People they come together People they fall apart No one can stop us now ‘Cause we are all made of stars Moby, “”We Are All Made of Stars” When Patty Murphy (she of the awesome book Piecing Makeover) asked if I would quilt something special she had pieced, I took one look and said “YES”. She writes a lovely post about this quilt and its meaning for her on this blog post. She had told me what a special quilt it was for her, and I knew it had a story to tell. A beautiful combination of intricate diamonds and colors, I was really drawn in by the secondary (and tertiary) patterns within. I loved ..read more

“Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so that each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry.” Richard Feynman, “The Character of Physical Law” My quilting inspiration comes from my entire life: every thought, every book, every experience, every action. In my brain and in my heart, literally everything is interconnected, and I get a thrill seeing these complex relationships within the world. I want to see and find more. And yet, when I started quilting professionally in 2009 and started sharing my work, I tried hard to follow the industr ..read more

A recent customer quilt I was contacted by a new quilter recently who had just finished her third quilt ever, and was looking for a custom quilting design to enhance the story she was telling. Hilary shared with me that this was a gift for her grandparents who were celebrating a big milestone anniversary, and was to reflect the house they lived in on the water, where many happy memories were centered. Hilary had chosen colors that brought in the sun, sky, and water, and the back was a lovely series of nubby cross-woven linen blends that were pieced in strips to suggest the horizon on the wate ..read more

For my quilting friends further afield: I am delighted to share with you that I have a variety of quilting classes coming up, locally and further afield! The really fun news I can finally share, is that I will be teaching classes on both the longarm and domestic this spring at AQS Quilt Week in Paducah! I’ve put together classes for all levels, and will be teaching a variety of techniques. Classes will cover templates and ruler work on both domestic and longarm machines, freemotion quilting, designing a plan for your quilt top, and more. I can’t wait! While you’re there, make sure to check ou ..read more

Welcome, friends! Whether you’re here because of the Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop or coming by to see my new studio in Saratoga Springs, NY, I am delighted to show you what I’ve been up to (and why I am skipping Quilt Market this Spring). I have to start with the story behind my space, first, because it’s literally a month old! If you’re just looking for photos, scroll down But here’s a quick little tease: This most recent chapter in my story… …started when my sweet friend Kim Niedzwicki  (Go-go Kim!) stayed with me on the last night of the Lancaster show. I’ve been waffling around ..read more

It’s a good thing I write stuff down here in this space, because, as humans, sometimes we remember things incorrectly and we need reminders of what actually happened. It’s kind of embarrassing, but when I went back to look and see where my post was about my 2015 Word of the Year and Vision Board, and come to find out it was actually my word for 2014! “Forward”. Well, it was a good word, and I think it really worked for me in 2015 in a way that resonated a lot more than 2014 (apparently.  Sheesh.). As I was working through the year, I did keep my word “Forward” at the front of my min ..read more

It was officially announced today by Vicki Anderson, the Publisher of Modern Quilts Unlimited and Machine Quilting Unlimited, so I am free to share it here: I will be the blogger for Modern Quilts Unlimited starting in 2016! I’ve been a longtime reader of MQU, since the first issue, and I think their Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine is a resource for machine quilters that cannot be missed.  I am excited about what I can bring to them, but I’m also thrilled that we’ve worked it out where I can maintain my own writing for this blog as well as other publications.  I also respec ..read more

A single layer of cotton batting. I think everyone is probably familiar with what batting is:  nonwoven fibers that are loosely collected together to form a layer of insulation between the top and backing of a quilt.   When my Grampa Townzen was a kid during the Depression, he’d card to cotton into little pads he’d hand up to the women folk and they would stitch it in a bit at a time. This was batting in its simplest form!  Nowadays, we have lots of options, from natural fibers to synthetics and everything in between. Many times, we consider the quilt to be a success if t ..read more

Those. COLORS. While nothing can be easier than tossing something in the crockpot from the freezer, I’m not always that great about making stuff in the crockpot to begin with.  Today’s one of those days where I think, “gee, I wish I had something in the freezer,” but alas, that is not meant to be. Instead, I will make what is perhaps the simplest pasta sauce known to man.  I remember that I got it from a website about 7 years ago, but I have no idea where, and typing in the ingredients to Google didn’t help.  In any case, this is the recipe, from memory: an onion a 28 oz can o ..read more

This post is part of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge I’ve been meaning to make playlists for myself for a while, and finally got around to making some on my youtube playslists.  These are just the start, and I plan on adding to them, but I thought I’d share.  I can’t believe I don’t have my 80s list even started yet, but, like, whatever. It will happen. In any case, here’s my set of playlists.  What do you listen to when you work?  I have different genres for different needs, ha! Mostly Blues with a lot of guitar 2. Songs for ruler work (these are short, but I listen t ..read more