One of my guilds provides little wall quilts, featuring houses, to Habitat for Humanity. They give one of these quilts to each new homeowner, and have asked us to provide a few more. To make this one, I used a pre-drawn block from EQ8 and printed a line drawing of it at 12″ x 12″. Then all I had to do was measure the components and make the fusible applique quilt. This is the block as it was shown in EQ8: Block design taken directly from EQ8 And here is the line drawing I printed from the program (along with my notes!): EQ8 drew this as if I were going to piece it. There was the option to p ..read more

I’ve been in my “new” studio a couple of years now, so I decided to change out the art quilts I have on the walls. Some of the newly-hung items are from years ago, but I found them in the closet, so here they are. I had forgotten about this little leaf-pounding piece that I quilted by hand. I made Atomic Sunflower only two years ago, but I’d forgotten about it, too. I did make this one self-portrait quilt in a class years ago, but that’s it for people in my quilts. I designed and made this little neighborhood after seeing similar projects online. Isn’t the internet a great source of ins ..read more

I learned of Brenda Gael Smith’s Dreamlines project from a fellow blogger and signed up early in 2023.  It’s a free monthly art project that has had international participation, and I’ve enjoyed it. Here are my pieces from all the months sitting on the design wall so I could think about what to do with them. I accidentally made one month’s project in the larger size, but I figured that would be OK. The plan for November was to finish the piece, and here’s mine. I left out some of the pieces I’d done, cut one of the big pieces in half, and added some solid strips. I quilted it with horizon ..read more

I always enjoy the Asheville Quilt Show. There are so many excellent quilters in the Asheville guild, and I always find inspiration at the show. Here are a few of my favorites from 2023. Sizzle by Kathryn Zimmerman won an award for Outstanding Machine Workmanship Detail of Tiny Houses by Janet L. Ervin. There were many of these little houses, hand appliquéd and embroidered! Stripes Rule by Diana Ramsay caught my eye I thought Lightning, by Tricia Vinson, was a clever use of an ombre fabric. Please note my photo is crooked; the quilt isn’t! Tierra Nirvana, by Stephanie Wilds, particula ..read more

Holly Alloway’s work first came to my attention when Studio Stitch featured this quilt as the 2022-2023 Block of the Month (BOM). Quilt (c) Holly Alloway, designed and made by her You can see why I took notice! Holly recently agreed to talk with me and show me some of her quilts. Holly designed this BOM several years ago using Deb Tucker’s rulers and techniques. Quilt design (c) Holly Alloway Like many of us, Holly has been sewing all her life, though she started making quilts “only” about 40 years ago. She has lived various places around the country and has found both guilds and classes u ..read more

This quilt started when I saw the central panel at Studio Stitch and it was just too pretty to leave there. It’s actually yardage, not sold as a panel, but of course can be used as a panel. The fabric is Robert Kaufman “Happy Place”, so I consulted the website of the manufacturer for design ideas. One of their designers had made a wall hanging from this fabric, so that was a good starting place. The trees and balloons were inspired by Jen Kingwell’s “The Avenue” pattern, though I used my own templates rather than hers. I love the way the print fades from vibrant at the bottom to ethereal towar ..read more

I read something about David Owen Hastings, a graphic designer who also quilts, and wanted to take a class with him. Luckily within a few months I saw that Mancuso Show Management was having him teach over Zoom as part of their Quiltfest Virtual Schoolhouse, and I quickly signed up. I should mention that I didn’t just randomly find the Mancuso organization; I was familiar with Quiltfest from when we lived in Eastern Pennsylvania. They’ve produced top-notch quilt shows, so I trusted them enough to try their (sort of pricey) Zoom classes. The classes did not disappoint. Communication with the Ma ..read more

Back in 2019 I made up my own improvisational block challenge. When the blocks were done, though, I decided it was going to be difficult to put them all together in one quilt. I had chosen coordinated fabrics but used all the colors from the collection, among other problems.  Of course it was intended as a learning experience, and I learned that I should restrict my color options when I experiment with just a few blocks! Here are all the blocks together: And just for comparison, here is a more recent series of improvisational blocks in which I did limit the colors: So I learned, which is ..read more

I’ve finished 32 quilts so far this year, and 8 additional non-quilt sewing projects. The good news is that I’m not going to show you all of that here. Rather, here are my 10 favorites in no particular order. Dynamic Dresdens, made in class with Susan Cleveland Bright Scraps, one of many scrap quilts made this year. And no, the scrap pile has NOT diminished! It Takes A Village to Can Watermelon, started during the pandemic and finished this year. If only the pandemic were finished, too! Wild Geese, from a pattern by Beyond the Reef Arkansas Crossroads, a traditional pattern made from ..read more

While in Paducah last spring I was able to take Susan Cleveland’s “intermediate to advanced” class called Dynamic Dresdens, and it did not disappoint. I took a binding class with Susan several years ago and have greatly benefitted from what I learned, so when I heard she was teaching even more techniques I signed up. Not to mention that the class project is really really cute. This was a two-day class prior to the AQS show. The first day covered Susan’s methods of layering, basting, quilting, binding, and making prairie points–whew! She had warned before class that students should have their m ..read more