When I’m working on a big project that involves a lot of repetitive sewing, once I’ve got the block construction process worked out, I like to make a ‘game’ of the sewing. My current project is a perfect example to illustrate this concept. Maybe you’ve done this, too? In the last Good Migrations email, two […]

Quilted Border For weeks (months?) I’ve been going on about finishing up projects to empty storage boxes on my studio shelf. This quilt (below) emerged from some half-square triangles and flying geese units. Last week, I started quilting the project. And I was well on my way to finishing the quilting this week. In fact, […]

Back to that ‘magic box’ full of projects I’ve been talking about for several weeks now. The project box is empty, but the one remaining incomplete item that emerged from the box is the quilt – and it needs to be finished to turn the page on the empty box. (At least in my mind.) […]

We’re there. The ‘magic box’ full of projects that came off the shelf in my sewing studio a few months ago is now empty, but does that mean everything that was inside is finished? Let’s see . .   I’m not sure I remember everything that came out of that little box, but I do […]

I am starting to see the bottom of that ‘magic box’ full of projects that was pulled off the shelf in my sewing studio a few weeks ago.   From a stack of cut but not sewn and partially sewn half-square triangle units stored in the box, scrap fabrics were added and enough HSTs were […]

If you’ve been following along, then you know I have targeted a box of leftover quilt parts on a shelf in my sewing studio. I am determined to turn the contents of the box into useable items. First there was a quilt. Lately, I’ve been chipping away at a stack of triangles and Half-square Triangle […]

I’m still working my way through this one box I pulled off my storage shelves in the sewing studio a month or two ago. The quilt that started from a few block parts that were in this box for years is ready to be sandwiched and quilted, but the sewing table is covered with triangle […]

My sewing focus for the last several months has targeted a number of projects lurking on the shelves in my sewing studio. A while back, I embarked on a major project to organize those shelves! However, with every new box I opened, I was distracted by the contents of each box. At that point, I […]

One by one, I’ve been choosing from boxes kept in storage on the shelves in my sewing studio. One by one, each new-old project is getting finished, sometimes there were plans for the projects in those boxes, sometimes not. This project, not too long ago was a stack of half-square triangle and flying geese units. […]

  With the Diamond quilt project nearly complete, I turned back to the boxes full of set-aside stuff on my shelf for inspiration to turn something old into something new. This combination of flying gees units and half-square triangles were next up in the box from which several place mats have recently emerged. There were […]

  May I introduce you to the newest member of the HeartFulls family? Sunflowers are happy late-summer flowers that grow tall and proud as the watch the sun move across the sky. They represent unwavering faith, and they are often associated with optimism and happiness. SunFlower HeartFulls Kits are HERE May I share a quick […]

With a name like David Bird, you know this guy is already on my list of favorite people! A few years ago, I was introduced to his whimsical creations on a Sunday morning TV broadcast. Since then, I’ve followed him on social media. Last year, I was too late to get a 2023 calendar (they […]

A few weeks ago, the long-term Diamond quilt project pulled from a pizza box on my studio shelf was pin-basted for quilting. I never really know how I’m going to quilt something until it’s on the sewing table. I use the pin-basting time to consider my options, but it always comes down to a last-minute […]

Please note: these kits are now out of stock. Please consider other products from the Hummingbird Highway, like the AfterFLOCK.   Earlier this year, the Hawaii Quilt Cruise finally happened. On board the ship, a seven-part mystery quilt named Sea Lilies was revealed, step-by-step to forty or so lucky quilter/explorers. Who knows how I managed […]

    After a week of humidity and a Saturday of on-and-off rain (more on than off), Sunday was a perfect day to head into downtown Syracuse for the annual huge craft fair. Here’s Dave, ready to carry the day’s purchases.   Lots of booths with lovely items including jewelry, photography, painting, ceramics, woodworking . […]

  I haven’t talked about The After FLOCK much lately, and since I have a couple newsworthy bits that might interest you, I thought I’d start out by showing you Kathleen’s project that uses the Big Day Quilt pattern. Recently she finished up her quilt top using 20 of the bird blocks from The AfterFLOCK. […]

I keep digging around in my ‘magic’ shelf of set-aside projects. A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I found some partially constructed mug mats in my stash and I finished them into place mats – I go through place mats like crazy! In the same box, with the African embroideries, I found some four […]

Last week, I talked about turning these embroideries made by women in Africa into a handy tote. When I left off, the bag was almost done. As you can see, a few seams later, it’s ready for prime time. Can’t wait to take it to my next stitching outing filled with projects to sew! It’s […]

Once again, I found myself rifling through set-aside projects on my bottomless shelf of it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time project ideas. I found these hand-made embroideries I picked up at a quilt show a few years back. I have four of this smaller size and one larger one. These are made by women in South Africa who use the […]

These are done. This is not. Carry on . . . Happy Stitching!       Head Hummingbird Hummingbird-Highway.com

Lately, I’ve been focused on finishing projects that have been hanging around on my shelves. I’ve got plenty of projects to work on during my weekday morning sewing sessions. I know exactly where they are and what they are, and I’m excited to get back to each and every one, eventually. But this weekend, I […]

Have you ever heard or used the phrase, I haven’t seen/done “X” in a month of Sundays!? Well, that’s exactly the case for the TWO newest additions to Heart Fulls kits and patterns! As I was finalizing all the files, samples, and kits for two brand new Heart Fulls designs, I realized that it’s been […]

This week the magic number is THREE! If you’ve been following along for a while, then you know, for several months now, I’ve been working on finishing up a project that was shelved years ago. A pizza box full of partially complete (and inaccurately sewn) diamond-shaped blocks has been lurking in my stash. In the […]

  Bloomin’ Steps has been one of my most popular patterns since it was first published in 2008. It was originally released as a pamphlet pattern in response to requests from those who cut and organized their messy scraps into 2″, 3-1/2″, and 5″ squares as they followed my ScrapTherapy process. The smallest size, the […]

Before I left for vacation, I discovered a construction issue with a few of the Diamond blocks I’ve been making from a UFO box pulled off the shelf a few months back. You can read more about my trimming/construction ‘concerns’ in this post to get a refresher on the details. To summarize, in total, 50 […]

Our tour of France started in the south of France. Our flight into Toulouse, the fourth largest city in France, was uneventful. Aside from being filled with history, Toulouse is known for modern-day aviation and aeronautics manufacturing. This visit, we were focused on history. The nearby walled medieval city of Carcassonne was our first tour […]

The diamond quilt project is still managing to grab nearly all of my morning sewing attention this week. I’m about 15 blocks shy of having all the blocks needed to assemble the quilt project that was shelved many years ago. To my knowledge, the pattern I bought years ago along with a pretty set of […]

  This week, I’m popping in real quick so I can get back to work on a few things that I really, REALLY want to wrap up before a bit of travel coming up in just a couple weeks. Time away is coming up fast, but time is going slowly on daily progress on the […]

As a kid, Easter weekend was always crazy, loaded with everyone heading in different directions at light speed until things finally calmed down when Easter breakfast was served. It started, essentially, on Friday afternoon. Sometime after noon, while my father headed out to pick up the ham for Easter breakfast, the pots full of water […]

Diamonds. I’ve been talking about this project for a couple weeks now. Progress is slow, but steady.   This is going to take more time than I thought. I have about 17 diamond blocks made – not even halfway there to the 50-block goal! Just for fun, I grabbed my stack of blocks and laid […]

For the past few weeks, I’ve been targeting an unfinished project for completion. To carry on, these partly-assembled diamond blocks lurking in my stash needed better accuracy, some new tools, and a revised setting plan. I am almost on the path to mindless, morning sewing . . . except for one small detail . . . […]

  A couple weeks ago, I pulled this flat cardboard box off the shelf. In it, the pieces of a 2-1/2″ strip project I put away years ago. I wasn’t happy with how things were coming together back then and didn’t have the time nor patience to slow down and correct my sloppy technique. This […]

Last week, inspired to finish up projects laying dormant on my shelves to ready them for their next adventure, I shared my piecing challenges with diamond shapes cut from 2-1/2″ strips. Happily, I think I have the floral print piecing mastered with more careful cutting and sewing.   As I left off last time, I […]

Last week, I was a guest on Sue Pelland’s weekly facebook chat called Sewing in Slippers with Sue. I recapped the conversation with all the pertinent links HERE. For the first couple months of the year, I’ve been rather preoccupied, and my usual sewing routine – about an hour each day, first thing in the […]

Earlier this week, I was a guest on Sue Pelland’s weekly facebook live, Sewing in Slippers with Sue. Thanks to my broken ankle, I abandoned the idea of wearing slippers – I don’t have any slippers large enough to fit over my orthopedic boot. No matter, Sue and I got down to the business of […]

I passed a significant milestone last week – my 20th Quilt Birthday! On February 8, 2003, I took my very first quilting class in Syracuse, NY. Before that, I barely knew where the on/off switch was on my new sewing machine – a basic model that cost about $200. It landed under the Christmas tree […]

Today’s article is a very quick recap of the highlights from the Hawaii Quilt Cruise that was originally scheduled for April 2020, was postponed several times, finally launched in mid-January, and returned last week. Because travel can be unpredictable in the winter months, I arrived in San Diego one day early and took advantage of […]

    In between preparations for a long-delayed quilt cruise that departs this weekend, I managed to get in a tiny bit of sewing this week. The outer borders are sewn to my 12-block version of The Big Day Quilt. The Big Day pattern, featuring blocks from The FLOCK collection will be available from the […]

  Things have been really quiet in the creative spaces of my world these last couple weeks, while the administrative side of Hummingbird Highway has been a-buzz. Regardless, just this week, I began the process of adding the last border on the Big Day quilt.       I’m using the same mini-print for hte […]

It has been a crazy week around here! On Monday, morning things got off to a great start with a trip to the doctors office to remove the stitches on my steadily improving bone-spur-no-more foot. I am back on my feet, a mite slower than usual, with a positive report from my doctor. Many thanks […]

Flat out on my butt after elective surgery on my foot, I had orders to keep my foot iced and elevated this weekend. As I sat and stared at the four walls, I thought I was going nuts for planning to be immobile even for a few days this close to the holiday. Fortunately, I […]

For once, I’m not talking about my own studio! This past weekend, locally, The Delevan Studios opened their doors to the public. This century-old, former plow factory near the city’s center has had a long history as a factory, then as abandoned space, and currently as repurposed high-ceilinged studio spaces occupied by a huge variety […]

I have a secret! Well, it’s really not that much of a secret. Maybe we should call it a new-to-me secret since I only recently learned this slick trick to remove pencil on cotton quilting fabric. For a little backstory, when finishing a Heart Fulls ornament, in the assembly tips, I recommend making a small […]

As I prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday (here in the US), this comment about something as common as apple pie from noted scientist Carl Sagan caught my attention: “If you wish to make an apple pie truly from scratch you must first invent the universe.” On the surface, it’s a simple idea. But when you […]

Before I get to my latest quilt-in-progress project featured in today’s article, there is a new Heart Fulls release ready in the Hummingbird Highway webstore that I thought you’d like to know about. When I need a little bit of a pick-me-up, I can’t think of anything better than some sunshine (with some rainbows thrown […]

It has been unseasonably warm and sunny for this area and this time of year. With so few sunny and warm days left before the chill set in. I thing it’s important to GET OUT and take full advantage of the (likely) last few lovely days of fall. This weekend, I went with a friend […]

Someone once told me that the best way to store your quilts is flat on a bed. The only problem with that concept is that after a handful of quilts, the bed is no longer flat. After a couple hundred, the bet looks more like a heap of quilty fluffy-ness. Regardless, that’s how I store […]

My niece is expecting and the baby shower is coming up at the beginning of November. So you-know-who needs a baby-shower gift, pronto!   Inspired by a Row by Row pattern from a few years ago, I started sketching. Then printing in supersize mode. Then tracing. Then cutting, fusing, and layering.       The […]

What are the ‘terrible ‘tweens,’ you may be asking. It’s not what you might think – there are no teenagers here, for example. The ‘tweens’ in my world are a lot like the ‘spinnies’ – when you’ve got a load of small, almost finished projects that just need an hour or two of dedicated time. […]

What are the ‘terrible ‘tweens,’ you may be asking. It’s not what you might think – there are no teenagers here, for example. The ‘tweens’ in my world are a lot like the ‘spinnies’ – when you’ve got a load of small, almost finished projects that just need an hour or two of dedicated time. […]