Ready, Set, Cut

I'm back! What?... didn't you notice that I was gone? This year we were blessed to be able to visit my family again in the US. Usually a few months before we travel home I notice that I feel like my emotional tank is almost on empty. Expat living can have it's challenges, and while I generally do I ok for most of the year in Germany, I find that I REALLY need time that I can just be me... effortlessly. without thinking. in my own language. in familiar surroundings. with people who are just as familiar as my own face. With three airplanes, that are sandwiched in between two long drives, it might be easy to see why our travels are planned for such a long time. While I deeply savor the down...

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Link-Up #summerstacksundays Summer Smoothie

When working on a fabric pull, just because there might be multiple colors in the inspiration fabric, doesn't mean that all the rest of the fabrics have to be packed full with just as many colors. She really IS the star of the show, and if there is too much competition for the center stage, the show doesn't run as planned. When the supporting fabrics are doing just that, even though there might be a lot going on in the inspiration fabric, she is somehow balanced.The supporting fabrics are supporting, and not trying to take over the show. For the #summerstacksundays Link-up, I found that I ended up using several Anna Maria Horner prints that were my starting inspiration point. Her...

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Link-Up #summerstacksundays Soft Summer

Can you believe that the first month of summer is over now, and we are well into the second half of it? Has it whizzed by, or have you had a chance to slow down, and stop and smell the roses? Either way, I hope you are having fun stacking. When I think of summer colors, I actually think of two color ways. Obviously many of the summertime blooms are vibrant, bold, and colorful... but there is a softer side to summer, which is this weeks' theme: "Soft Summer". I started out with this print from Rae Ritchie as my inspiration. I absolutely adore her whimsy and playfulness of her fabrics. This stack is not too far off from last week's complimentary color pull - "red" and green, but with...

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Summer Applique

I've been taking my summers pretty slow, as you might have noticed... and you too? If you've been following me for a while, then you know that summer means it's time to pull out my Chuck Nohara blocks. Since this has been such a long, and on going project, you might think they've landed on the long forgotten WIP pile, never to be pulled out again... quite the contrary! My aunt always reminds me that making quilts is not about seeing how many quilts you can finish in a year, but about enjoying the process. When I'm on an everyday schedule, it seems that I don't find the time to work on highly intensive applique blocks. Usually when I take an applique project somewhere to work on it,...

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Link-Up #summerstackfridays Complimentary

Sometimes when I pull a stack of fabrics together, and take a second look to re-examine it, I realize that I've pulled a complimentary color scheme without actually intending to. If you have studied color theory at any length, then you know that the complimentary colors are: blue and orange, red and green, and purple and yellow. Because complimentary colors are directly opposite from each other on the color wheel, they create the strongest contrast. When you work with pure color combos, the combination can be pretty intense. For me, a purple and yellow combo can leave you thinking of easter eggs and candy, and make you wish that you had brought your sunglasses along. The best way...

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