Aloha Jodi and The Hedgehog Quilter

usps.com

I enjoy exchanging emails with readers to learn more about them.   Enter Jodi, a Navy brat-turned-catalogue librarian-turned-Hedgehog Quilter.  I invited Jodi for an interview to learn what do romance readers do after the HEA?

 Kim:  You lived in Hawaii as a Navy brat - could you share some of your favorite memories?

Month of the Military Child
navynews.com

Jodi:  I break down the places we lived in by the grade I was in, Hawaii was K-2nd grade. We lived in Navy housing that was a big circle up on a hill. It was a great place to be a kid. The inner circle (oval) of houses had huge open yards on each end. We could run around a play there and climb the plumeria tree. The families with children were pretty close. Every 4th of July we’d have a block party with a parade. The kids would decorate their bikes and we’d parade around the circle. We did do a lot of the touristy stuff and go to the beach all the time (SC beaches have nothing on HI and CA), but I think my best memories were just being able to be a kid in that neighborhood.

Vingate quilt at Queen Emma's Summer Palace
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Kim:  How did you become interested in quilting? Who helped you along the way?

Jodi:  I just started quilting about 5 years ago. My Mom has been quilting for years, but I was sticking to my cross-stitching. About 5 years ago I bought a beginning quilting pamphlet and hand pieced a quilt top together as a surprise for my Mom. I moved to SC about 4 years ago and started taking classes and letting my Mom teach me. Technically, I’m still just putting tops together. I haven’t progressed to putting the layers together and doing the actual quilting.

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Kim:  What inspired you to start a blog, The Hedgehog Quilter?

Jodi:  I was in Vegas for a cousin’s wedding a couple months ago. I bought a pattern for a pumpkin wall hanging. The design was easy, but the pattern was rather disappointing: 2 pages for 8.50. I decided that others might be interested in a beginner’s pattern reviews so I decided to start blogging about my adventures. I already had the blog set up to be a hedgehog blog (that I never updated) so I just started over from scratch. I have 2 pet hedgehogs, hence the name.


Jean Frederic Schall
"Woman Reading a Book"

Kim:  You are also a romance reader - who are your favorite authors? Bloggers (other than me)?

Jodi:  I always have a hard time answer the favorite author question, mainly because I’m afraid I’ll leave someone out. The authors I always buy/read immediately are: Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle, Robin D. Owens, and MaryJanice Davidson. There are also so many more that I love to read. My favorite genre right now is paranormal, but I also read contemporary and historical (mostly regency era).

I must admit I don’t read too many blogs (other than yours). I tend to rely more on Facebook posts from authors I’ve friended.

mathewingram.com

Kim:  You are a librarian - what reading trends are you seeing in your library?

Jodi:  I’m a librarian at the University of SC. I’m a cataloger, so I’m one of the folks who create and put the records into the catalog. The biggest trend we deal with is the increase in electronic materials, especially journals. The biggest problem we’re all dealing with would be budget cuts due to the economy.

jillmarielandis.com

Mahalo, Jodi, for joining us at SOS Aloha!   I have two books with quilts weaved into their stories from Barbara Freethy's Angel's Bay series.  But I am saving those books for Barbara's visit to SOS Aloha on February 2.  Instead, I am giving away two books about another kind of needlework - knitting!  

- Rachael Herron's How to Knit a Love Song

- Lori Wilde's The Sweethearts' Knitting Club

Plus

- Amanda Quick's The Perfect Poison
(nothing to do with quilting ... see post script for connection).

To enter the giveaway,

1. Leave a comment about Navy brats, quilting hedgehogs, blogging about something other than romance, and/or your hidden talent (I have none ... what you read is what you get).

2. The giveaway is open only to US residents but ...

.... I welcome comments from all readers - whether or not you are entering the contest.

3. Comments are open through Sunday, January 16, 12 pm Hawaii, to enter the giveaway.

4. If you are an international reader, I am happy to share Aloha with you - send your mailing address to sos.america@yahoo.com to receive a Hawaiian treat.

Join us Monday, January 17, for a preview of the Big Three Romance Conventions - RT, RWA, and RomCon. 

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii


mullenium.com

Quilts are an important part of Hawaiian culture before (tapas) and after (cotton) the missionaries arrived in the 1820s.  To learn more about the history of Hawaiian quilts, log onto Hula Girl Quilts.

Jodi named three authors ....

.... Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle.  I met Jayne in the bathroom at RWA last summer.  While common courtesy dictates that a fanatical reader MUST NOT approach a NYT's best selling author in the restroom, I did.  Because we were alone in the giant restroom, washing hands next to each other.  I simply thanked her for her generous donations to SOS Aloha.

... Robin Owens.  I have not read Robin but after reading her website, I will add her to the TBR pile.  Check out the fun photos of her cats!

... Mary Janice Davidson:  Read her funny bio!  She must have changed it recently as I know that she grew up as an Air Force brat at various overseas locations, including Guam.


Guam