Blog Index

  • Creative Housekeeping

    I read Grant Snider faithfully, as he is an artist who often captures the frustrations I feel in my creative world (while trying to juggle that OTHER world of job, laundry, etc.).  I thought…

  • Deep Summer

    In deep summer, everything moves a little slower because of the heat.  The sewing slows down because we’re at the beach, or watching Endeavor on the television, or just lazily talking after dinner on…

  • Pineapple Quilt Block (for Bee-mates)

    As my friend Susan of Patchworknplay says, I’m Queen Bee.  I wrote this post as I had both my bees,  the Always Bee Learning Bee (August) and the Mid-Century Modern Bee (November), make this…

  • Happy to Be Home

    Well, the laundry is done, but I’m still walking into walls, as the jet lag recovery seems fiercer this time, perhaps complicated by the arrival of my son and his family 24 hours after…

  • Independence Day

    Happy Fourth of July! I just returned from a long trip to Croatia, Slovenia and Budapest, and am still trying to figure out what time zone I’m in.   As soon as I do,…

  • SHINE Circles Block 2, English Paper Piecing

    Circles Block #2: Sunshine Here we go again, with the second block in our slow sewing, English Paper Piecing, series of circles.  While I call it Sunshine, because of the fabric I used, the…

  • Some Interesting Circle Quilts

    While looking through this blog, I found some examples of interesting circle quilts.  This one, made by Kathleen H. McCrady and titled  Sawtooth X, is patterned after an old one from 1875, using reproduction fabrics in…

  • Cleaning the Design Wall

    Since I am away from the computer for a while, I’m running a few favorite, previously published posts.   This one originally ran on July 22, 2010, but is modified for today’s post. ˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚ Here’s the before:…

  • Process vs. Product

    Since I am away from the computer for a while, I’m running a few favorite, previously published posts.   This one originally ran on July 16, 2010, but is modified for today’s post. ˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚ Is it possible…

  • Contrasts: Four-in-Art August 2014 Challenge

    from *here* The theme for our August 1st Challenge Reveal is “Contrast.”  Anne suggests the contrasts inherent in cities: noisy/quiet, man-made/natural, fast/slow, wealthy neighborhood/poor neighborhood.  I have started thinking about this, but first, my…

  • Quilts and Stitching in Art

    Okay, I had a fun time in Washington, DC this spring once I realized I could play I Spy and look for quilts.  I think this is a good game that I should keep…

  • Take Some Time

    Since I am away from the computer for a while, I’m running a few favorite, previously published posts.   This one originally ran on April 26, 2010, but is modified for today’s post. ˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚ There was…

  • Iron Woman Improv: My Version of a Weekender Bag

    Ever heard of Iron Woman Improv?  Well, anyone can throw together a bunch of scraps and make it end up sort of squarish-like, but this past week I’ve improv-ed a travel bag for some…

  • Some June Bee Blocks

    For June, Celeste asked us to help her whittle down her scraps by making Bonnie Hunter’s Boxy Stars, with instructions found *here.*  I messed up sewing one corner and went into my stash (this…

  • Elizabeth’s Lollypop Trees-Final Photos

    I wanted to take some final photos of my Lollypop Trees quilt, partly because I didn’t feel like I’d done an adequate job posting about it when I had finished it (and did worry about…

  • SHINE: Circles Block 1, English Paper Piecing

    Worn out from two back-to-back trips, I spent the day quietly hand-sewing my Circles Block #1, Swirlygig, using the English Paper-Piecing Method.  A couple of weeks ago, I had decided I wanted to make…

  • Circles: English Paper Piecing

    Inspired (always) by Mary, who blogs at Molly Flanders Makerie, I have had circles on the brain for several months now, hiding behind that other stack of things I’m always yakking about. from *here*,…

  • Happy Memorial Day Weekend

    The District of Columbia World War I Memorial (on the left of the Reflecting Pool, as you face the Lincoln Memorial) Sunset, World War II Memorial Arlington Cemetery, with all the flags out on…

  • Colorwheel Blossom–quilt top done!

    My husband very graciously held up ColorWheel Bloom for me this morning, as it simply melted into my usual place of the design wall in my sewing studio/room.  I like the bright rainbow of colors…

  • The Universe Delivers

    So I was pretty bummed about not being able to make up this into a larger quilt, or not being able to use it (see last post for explanation), but then VOILA! that old…

  • More Copyright: It’s My Quilt and I’ll Name It What I Want To

    Okay here’s a tricky one for you copyright fiends, experts and fanatics: 1–Famous Quilter (who you have revered in the past) gives you permission to teach a class using a block of her own design,…

  • Thursday’s Randoming

    Cindy says I need to have Random Things on my Random Post. Okay, here goes. While this is a diagram of a student brain, a Teacher Brain could be similar except: where it says…

  • Keeping the Brain Alive

    Yes, my brain is pretty dead after grading a stack of 10-page research papers, but after seeing all the twenty-somethings at school today, I have to say that their brains are pretty dead, too.…

  • Bee Blocks for May: Angles and Arrows

    Debbie, from the Always Bee Learning Bee, asked us to make giant triangles, following this tutorial from The Modern Quilt Guild.  It was pretty straight forward, but I measured three times before cutting once,…

  • Elizabeth’s Lollypop Trees, final

    Elizabeth’s Lollypop Trees began May 2011 • finished April 2014 A Kaffee Fassett Lotus Blossom print for the back, and I am finally done.  I know you’ve seen an overabundance of photos of this…

  • Changes Art Quilt, Deconstructed

    Thursday, May 1st, was the reveal for our second series of Art Quilts.  This year’s theme is Urban, and this quarter’s challenge was Landmark.  And as is my usual, I do a post on how…

  • Change, a Four-in-Art Quilt

    Change #3 in the Urban Series, Landmark Quarterly Challenge Quilt #131 (Y Mountain.  Photo courtesy of Judy Cannon) This is the landmark I grew up with, a letter on a mountain in Provo, Utah.…