Deck The Halls

When I shared the start of my brimfield blocks project a while back, someone pointed out that my all green blocks kind of look like Christmas wreaths. Hmmm... maybe it's true, or perhaps at this time of year, everything seems to remind you that there are only so many shopping days left before the big day of peace and love is upon us. In any case, I thought it would be fun to share the progress of my holiday boughs and let you decide. As I had shared before, I've had it in my head for a long time to make an all green quilt. As usual, I really don't know how large I'll make this, but it would seem that I simply can't do small. The background is actually quite large, with an unfinished size...

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Home Sweet Home Kitchen

Over the last weeks, I've been sharing blocks from my upcoming Home Sweet Home applique sampler that I will be releasing in May. These Home Sweet Home Kitchen blocks are the last that I will be sharing until the final reveal... just think there are still 16 blocks that you've not seen yet!?! I would say that in most homes, the kitchen is the heart of things... it's where families gather and spend a good potion of time together. Even when entertaining, it's as if it is almost mandatory for everyone to crowd into the kitchen. So with these food blocks, it's a nod to the center of the home. A healthy home is a happy home, and what better way to keep the doctor away than an apple a day... This...

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Home Sweet Home Blooms + My BIG Annoucement!

For a few weeks now, I've been hinting at that I have some really exciting news coming... especially for those living in Germany. This year I will be teaching two classes in May at the Nadelwelt convention in Karlsruhe, Germany! This international needlecraft event would almost be the equivalent of a Quilt Market for Germany. For the show, I will be officially introducing my Home Sweet Home applique sampler, which I've been sharing a couple sneak peek blocks already... but would you like to see more? I find that over and over again, I tend towards curves and organic shapes and forms, whether in my fabric choices, or my designs... flowers are a big part of that, especially for my own personal...

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No Front Door Entry? Try The Back

Every quilter has that one sewing technique that is avoided like the plague... for some it's paper piecing, for others it's applique, Y-seams and partial piecing always make a list, and I'm sure that curved piecing has to be on someones don't-go-near-it list. For me that one thing is EPP - English Paper Piecing! Aside from the fact that I can't do much hand sewing because of numbness in my fingers, somehow EPP just feels like mending sewing to me... it would be like asking a Picasso to paint your garage. Not that I'm comparing myself to Picasso, but I am a quilter who simply wants to sew and not mend things, despite how portable the technique is. Well, with all that being said, I suppose...

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Home Sweet Home Notions

I love sewing notions, don't you? I suppose most avid sewers and quilters do, and they seem to come up in my work over and over again. For my Home Sweet Home applique sampler, that is releasing in May, I wanted to include things that are near and dear in my home... what are the things that surround you that make you feel like home? My sewing room is a big part of my everyday space, so it's quite fitting that a few notions found their way into my sampler... Already at five and seven, both of my boys always ask ahead of time which are my paper scissors and which are my fabric scissors *smile* It's never too early to train them right. Ahhh, "basting"... that dirty word in the quilting...

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