Looking back on 2015

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Planned Roadblocks & Ditches

When I start a new project, very rarely do I plan everything out from start to fininsh down to the last stitch. Perhaps that's why I always run into bumps, ditches, hiccups, and roadblocks all along the way. First threre are size issues, then the issue of whether to follow the pattern as is or add to it, border vs no border, and let's not talk about the nightmare of the long wait if you need additional quilting supplies shipped to Germany!?!  Even though I have several projects in the works, despite how it might appear, I really am conscious of bringing all those backburner projects to the front again once each issue is sorted out. Usually if I put it on hold for a while, then somehow...

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Deck the Halls Free Christmas Tree Pattern!

 It would seem that when I like a particular designer's work, I can gush on, and on, and on ( and on) about them. One designer's work that I keep coming back to time and time again is Cori Dantini. Almost every fabric line that she has put out, as soon as I see it, I have about twenty project ideas that come to mind. When I first saw her Joy & Wonder collection for Blend Fabrics, that was no exception. As I was drooling over studying her collection, it hit me... a paper piecing pattern was staring me right in the face! So, I approached Cori earlier in the year and asked if I could adapt her design into a paper piecing pattern... and now in the spirit of the season of giving, I am turning...

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On Again, Off Again

About two weeks ago, I got together with a friend of mine for a sewing day, whom I met on a WIP Wednesday linkup some time ago!... it perhaps doesn't sound too out of the ordinary to meet on such a platform, but it might actually make it very out of the ordinary if you know that we both live in Germany! It's amazing how much you can get accomplished when you have a whole day dedicated just to sewing, despite lunch and chocolate breaks! I have so many WIP's in the works, it was not too hard to find something to work on. If you've visited here a time or two, you might have figured out that I am a debater when it comes to my sewing projects. When I started my Farm Girl Vintage blocks, I had...

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The Heart's Desire & Quilt Finish

Have you ever wanted something so badly that it felt as if your heart literally hurt and ached? Usually such a yearning comes from the desire for personal relationships... whether it is a longing for a spouse, a friendship, or probably the ultimate of yearnings... the wish for a baby. Before we were pregnant with our oldest son, we actually had a miscarriage. It was so early in the pregnancy that we barely had time to comprehend it ourselves, much less share it with family and friends. Even though the pregnancy was only in it's first weeks, the loss was still very real, especially since we had been trying for a while. After having gone through such a loss, I ended up coming out on the...

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