Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  As I write this post it's only Monday, and I'm leaving to visit the Bloomington Quilter's Guild tomorrow, very early in the morning, and won't return until about midnight Wednesday night.  Thank goodness for the marvel of scheduled blog posts!  Since this is a short week for me, I haven't yet finished my spring quilt, though I have made good progress on it.  I did get the quilt basted and I'm all ready to start the quilting.  Here's a little peek at the back- I used all the leftovers with the Chunky pattern from my book ..read more

Hey there, friends!  Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday.  I've been moving right along on my spring quilt, all while still giving myself plenty of time outside in the sunshine.  The top is all finished now- I have the back pieced from all the leftovers (and I can't wait for you to see it!), and today I'm planning to get it basted.  I'm leaving very early in the morning on Tuesday for Bloomington, IN- my final teaching trip this spring, and I may or may not get the quilting done before I go.  Our weekends are pretty busy, so I don't usually work on quilts then. I ..read more

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  This week, I've been working on a happy new quilt, and all the blocks are done! All these fabrics are straight from my stash.  For the last couple of years, I've been trying really hard to use the fabric I have.  That's not to say I haven't purchased fabric for a specific quilt (like my son's Southwest Scenery graduation quilt), but I've really tried my best to shop my stash first.  And I've challenged myself to make whole quilts from stash without purchasing anything.  Pieced backs really help with that endeavor. &nbs ..read more

Hey there, friends.  Needle and Thread Thursday is taking a little break this week so I can share some huge news.  The NEW and improved Stash Statement is now available in my Etsy shop! If you have the first version of Stash Statement, you'll notice right away that the cover is very different, but that's not the only change.  Here's a little rundown of all the ways the NEW Stash Statement is bigger and better than ever- The NEW Stash Statement now contains my personal recommendations for choosing quilting tools, plus full finishing instructions, including tips for adding ..read more

Hey y'all!  It's the middle of the month and you know what that means!  It's time to fill you in on the latest happenings at my favorite shops around the web. Over at LouLou's Fabric Shop, spring is definitely in the air.  Check out this fresh and cheerful Feed My Soul quilt kit.  I just love these colors and prints! Or, if you're looking for spring basics to round out your latest project, look no further than the latest LouLou Bundle.  Gingham is the perfect print for spring!              I usually like quilting ..read more

Hey there, friends!  It's been a great week around here, including a solar eclipse day trip.  Though we worried about cloud cover in central Arkansas (only about 2.5 hours from us), we ended up with lovely weather and four full minutes of totality.  Though my son and I traveled to Paducah for the eclipse in 2017 (with my mom and grandmother), my husband was on a work trip and missed that one.  So, a total solar eclipse was a new experience for him, as well as for my son's girlfriend, who also came along with us on Monday.  Even though I experienced the 2017 eclipse, th ..read more

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all.  I wasn't kidding when I said last week that I love yard work so much that I even help my friends.  After two exceptionally hard winters, two of my very good friends are doing lots of reevaluating what plants are actually hardy enough for this area, and lots of replanting.  And yep!  You guessed it.  I've been to the nursery and right there digging holes with each of them.   Last week's party had lots to ogle though!  I love this sweet quilt from Susan at Patchwork n Play- This fun quilt is from Jan at The Color ..read more

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday and happy spring, y'all!  I know I've probably mentioned how much I love working in my yard, but in case you don't already know- at my house, I am the grass-cutter, the leaf-raker, and the flower planter.  My husband is wonderful and is almost always working alongside me, especially with jobs that are too big for me to handle alone.  I prefer yard work over the gym, so I insist on doing as much as possible without his help so I can skip my evening workout.  I love yard work so much that I even help my friends with theirs, lol! The sprin ..read more

Hey there, my friends!  Despite the fact that it is going to be 28 degrees tonight (boo!), I'm going to wish you a happy almost spring!  Here, it has been positively spring-like for the past few weeks.  Some rain for sure, but mostly tons of sunshine and soft, warm breezes.  In fact, after this temperature drop tonight, we'll be right back in the 60's tomorrow.  Spring is such a source of inspiration for me, and I just love ogling all of the gorgeous collections.  So, let's check out the latest spring things from my favorite shops around the web- LouLou's Fabri ..read more

Welcome to NTT, y'all!  My trip to Charlotte last week was fantastic!  I loved presenting my trunk show to the Charlotte Quilter's Guild, and we had so much fun in the class.  What was NOT fun was my return trip home.  I was scheduled to leave Charlotte at 8:30 pm following my class, catch a connecting flight to Memphis at 10:30 pm, and make it home a little after midnight Thursday night.  Well, the weather had other plans.  As it turned out, because of weather in Dallas (where my plane was coming from), my flight from Charlotte didn't take off until almost 2:00 a ..read more