Have you heard that I’m going on a little road trip in May of next year? I have to take a plane first but the rest of the trip is going to be either by bus or by rail. Of course, I’m referring to the textiles tour I’m taking to Japan with Quilting Adventures Pro, […]

A month or two ago, I received an email from an old friend. Shelly Stokes used to be the Cedar Canyon Textiles “Paint Stick Lady” until she retired and moved to Mexico, maybe about 10 years ago. She’s in Ottawa for the summer (only about three hours away from me) and her contact set the […]

A few months ago, I received four pieces of printed canvas fabric designed by Lori Holt as a gift. The fabric was cut from a larger panel that included the fabrics needed to make 8 simple pouches, shown below. A piece for the back, two for the front and one handle-tab, plus a zipper! I […]

Studio Ghibli Fest is underway at movie theaters across the country, and this past weekend Dave and I went to the local theater to see one of our favorites. . . My Neighbor Totoro (not My Neighbor Tot, per the movie theater display!). If you haven’t heard of Totoro or Studio Ghibli, don’t worry; this […]

  It’s hard to believe that the fabulous Iceland trip with a tight-knit group of enthusiastic explorers happened just about a year ago, now. It was a great trip. Best ever! Phenomenal memories! I never thought I would enjoy the combination of exploring and stitching as much as I did on that long-distance voyage. And […]

It all started with the paint. It has been a few years since we had the house painted, and it was looking pretty rough. However, before painting could begin, some of the cedar siding boards, especially those on the sunny sides of the house, have warped and need to be replaced. We found a contractor […]

Quite a few years ago, the Dog Gone Scrappy quilt pattern was introduced to the original ScrapTherapy pattern series. The Scottie dog applique pattern is a classic! Collaborating with Mattie from Quiltsmart, I used a very scrappy approach to this pattern while incorporating an interfacing option to make the dog shapes with pieced scrap squares. […]

About a week ago in the middle of my blissful sleep, I rolled over and my hand felt something a little off. My bleary, half-asleep brain said, ‘is that a hole?’ Yep. Sure is!  A bit later as I was making the bed and getting a closer look, I gasped and for the first time […]

When I left things off last week, I had confessed to some excessive fabric cutting and decided to make some geese in reverse value from the original dark center and light corners. Been clipping away at creating those extra units. I had enough to put a small handful of blocks on the design wall and […]

Continuing on with the massive monster flying geese project from last week. . . You may recall that I ended up with a big X-block with the intent to make four large flying geese units at a time. The next step is to cut the X into four triangles. These will become the ‘bordered’ larger […]

A while back, a fabric company ad dropped into my feed somewhere online. I don’t remember much about the ad. But I do remember that it was attached to a tutorial (also lost in the void of space and time and internet dust).   The block that was featured is a modified flying geese unit–with […]

Somebody is retiring. . .and it’s NOT me! A year or two ago (yes, this has been in the plan for some time now) the person who does an excellent job laser cutting the AfterFLOCK kits (since 2017) told me his plans to retire. He gave me plenty of time to consider my options.   […]

It has been a few weeks already since we set out on our tour of the Balkan Peninsula (the former Yugoslavia) in mid-April. What follows is a photo-heavy travel journal of our trip.   We had such a whirlwind trip, that I barely remember taking this photo of Dave in his Life is Good Party […]

For years, now, I have been getting the newsletter from Purl Soho delivered to my email inbox, often featuring free patterns to use with a specific yarn. Years ago, and I may even have mentioned it here, I printed out a simple pattern for a drawstring bag. The pattern has a variety of sizes, is […]

The Chopped quilt top is complete! Last week, I only had one pieced border sewn to the quilt. Now, it’s ready for sandwiching and quilting! And then it’ll be on to the next beginning! That’s it for this week! Enjoy the holiday with family, good food, and a bit of stitching time.   Happy Stitching! […]

Late last week, I had a ‘moment’ when I realized that I was trying to do too many projects at once. All of them were urgent and all of them had to be completed immediately. And I felt stressed.  Hold up! Truth is, none of the projects I was working on were urgent. None of […]

Every weekday, I spend about 2-3 hours sewing first thing in the morning. Usually, I pick up where I left off the day before and ease myself into the day with some familiar routine stitching. Earlier this week, on Monday, I started off the day, and the week with all 12 of the blocks sewn […]

A few weeks ago, I took some fat quarters, some scraps, and the beginnings of some scrappy Chopped blocks with me for a decadent day of sewing with friends. There’s enough stuff here for three Chopped quilts, one scrappy, and two based on a collection of fat quarters. With quilted projects mostly done for now, […]

Lately, these newsletter articles haven’t exactly been filled with excitement and variety. I must confess, I have a lot going on, but not much that’s exciting and newsworthy.  Regardless of the somewhat clerical tasks at the desk–tax return document-gathering and such–I always start the weekday in the sewing studio. I’ve done this for years, and […]

I mentioned last week that I had plans to take a little break from quilting to spend part of the weekend stitching with friends. Our hostess has a brand new house, and she created a beautiful, spacious sewing area for herself, with enough space to share with friends from time to time. Lucky me, I […]

A few weeks back, I switched gears for my morning sewing sessions to move from piecing to quilting. In that flurry of quilting fluff, about a half-dozen quilt tops are quilted, bound, and either gifted or ready for their new homes. One last quilt remains and it’s a lovely one. This was initially a multi-part […]

. . . Quilt to bind! For the last few weeks, I’ve turned off piecing mode in the sewing studio and turned on quilting mode. I tend to do this ‘thing’ where I get on a piecing ‘jag’ and get a bunch of quilt tops finished. Then, once I have a few quilt tops stacked […]

  With the temperatures well below freezing and expected to stay that way for a least the next few days, I got a little silly and found myself looking around for stuff that would keep me cozy, indoors, and well-occupied for a good stretch. The mid-winter cabin fever is starting to get under my skin! […]

After posting the newsletter about my panel-friendly, amphibian-filled quilt last week, I got a few comments and questions that made me think that maybe a few extra comments might be in order.  Panels are so tempting with fun images and illustrations ready to install into a quilt, but there are some challenges to consider. Today, […]

Growing up, during the summer vacation, you could almost always find me and my family at our small cottage on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. The lake and the adjacent pond provided endless adventures looking for all kinds of pond critters. As time passed, my siblings had kids of their own who would take […]

Have you ever seen a bed-turning? They are often included in local quilt shows where someone in the guild or a local quilt historian has a variety of vintage quilt on display.  The quilts are typically stacked on a bed and the speaker peels away one quilt at a time revealing its history and beauty.  […]

Last week I posted this photo and had a few folks as for a pattern.  Well . . . I didn’t follow a pattern! Truth be known, I made a project with LOTS of half-square triangles and had some leftover bits. . . . and the rest is history.    Making the cookie mats (just […]

While on a tidy-up binge, last week, I re-discovered a very cute cross stitch project – all stitched up but not complete in the basket that sits by my favorite stitching chair. Now, I’m determined to make a good effort to finish the project, maybe even in time for this holiday. I’m kinda making this […]

A week or two before the Thanksgiving holiday, we had a new carpet installed in the family room. We ordered it a couple months back, because the old carpet was horribly soiled and beyond help.  To prepare the room for the installation, everything had to come out. That was NOT fun! Both moving the furniture […]

This past summer, I was so very fortunate to have an opportunity to create a project and lead the project workshop on a cruise to the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, and Scotland.  CLICK HERE to Get the Jewels of the North PDF Pattern The Jewels of the North quilt that was created for the group of […]

I don’t know about you, but when I’m heading out of town for a quilt retreat weekend, I tend to bring way too many things to work on. In all fairness, you never know which project(s) will tickle your fancy. And heaven forbid, something critical is left behind for that one project you planned to […]

I finished up the Giraffe from the Funky Friends Factory pattern, the quilt now has a label, and three little hand-knit wash cloths are all done. The basket full of goodies is sitting on my dining room table and it startles me a little to see the giraffe giving me the stink-eye every time I […]

Our quilts don’t last forever, I’m sorry to say. But I need this one to last a bit longer until I can get a new one made.  This log cabin quilt has been on our bed for about 10 years and at least one of the fabrics in a high-wear spot is showing some real […]

Got a text message late Tuesday evening with an impromptu invite to visit the Stickley Showroom in nearby Fayetteville, NY. The showroom hosted a one-day show of 50 quilts made almost entirely by my friend Beth Broadway. I interviewed Beth here in this newsletter a couple years ago about because she heads up a local […]

Updated A few weeks ago, I reported on using up the contents of one of those infamous packets of unfinished goodness located on the never-ending shelf of unfinished stuff. I made a couple of table runners and had just a few wee bits left of the border print used in the runner. I knew that […]

I don’t know what impulse I was following to root around in one of the shelves in my creative space earlier this week. Maybe I was looking for something season-appropriate to work on. This one little charm pack caught my attention. I have no idea how long I’ve had it. The collection isn’t even listed […]

A couple weeks ago, I attended a quilt retreat and spent a whole week whittling away at the shelf full of partially finished projects and class samples. Last time, it was itty-bitty flying geese. This time, it’s four-patches and border fabric to empty another project pouch featuring the Table Stripes pattern from the first ScrapTherapy […]

Last week, I left town for Perry, New York for a week of quilting at the Silver Lake Retreat House.  Our accommodations were cozy, the food was superb, and the view was fantastic–all ingredients to ensure a creative environment to sew.  As you can see below, the view was amazing; we were right on the […]

Last week, I celebrated a near-finish on my AfterFLOCK sample quilt. A big deal! With only the binding left to sew to the back of the quilt, and too-hot weather to sit under a quilt, that project is at a bit of a stand-still.  For the last several months, I’ve been quilting like a maniac […]

As a quilt – or any project – on my to-do list starts to reach a point at which completion is in sight, I start a mental countdown. X-number of blocks left to make. X-number of seams to sew. X-number of blocks and borders to quilt! Everything up until the final countdown is making. And […]

  It seems like one deadline after another kept me from completing the quilting on the Big Day Quilt, featuring the AfterFLOCK bird blocks. Indeed, I can’t entirely blame a busy schedule: I procrastinated because I felt this quilt deserved a bit more focus and attention with some custom quilting.  The photo from the website and […]

For months and months, it seems, I’ve been singly focussed on preparing for the cruise to Iceland and our specially-designed wool applique project. The following photo journal provides a taste of the travel experience from my perspective. Enjoy! Seems like ages ago when I stepped on a plane in Syracuse before dawn and landed at […]

There has been very little change in my ‘score card’ from last week’s list of four quilts headed to the finish line. As I mentioned, I had to change focus for a hot minute to address a couple of smaller items needed for a local gift shop. Those are rounding out nicely.  For one of […]

With temperatures well in the 90s for part of this week, it has occurred to me binding quilts might be better suited for cooler weather–I know I could do the binding by machine, but I find the hand-sewn part relaxing. That being said, progress continues on the small mound of quilts that have been on […]

For the last few weeks, I’ve been on a quilting rampage. This project, made from twelve AfterFLOCK block kits and from the Big Day Pattern was third in line in a group of four quilt tops that were ready to be quilted.   Each of the twelve pieced bird blocks is framed in dark brown and […]

It has been non-stop quilting during my daily sewing sessions each week-day morning for the last few weeks. Two weeks, two quilts quilted!  These two are ready to be bound. This week, I turned my attention to my sample for The Big Day pattern. It has been waiting for quite some time for its turn […]

Last week I shared that I’m in the midst of a quilting blitz.  For months, I’ve been on a piecing binge, leaving me with several finished tops that are anxious to become finished quilts. I like using line quilting, alternating straight and serpentine lines to secure the layers. The technique is fast, efficient, and effective.  […]

I sew and quilt every weekday morning. It seems like a big effort to switch from piecing to quilting (it’s not really, but it *seems* that way).  So I have a habit of going on a long binge of piecing and quilt-top making, then I switch gears as the unfinished tops start accumulating.  I’m one […]

For years now, I’ve been slowly chipping away at the contents found on this storage shelf in my work room. From my days of traveling and teaching quilting, I prepared ‘step-outs’ or in-progress elements of various quilt projects for workshops. All of these bins contain parts and semi-constructed pieces for various quilts organized by project, […]

Things have gotten out of hand in the sewing studio. Little piles of strips left over from one project or another have been accumulating. Little piles become bigger piles – only temporarily – until ‘temporary’ becomes months and the piles are filled with forgotten treasures.  I’ve been using a lot of scrap fabrics lately with […]