, cakes and anything sweet. I like to watch horror, action and romance
movies so my emotions are always being put to the test LOLLL. I love novels but
don’t have much time to sit and read but most of all I love to travel and one
day would love to see so many beautifully places on this planet. The internet
has been a wonderful addition to my life, I’ve made so many friends from
different parts of the world so if I was granted one wish it would be to be
able to visit some of them if not all of them. Christine you’re at the top of
the list so get cracking with the house renovations. LOLL

Thanks so much for
having me here Christine, it’s been so much fun.

Maria

————————————————————————————————————–

You can find Maria on Pinterest too:  http://pinterest.com/mariavazquez/boards/

Thanks to YOU Maria, a very interesting read! 🙂 Don’t forget to pop by Maria’s blog! 🙂

Next week we have another wonderful Pattern Designer Interview to share with you! This Designer does an absolute FAB job with her patterns……..(I know because I made one of her wallets recently….so there is a little clue?)….Her patterns are very accurate and easy to follow and if all her designs function as well as her wallet, then this designer is going places! What can I say except that you will just have to make one of them and find out for yourself! 🙂