I Went to a Garden Party….

I went to a Garden Party, to reminisce with my old friends…

Do I have your latest ear worm taking a strong hold yet?

I so loved yesterday's Garden Party workshop from my book Addicted to Scraps!  

What’s not to like about temps in the low 70s at the end of January?

And the fact that we had to turn the A/C ON because it was “Getting warm in here!” inside the class room space at 35th Ave Sew &Vac?

But honestly – would have been just as lovely should I have been somewhere back east in the cold as long as I was surrounded by wonderfully fun and creative women as have filled our spaces while I’ve been in Phoenix this week.

And OH, the shenanigans!  The shout outs posted to friends far away, funny photo ops  trying to make ourselves look seriously tough:

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Idaho Square Dance–Arizona Style!

This is what I love doing best!

I LOVE being able to share the things I’ve learned over my 35+ years journey in patchwork and quilting.

Sometimes it’s the most simple of adjustments that can make what is extremely frustration to a newbie make all of the difference when it comes to getting units and blocks to come out the right size, fit together without pulling or bunching, and having seams that nest for sharp connections.

Oh sure, there is always going to be a need for a seam ripper and a bit of sliver trimming – but we want that part to be the least tedious so we can enjoy more of what we love doing – watching that design come together, bringing our quilt vision to life in fabric and in thread.

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Emeralds of Many Colors!

If you think Emeralds can only come in green, think again! 

We gathered yesterday in the new event center at 35th Ave Sew & Vac in Phoenix, Arizona for the first workshop day of our 3-day series – Emerald City from my book String Frenzy!

And what a day we had!  The new event center is such an awesome space – we had close to 50 folks sewing away, and it was WONDERFUL!

One of the reasons I do not promote sewing from kits with my workshops is that it eliminates individual creativity, and stops us from observing possibilities we didn’t even know we liked – you might see your neighbor working on a color combo that you’d never given a second thought to, and suddenly you KNOW you have to try that with your next quilt.

And we had SO many awesome color combos going yesterday!

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From Phoenix with Love!

This is Sherri’s Pineapple Crazy from String Fling!

Oh – hold on to your hats folks – she went way above and beyond what I did and made this gigantic beauty nearly king size with 400 blocks coming to 100’’ x 100’’!

This photo is from the show & share portion of yesterady’s presentation event at 35th Ave Sew & Vac in Phoenix where I am teaching this week. 

I was blown away by everyone’s gorgeous quilts, but I swear – the entire room stopped breathing when Sherri unfurled her Pineapple Crazy.

Take a look at the full sized photo here .  It’s AMAZING!

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All the Way to Phoenix.

This quilt traveled with me to Phoenix yesterday.

Not as part of my Lecture/Trunk Show really – but because someone I love dearly is turning 80 in about 2 weeks.

I know I am so blessed beyond measure to have parents that are not only surviving, but truly THRIVING into their 80s.  And what else does a quilter daughter do when someone reaches such a huge milestone in their lives?  We give quilts to those we love most because there is love in every stitch!

During our Thanksgiving in Virginia, Dad commented on how he loves snuggling under my quilts, as it’s like being surrounded by hugs no matter how far away I am.

OF COURSE you can have another quilt for your birthday, dad! 

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January ‘20 Quilty Box Gift-Away!

It’s a brand new year, and a brand new adventure for the folks at Quilty Box!

There are a few new faces in the Bundles of Inspiration magazine – The same folks that give you so much inspiration at Paper Pieces, are now the new owners of Quilty Box!

I am so excited about this transition – this means:

1. World class customer service from actual quilters!
2. Extremely fast shipping! (Always a good thing!)
3. Increased value with more quilting notions including templates we know you will love!

Our January Quilt Box is full of so much quilty goodness:

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The Sunday Evening Aftermath.

This is what happens with a burst of quilt creativity!

We used to joke about our son Jeff – that when walking into the kitchen you could see just where he’d been and what he’d had – as every cabinet door he’d opened remained open. Just connect the dots – it was all there.  And usually the lights were still on long after he’d gone.

I guess he comes by it honestly! LOL!  Because I do the same thing with my quilting.

An idea starts – and out come the Scrap User’s System strips in the sizes that I need – the color families that I need – bundles unfurling into endless variety, making it so easy to pull together just what I want and need.  

You can tell what I've been up to by looking at my cutting table!

It’s the putting it back that takes a bit of time – not as much as you would think – but it does take a bit of discipline not to just throw these in a box and close the lid.

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Sew & Little, Paint a Lot!

I’ve gotten this far.

The Irish Courthouse blocks were finished while Jill was here. 

I finished the row assembly during early-morning-before-blog-writing hours.  It didn’t take long!  That is the beauty of making a small-ish quilt.

But when it came to borders – THAT took some thinking.  I wanted something interesting, not just a hunk of blue or red fabric at the edge to call it “good enough.”

Graph paper and Scrap User’s System to the rescue!

Those neutral squares you see at the top and bottom of the border?  Directly from my scrap squares bins.  It makes the variety so instantaneous!  And while sewing the geese and other bits, I’ve been using the pairs of neutral squares as Leaders & Enders to push me further along.  Such a fun game to play while piecing!

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Come Caturday Morning -

Miss Lola and a bit of Frolic mischief!

Happy Caturday!

Let me just start this morning post by saying just how overwhelmed I am with the response to yesterday’s Frolic Mystery reveal.

I was up extra early yesterday morning – having spent most of my free time the week before getting that release post and the PDF printer version ready.  We had company come a week ago – our nephew Scott arriving on Saturday, my friend Jill driving in on Sunday afternoon.  Scott leaving Monday afternoon, Jill and I playing Monday and Tuesday – running here and there to do the “glamour” shots of the quilt in a rural setting, plus porch photos.

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