Patience is NOT one of my virtues!

When I design something new that I'm paticularly excited about, I want to show it to everyone right away! But when you are fortunate enough to get to work with a fabric company, you are on THEIR timeline, so you have to wait and keep it under your hat until they say it's okay to show it off. I have a hard time with this but I made it and I finally have permission to show this new design. This is a design that is featured in the Island Batik Fall/Winter 2024 catalog. The line I used in my design is called Fall Gatherings, a rich palette of green, orange, gold, rust and blue. It was a fun collection to design around. The collection will start showing up in quilt shops in May 2024. My quilt design is called El Paso and the blocks reminded me of southwestern designs but it also has that crisp fall feel because of the beautiful colors. This design is paper pieced and although it seems to have curves in the blocks, they are all straight lines, so it's simple enough for a beginner paper piecer. The finished quilt measures 55" square and makes a grand statement on the wall or works well as a lap quilt. Ask you favorite local quilt shops if they will be carrying this line!

In The Meadow updated pattern now available!

My very first pattern that I published in 2003 has had a facelift. I have learned a lot in the last 20 years and have used that knowledge to improve my In The Meadow pattern. They are small changes but I believe they make my design easier to reproduce. This design had only been available in a small number of quilt shops, local to me, since its publication years ago but I would like to present it to a larger audience. It is a perfect beginner foundation paper pieced pattern. The pieces are large, for the most part, with the smallest pieces being in the house cornerstones. By the way, smaller pieces are not more difficult since the same technique is used either way, they are just smaller! This quilt can be used at Christmas time or throughout winter to add a whimsical touch to your home. The 3 dimensional elements add interesting details to the surface of your quilt. Included in the pattern is my custom made carrot nose button.

Retreat time at Seams Like Home with Jody Sterling of Sew Beachy Quilts

I was invited by a friend to spend 5 days at a retreat with her and her friends at Seams Like Home in Vanderbilt PA. It was nice to sit and sew and visit with old and new friends. I have been to this B & B many times, both as a guest and as a teacher. There is something special in getting together with a group of like minded people and catching up after a time apart. We had amazing weather, especially for southwestern Pennsylvania in February, not that it would have mattered anyway once we were safely there! The only time anyone left was to visit the B & B owner's quilt shop in nearby Untiontown, PA, Sew Special. We had good food that we didn't have to cook and lots of new projects started and older projects finished. There were a lot of meaningful conversations and more than a few laughs. We left exhausted but rejuvenated at the same time. My friend, Jody Sterling, is the designer behind Sew Beachy Quilts. Make sure you check her out! https://sewbeachyquilts.com/

Some new stuff!

 I haven't posted in a minute so just a short post to show some of the things I'm working on!

Angel Blessings Christmas

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Strawberry Shortcake 

All Hearts Come Home

Glue for paper piecing

I recently did a search on what kind of glue is best for foundation paper piecing. I try to use glue sparingly but I always use it to attach my first piece of fabric and also any large pieces that might get folded over and sewn in wrong. I've been paper piecing for almost 25 years and I have always used Elmer's Washable School Glue stick. I thought that maybe a better product had come along in that time but I can absolutely say that I have NOT found one. One of the videos I watched suggested a repositionable glue stick and I thought "What a great idea!". It ended up not being a great idea at all! It was actually a very bad idea. Since this glue doesn't "dry", the back of my block was sticky and because I like to press both sides of my blocks I put my iron down on the glue without even thinking about it. Then I proceeded to press the front of my block and left gray smudges on it in a couple of places. As soon as I noticed that, I cleaned off my iron and used a pressing cloth on the rest of the blocks. I will find another use for the 3 glue sticks that came together in my order and stick to using Elmer's from now on. The thing I like best about Elmer's is that it dries and when it does I can usually get most, if not all, of the paper out of my finished block. Do you have a favorite tool or notion that you can't live without?