Authors or wannabe authors of quilt patterns and books, come join the newest group "Authors of Quilt patterns and Books".  Note: this is not to promote your own stuff.  It is a place to learn, share ideas, and tell experiences.  Most everyone is welcome.

I have been sewing quilt tops since about 1988 because my Grandmother had been a quilter, and at the time I thought it would be nice to make one quilt and follow in her footsteps - foolish, foolhardy and I should have known better. Since then, I have a scrappy pile (piles) which I try to reduce every now and again. Unfortunately, I can get easily side-tracked by a new pattern or a new idea or even the lovely sunshine.

So presently and at last count, I have 17 UFOs. Yikes! I need to…

I NEED to make a scrappy quilt.   Why do I have so much fabric that I don't know what to do with??   I find so many patterns I want to try and I check out my fabric stash and decide I don't have what I need to make that quilt top.  So then I just putz around and get nothing truly accomplished.  Therefore, my next project is going to be a scrappy quilt.   Just cut up a lot of unused fabric and sew it together and hope for the best!!!   Well, no, I suppose I should have some sort of plan, or…

I am new to this blogging thing, and I so now I will try to add some pictures of some of my quilted projects. Most are unfinished, some only needing a sleeve to be added to the back, others need the binding sewn down. This quilt is not quite finished (binding), and as you can see it is a scrappy quilt. My kindred group and I made a flower pot quilt, and they all gave me the left over scraps. This is the quilt with the left overs. I added some of my own fabric, and I tried to add a machine…

Just returned home from giving a lecture for The Friendship Quilt Guild in Hagarstown, MD. My drive down was 5.5 hours and gave me some good time to think and work out some new designs!

Lecture: A Quilted Journey Around the World

Play quilt. Balloons stick to the flannel of the quilt.

When it comes to those finishing touches that make a quilt stand out,one of my favorites is adding prairie points instead of binding. Here's how I added them to my whole cloth quilt.

     First, you DO have to plan for this in advance, because you must leave 1" of unquilted area around the perimeter of your quilt. This is because they…

I have spent the last few days sorting and tidying my sewing room. I think at last count, I have 12 UFOs. I will take some pictures and post - one of these days.

I am currently working on a charity quilt (most of my quilts are donated). This gives me the where-with-all to try something new, either a technique, colour combination or pattern. The quilts tend to be crib-size so if I get to a point where I don't like what I am doing, it can quickly be finished. Then sometimes, you have a…

   The wedding was eight days ago and we all survived!!  Although things didn't go as planned, they are married and on their honeymoon in the Virgin Islands.  It was to be an outside wedding...but it seems we went from snow to rain in Minnesota this year!!  Initially our daughter was a bit distraught at this change but realized there was nothing to do but move things inside.  Can't have 180 guests outside in the rain!!  Everything was beautiful.  We did have one minor disaster!  One of the…

Hello campers!  Have you had a good quilting week?  It's a gloomy Friday afternoon and I am sitting at my desk eating M & M's and drinking a diet Coke (caffeine free, if you please) and waiting for the work week to end.  Thought I'd also give you an update on the Christmas project as we head into…

I am very new to this Blog thing, so hopefully I am doing it right. I am a newbie to this site, and I am excited about sharing some of the things that I do.

First, I love to make quilt tops. The scrappier the better. In fact, I was just given a huge container of fabric from a lady who has decided not to quilt any more. Christmas in June! I have sorted and resorted and have designated most to quilts that I either I am currently working on or plan to start in the future. Just an aside…

I know I dress in my best yoga pants, socks, and t-shirt before I sew.....always. I keep a chapstick by the machine at all times so if someone drops by my lips are smooth and supple and I keep my hair in a clippie as well. Looking my best really does make my sewing experience a good one. Of…

A few weeks since I last blogged and so much has happened.  In the middle of my well laid Christmas quilt plans, a family crisis arose and had to be dealt with.  My sister-in-law Barbie and her husband George were in urgent need of assistance as they moved out of their little house in Galesburg, Illinois - 640…

It definitely wasn't a quilting weekend....but just as fun!  3 of my granddaughters descended on Grandpa and I for 2 nights!  Fairy houses, lots of cooking..chocolate chip cookies, bread, muffins, smoothies and lots of time for playing with each other!  They are 3-6 and their conversations are amazing!  While we were making the fairy houses I learned a lot about the world of fairies!  I got caught up on all the fairy names and occupations!  We had to watch the latest Tinker Bell movie before…

I am looking for a quilt pattern for the cancer ribbon that is not paper pieced.  I have found one for the pink ribbon that is for breast cancer and other colors representing the various types of cancer, but they are all paper pieced.  I would like to make a quilt for our Relay for Life team to raffle off for next year.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Lots of UFO's.  I've joined the UFO group and plan on starting the two different challenges in June.  However, I'm going to make a personal challenge just for this weekend.  I'm going to set a goal of 4 UFO's to have completed by the end of Monday!  I've already got a start on one. Starting easy.  I chose a wall hanging that's one of 8 projects - ranging from queen to wall hanging size - to put the binding on.  Tomorrow it'll be to have the children's quilt for Quilts For Kids quilted,…

and ready to release some artistic frustration!  I gave my notice at work last week, so I will soon be "funemployed" for a while as I hunt for a job that better fits my career goals.  I'm hoping to get back into quilting during this time!  A cousin and a few close friends are pregnant, so I have a few baby quilts to whip up, and my sister is getting married next summer, so I want to get to work on a wedding quilt. I cracked open a box of fabric last night and started pressing.  I'm going to…