Hello and happy Thursday! As I mentioned yesterday, one of my works in progress needed a fast finish so I could use it this week!  I had read recently that  using a quilted table mat under your machine helps keep the machine from wobbling and/or vibrating when sewing on plastic tables like

Hello and happy Wednesday! I usually try to post about works in progress on Wednesday, which I'm doing today but with a slightly different twist... You see, I'm headed out to a retreat where I'm teaching three classes and also  hoping to get in some fun sewing for me...so my works in

Hello! Today I thought I'd share a new tip for string quilts. I don't know what it is about me and string quilts and February, but I seem to set to work on them at about this time every year. Part of the reason I think I work on these blocks each February is because I  head out to an

Hello! Today I thought I'd share a little bit about the 2017 American Patchwork & Quilting Quilt along. This is a fun event that I try to participate in every year. In fact, two of my favorite quilts are the result of participating in this quilt along! My "Go Four It" quilt and my "Tone it

Hello and happy Friday! Today I'm happy to share the second block in my 2017 mystery block of the month quilt! I'm having a lot of fun piecing my blocks and deciding on the design elements I want to incorporate into the quilt and can't wait to see some of the other blocks being made from these

Hello! Today I'm sharing a tutorial for my favorite way to make Log Cabin quilt blocks. Log cabin blocks are one of my favorite scrap-using blocks, and this method makes it especially easy! When I first started making these blocks I absolutely loved the technique, but the process was a little

Hello! Today I'm sharing a fun new jelly roll pattern! This super fun quilt was on my design list for a while before I decided what to make it in...and I'm already planning a second version because I love this pattern! I had a lot of fun piecing this right after Christmas, picked it up from the

Hello again! The first day of the month is always a busy day since Michele and I share our monthly parades for our Minis and More quilt along group.  This month's challenge was to share a work in progress that you finished in the month of January. I know I've shared my County Fair quilt a

Hello and happy Monday! It seems like the new year was just beginning, and here we are on the last Monday of the month already! This month sure has been a busy one for my family--my husband's younger sister passed away recently, and while it was unexpected and difficult to wrap our minds around, we

Hello and happy Friday! Today's favorites post is all about some favorite fabrics...and some favorite notions! Fat quarters of our Desert Bloom fabric always make me smile...it was fun to get this bundle in the mail the other day.  I picked out some of my favorites from the collection

Hello and happy Wednesday!  Today is the 25th of the month, and that means it's time for a "Gifts to Make for Friends" post. I'll be posting gift ideas all year on this date each month. Hopefully you can use some of the ideas throughout the year for birthdays and other special occasion

Hello! I'm excited to share a little about a couple of projects I made last fall for the Scrap Lab feature in Quilts and More magazine! Scrap Lab is a fun section in each issue detailing three different projects made by three different designers using the same fabrics. Designers are shown a photo of

Hello and happy Monday! I'm happy to say I made quite a bit of progress on my Fig Tree County Fair quilt at the end of last week...in fact, I was able to finish all of the blocks, make the sashing and 9-patch posts, and set the middle section of the quilt together. I am so glad I decided to keep

Happy Friday! Today I'm excited to talk a little bit about a couple of my favorite things...one is an amazing quilt book that you might have seen recently.  But the cover might look just a bit different because it's now available in an English translation!  A few years ago I searched

Hello! The other day I mentioned I was thinking of making a heart themed quilt. So I took a little time to play around with a few different designs to see if any of them really caught my interest... The first three blocks (pictured above) all finish at 6" x 6". I really love the patchwork

Happy Wednesday! I'm really making an effort this year to get some of my unfinished projects finished up. Of course I have several projects that are meant to be long-term projects, but I also have several I thought I would have finished up a long time ago! I'll be starting market sewing for our

Hello! Today is the first day of the Fat Quarter Shop Patchwork Quilt Along! This quilt along is the Fat Quarter Shop's annual charity fundraiser and will benefit the Make a Wish foundation this year (Fat Quarter Shop and Moda fabrics will match up to $20,000 of donations raised). Patterns are

Hello and happy Friday!  I hope your week has been a good one! We've been receiving some much needed moisture here in the desert southwest, and I've been enjoying the last little bit of my vacation from teaching by getting little things done here and there. I've also been finalizing eight new

Hello and happy Wednesday!  Today I'm excited to share my newest mini quilt, Flowers in a Row. Now this is something I've been wanting to make for quite a little while, so with the start of the new year it seemed like the perfect time to have some fun flowers to brighten up my sewing

Happy Friday! As part of my regular "Friday Favorites" series I thought today I'd share some of my favorite quilting books. And then...I couldn't narrow it down to a manageable list. So...I decided to  focus on books that help one to use up scraps/stash since it seems so many of us are focusing

Hello and happy Thursday! It's new block release day on the Splendid Sampler blog, and I have today's block and a catch-up block to share.  I'm getting pretty close to having the 50 blocks I need for my quilt, so it's been really fun here at the final stretch--a new quilt top will be coming

Happy Wednesday! I'm releasing this month's free block of the month pattern a day early because...well, I just can't wait another day! I hope you'll join in with me as we piece a fun sampler quilt this year; patterns will be released on or around the 5th of each month. I'll also be providing

Hello and happy Tuesday! Today I'm sharing some Bee Blocks I caught up on over the weekend--with my fall being so hectic I fell behind and was determined to finish up the final quarter blocks by the end of the year. In 2016 I participated in two different Bee groups; in 2017 I'm going to stick

Hello and happy 2017! I'm so looking forward to 2017...how about you?!  I'm hopeful that I'll be able to finish a lot of works in progress this year as well as start (and finish) some fun things I've had on my list for awhile. Of course there will also be new fabrics with Moda and new patterns

Hello and Happy New Year! I always look forward to reviewing my creative year as a new one is on the horizon. In 2016 I made 25 quilts lap size to full size and 5 mini quilts. I also made a variety of table runners, place mats, pillows and bags! As I went through my photos I also realized I made a

Hello and happy Friday! This is actually one of my favorite times of the year--with the beginning of 2017 just around the corner I'm full of anticipation for projects that can be accomplished with a fresh start! I have a few favorites to share today...beginning with a much anticipated book I

Hello! The other day I finally got a little time to work on something I've been wanting to make for the past year (or longer...it's been on the list for awhile)! A lot of quilters have been making pineapple quilts in one form or another over the last year or so, and I could hardly wait to make one

Merry Christmas! I hope that you and your family, friends and loved ones will be able to celebrate together this wonderful season of light and life! Every year I try not to get too caught up in the busyness of the season...I try instead to take some time to ponder and reflect on the Christmas

Hello! Happy December 22nd! I can't believe we are three days away from Christmas, but here we go, right...ready or not! This gorgeous red and green bundle has been begging to be made into something for the last month or so...and I think I might be able to get enough done today so I can at least

Hello and happy Monday! I had a super fun week last week...but it sure was good getting home and being able to spend time with my family this weekend.  I left last Tuesday to fly to Texas where I was able to record some fun videos in the Fat Quarter Shop studios (more on this later). 

Hello! Although I still have a few more Christmas posts to share, I thought I'd post about my favorite organizing books today. At the end of the year I always seem to start thinking about getting organized for the year to come...and these are some of the best tools I've found over the past year or

Hello and happy Tuesday! I've recently updated one of my most popular posts from last Christmas to include a couple of new projects... I hope you'll enjoy my post "15 Things to Make for Christmas!" There are now actually 17 fun projects on the page, and you can find them all here! Almost

Hello and happy Monday! Today I thought I'd share my collection of Christmas table runners. I use these runners in a lot of different ways over the Christmas season--of course I use them to dress up my tables.  But I also use them as dresser scarves and buffet decor. And this one is one of

Hello and happy Friday! Today's favorites post really is full of some favorites!  First, my Crossroads quilt came back from the quilter...   I could hardly wait to open the box to see the lovely quilting done my friend  Kait!  I asked her to make the quilting

Hello and happy Thursday!  Can you believe it's the second week of December already? It seems like  I'll need to sew faster and faster to get everything finished up in time. But while I've been working on a lot of projects with deadlines and a mix of Christmas sewing, I've also been

Hello and a good Wednesday morning! Today is the annual Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day...a fantastic chance for blog readers to visit new blogs and enter giveaways for a variety of sewing and quilting supplies and handmade items! I'm happy to be playing along this year--I feel like I've gained so