Back at it this week with that box of purple pinwheel blocks I mentioned last time . . . This week, I’ve been sewing the blocks and squares into on-point rows, making progress one row at a time.   I know there are lots of schools of thought on this, but personally, I’m a […]

A couple weeks back, I shared a quick placemat finish. I found the scrappy pinwheel blocks tucked (more like shoved) into the back of a shelf at my sewing table. It did not surprise me to find pin wheel blocks, forgotten in the back of that shelf. There was a time when I was kinda […]

I always feel a sense of relief when with the new year. Don’t you? The holidays are nice, and it’s definitely a festive time of year, but it does feel like my focus is all over the place during the last couple weeks of December. With a new calendar and month, it’s time to settle […]

A couple weeks ago, I shared this photo and a little bit about a small stack of scrappy pinwheel blocks and some cream-gray strips. The strips and blocks were stuffed in the back of a shelf in my sewing table. I’m not sure how long they’ve been there or what their original purpose was, but […]

Back in March, after yet another fabulous vacation tour was cancelled, to keep our sanity, Dave and I booked a trip to Europe to travel along the Rhine and visit Christmas Markets 2021, with a fair amount of history mixed in. We left on Thanksgiving Day and landed in Zurich, Switzerland, then transferred to Interlaken […]

  I don’t know what inspired me to reach into the back of a top shelf on the left side of my sewing table earlier this week. When I did, I found this set of scrappy pinwheel blocks completely by surprise. I don’t remember making them! But it looks like I had it in mind […]

I started stitching (cross stitching, that is) about a million years ago. Maybe that’s a tiny exaggeration, but only a tiny one. The stitchy obsession has been an on-again, off-again thing for me, and these days, I’m really thrilled to be combining stitching and quilting in new and exciting ways. However. . . Organizing and […]

Perhaps you’ve seen the video of the wild turquoise-fronted Amazon parrot in Brazil taking a peak and video-bombing a traffic camera this week? The bird seems to want to know what’s going on behind that camera lens!   Not surprisingly, I have a really strange feeling that I’m being watched all the time with a […]

My BIG NEWS for today is something I’ve been working on for quite some time. About a year ago, I introduced a new technique called Stitchery Crossover. Along with the new technique to combine counted stitchery and quilting in a totally unique way, I introduced a brand new online course called Mia Rosa. Mia Rosa […]

Last week, I continued to share nearly insane plans for the hand-made ornaments for this year’s annual holiday card handmade ornament insertion. I showed you how I made the twisted cord. Now, I have to stitch the cord to each ornament. The first step in the final (I promise) installment of 2021 ornament-making involves a […]

Last week, I shared my rather aggressive plans for the hand-made ornaments that will go in my holiday cards this upcoming holiday season. I mentioned the twisted cord finish, and that I’d share the how-to in a future email. Well, this is the email.   I’m playing with two options to finish the ornaments as […]

Dave did all of the driving to and from our trip to Rhodes Island a couple weeks ago. Except for the part on the ferry, that is. With about 5-6 hours of free time (for me) each way, I took advantage of the time to continue making the parts for my annual holiday ornaments to […]

Like most everyone else on the planet, these past 18-20 months or so have been filled with disappointments, cancelled plans, or worse. Back in the Spring, Dave and I knew that we needed to plan some fun time at the end of the summer – we usually like to take a vacation in September, around […]

Last week, I showed a sneaky peek of the next project on deck in the sewing room. For this project, I need an 8×10″ block, but the Monk Parakeet, the featured August bird block from the FLOCK, is only 8″ square. Just a bit too small. Therefore, I need to find another block or find […]

Summer always seems to pass much too quickly for my taste. One of the great benefits of living where I do in central New York, is that we experience all four seasons, and my favorite time of year is summer time. This week, with Labor Day Weekend upon us, I’m trying to squeeze in every […]

This past weekend, I attended a retreat. 30-40 like-minded crafters from central New York and northern Pennsylvania gathered for a weekend of good food, good gab, and focused stitching time. I was fortunate to have been included in such a diverse group of quilters, stitchers, and crafters. It was great fun! For the bulk of […]

I’m headed out to a stitching retreat later today through the weekend. I haven’t packed yet, but I have a mental list of things to take, including a bunch of projects to work on, and maybe a change or two of clothes. That’ll be the ‘calm’ from my headline. Seems like this week has been […]

I’ve had a WEEK! Last week wrapped up with an unexpected trip to the office supply store in search of a label printer. Something all-of-the-sudden stopped working between my current label printer and my shipping software. Bleh. With a bunch of FLOCK kits gearing up for migration via the US Postal Service this week, there […]

What will you be doing 18 months from now? I can hear you shouting at the computer or mobile device screen: 18 months?!? You kiddin’? I don’t even know what I’m having for dinner! I know, I know, it seems like a long way off . . . but it will be here before we […]

Block 25 from the Nearly Insane book (mentioned in last week’s message) is all done. I can’t say that it’s my favorite block from the 25 that I’ve made so far, but I’m good with it. However, the ‘split’ flying geese unit in the center of each side (squiggly red outline toward the top of […]

Aside from some of the secret stuff going on at my desk right now, from time to time I pull out the Nearly Insane book by Liz Lois and make a block or two. I mentioned last week, that the book is back on the sewing table, front and center. I’m sewing the blocks in […]

Taking a week off from writing this article last week allowed me some time to finally put the wraps on the stitched notions case I’ve been working on for an eternity! Or at least, it feels like that long! If you have been following along, then you know this project started as a stitched sampler […]

As a kid, salt potatoes were just part of the menu during the summer around here. I didn’t think much of it. For a very brief history lesson, Syracuse, New York (my hometown) used to be known (and still is, in many circles) as the Salt City. Through much of the 19th century, Syracuse was […]

This week, I have been clipping along on the stitched notions pouch I started over a year ago. Last week I finished the lining pockets.   This week, I worked on the zippered, windowed interior pockets. Remember, I’m not working from a pattern, so I’m winging it as I go, and this is where I […]

Starting about 18 months ago, I’ve been working on a stitch sampler/soon-to-be notions case. To recap, I upsized the design area a bit on the sampler, started stitching, then things stalled. In January of this year, my embroidery guild challenged folks to stitch something–even one stitch–every day for 100 days to move stalled projects forward. […]

The Finish Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been keeping myself occupied with a variety of projects. Some I can’t share . . . yet, but some I can. . . For example. This pineapple quilt that I’ve been working on for quite some time – years, in fact – is done! This quilt started […]

I’ve been struggling. About the holidays, no less. You know, Christmas stuff. Yes I know it’s just the beginning of summer, but I’m behind. Really, I am! Every year, I put a hand-made ornament in my holiday cards. A few years ago, I started making them one per week, starting in January or February to […]

A few months ago, I introduced you to the newest product from the Hummingbird Highway – Your Nest® Thread Nest Floss Bobbins! They are a handy tool to organize your stitchery fibers – floss, and perle cottons, for example. I created the bobbins to replace an item that was discontinued, because I wanted to include […]

I’ve created a very aggressive business plan for myself this year. I love having a plan, and I thrive when the projects I have prioritized follow a detailed timeline. Some things slip while others advance. Everything seems to take longer than expected, even so, stuff is moving forward. It’s crazy, invigorating, and frustrating all at […]

With business meetings taking up a good deal of time on my schedule this week, I feel a little out of sorts trying to keep projects moving forward. It feels like they’re all stuck in Limbo-land. For example, I may have gotten carried away with Sweetpea Pod production. I mentioned this cute little pouch pattern […]

I put the scrappy pineapple aside temporarily to work on the next bird block sample for The FLOCK. Once the block was done, I took out some of those colorful zippers I showed here a couple weeks ago, along with some fabrics and fusible batting to make some Sweetpea Pods for fun. The pattern is […]

This scrappy pineapple quilt, pieced a few years back, has been my on-again, off-again project for my weekday sewing sessions for the last month or so. Every weekday, I spend about an hour or so in the morning before breakfast working on the sewing machine. Once that hour is up, I start my day with […]

  With ‘secret’ sewing projects wrapped up for now, this Pineapple block quilt is back ON the sewing table. Progress is slow. . . I am able to finish the swirly ditch-quilting on 2 or 3 blocks in a weekday morning sewing session. Nine blocks to go, or at least three more days. Then I’ll […]

Each month, projects move on and off the sewing table to make room for secret projects that I can’t share. This week, I’m working on some upcoming block designs for The FLOCK in the sewing room, and I’m not allowed to share them. That means, the quilting on the pineapple quilt has been put aside […]

I spent the last couple weeks working on my blue and brown pineapple quilt. Two weeks ago, I was just finishing up some straight-line quilting in the sashing strips. This week I finalized and began executing my quilt plan for the blocks. More on that below. I did receive a question or two about the […]

Once I wrapped up the Swirl placemat I worked on for a few weeks, using the Creative Grids Mini Pineapple Trimmer and my Swirl pattern notes, I kinda got on a yank to finish up the pineapple quilt I started a few years back. I’m a really big fan of blues and browns together, so […]

Last week, I showed you my progress on a swirly little project that filled some of my sewing time in between time-sensitive projects. I used the Creative Grids Mini Pineapple Trimmer and my Swirl pattern notes to make little square mug mats from 5″ scrap squares. This week, this project was in the home stretch! […]

Since last Fall, Dave and I have been making an effort to get outside for a 3-4 mile walk at least once each week, usually on a Saturday or Sunday. For the past couple weeks, Dave has sidelined himself with a sore foot (nothing serious). Not wanting to break the trend, I went solo on […]

I am between sewing projects this week. I’m expecting a delivery in the mail by the weekend that should change this in-between situation I have at the moment. Since I try to sew a little bit every morning to stir the creative juices before moving to the computer for the day, I like to have […]

Eagle Inspiration Most people don’t equate Bald Eagles with Syracuse, New York. For a VERY short, VERY general geography/history lesson of this area. . . Onondaga Lake is at the (sorta) center of the city. In colonial times Syracuse became a city because of the salt deposits around the lake. Salt, being a valuable preservative […]

I was warned. Before Dave and I got married 21 years ago, he took me aside and told me he had a secret passion . . . He is a historical board gamer. Not the online type of gaming, although he has certainly spent many hours online with the likes of World of Warcraft and […]

In last week’s article, I highlighted a mug mat and mentioned a technique to add a continuous/loop binding to small projects. Since I had a question or two about this technique, I thought you might like to see how I add a binding to a small project, such as a 5″ square mug mat. Of […]

Some people refer to it as ‘frogging’. . . I have to say, I’ve never embraced that term. Maybe because I like frogs. I love the sound of peeper frogs in the spring, a sure sign of warmer weather. It’s great fun when a frog, or several, show up in the garden pond, no invitation […]

  They are HERE! They spent months in designing, altering, testing, sampling, revising, negotiating, re-testing, production, shipping . . and they have finally arrived! Who is or what are ‘they?’ Your Nest® Thread Nest Floss Bobbins, of course! They are brand new and in stock! Exciting! If you collect 6-stranded floss, perle cotton, or other […]

After a couple of crazy-hectic weeks in my sewing room and at my desk (and in the universe), I had a bit of a reality check yesterday morning as I was working on finishing my Peppermint Purple 2020 Sew-along project, soon to be a quilted table runner. For nearly all my quilty life, I have […]

. . . But not before wrapping up a few projects here and there. I tried to step away from the computer for a bit over the Christmas holiday, and will continue to make that effort over the next few days. I’ve been hearing lots of stories throughout 2020 about how neighbors and friends have […]

For I-don’t-know-how-many-years, now, I have been making a small ornament to insert in my holiday Christmas cards for family and friends. Years ago, when this ‘thing’ first started, I usually had an idea right around Halloween, and started making. I do about 30 cards per year. At that time, I also made cards with glitter, […]

From time to time, I like to get a little insane. . . Or Nearly Insane. This is actual the title of a book by Liz Lois. Inside the book is a collection of about 100 or so block diagrams–nothing else, not instructions or measurements, just the diagram. I purchased the book years ago on […]

With the Stitchery Crossover course now up and running, my mind is already planning the next project for the online class series. In fact, I already have a couple sample blocks under way. And I’m REALLY excited about them! Can’t wait to share more about them, in fact. However . . . As enjoyable as […]

A quick message to wish the very best holiday greeting to you and your family. Our celebrations may be small this year, but I hope there is a turkey in the oven (or will be soon) and pie at the ready in your home today. As for this household, Dave has been practicing for this […]