About Pippa

 

I started this blog a little over a year ago primarily as a way to record my quilting and knitting endeavors. However, over the past few months, it has evolved into a broader journaling of my life, a sometimes random selection of my crafting, cooking, eating, and living adventures. I suppose I’ve come to realize that there’s no need to compartmentalize or define my life since each of these components plays its own important role. Some weeks I can’t tear myself away from my sewing room; other times I’m in more of a knitting mood. Some nights I feel like creating a big, healthy meal in the kitchen; other evenings I enjoy an indulgent dinner out. As much as possible, I love to travel. Occassionally, I’ll do something unusual like run a race. It’s all part of who I am, so it’s all going into the blog! 

Anyway, here’s a bit about me…

I just graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Art History. Right out of school, I landed a job as an Assistant Editor at Quilting Arts Magazine, and often find myself marveling at my good fortune (as in: did I really just spend the workday patching together fabric?) Throughout my undergraduate career, I focused on the study of textiles– quilts in particular- though this wasn’t exactly an official part of the curriculum.

My love of textiles started before I can remember, though my most vivid recollection is knitting a gigantic afghan when I was about eight years old. I knit on and off throughout middle school, but found myself newly devoted in college; the more I studied, the more I needed the counterbalance of creativity and me-time. 

I’ve been dabbling in sewing (without any real formal training) since high school and began quilting the summer after my freshman year at college. It was love at first stitch and I haven’t looked back. However, I feel like I’m still finding my quilting and sewing groove, and experimenting with different techniques and approaches–maybe I’ll be doing that forever! I’m still hoping to improve my technique and find that balance between an improvisational/fun method and fine workmanship. My aesthetic is what I like to think of as contemporary traditional. Though I very much admire artists who create non-functional masterpieces, most of quilts and sewing projects are meant to be used, whether they are slept under, worn, or even cuddled with.

I love cooking (just about anything) and baking (mainly bread) for the same reasons that I love to sew and knit. I think of these two activities as culinary patchwork; opportunities to be creative, take it slow, and revel in the process of the handmade. Especially since moving into my own apartment, I love experimenting in the kitchen with (mostly) healthy, wholesome, and delicious foods. Of course, I also love to indulge and believe that good food can be one of life’s greatest pleasures, hence my many blog posts on dining out adventures.

I don’t think of myself as an athlete, or even a fitness fanatic, but I do love being active. I start most days with a long swim or run, and try to fit in daily doses of yoga and the occasional class. My daily workouts aren’t normally something that I feel are worth sharing on the blog, but every now and then, an adventure in the land of fitness may make its appearance.

But that’s not all! I can’t not mention the fact that I come from a loving and creative New England family; my two sisters, brother, and parents have shaped who I am today. I currently live in an apartment in Boston, MA with my boyfriend of eight years, Kyle, and my darling bunny Shuffle.