• 

  February 18, 2009

  The Evil Lure of ”Cost-Effective” Quilting

  Non quilters never seem to realize that quilting isn’t necessarily an inexpensive hobby. I’ve encountered many people who seem to think that because you can buy a comforter or quilt at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for under $100, that making one should be similarly priced. We know differently. Even if you use only scraps from your stash [...]

• 

  February 2, 2009

  More Quilting Tips

  Dear Quilting Friends: I enjoy creative thoughts from quilters.  These thoughts are not only on quilt designs but also on  ways to make our sewing and sewing rooms more efficient. Carolyn Evans recently wrote to me with this tip to share with you:  If you ever had the binding for your quilt get wrapped around [...]

• 

  February 1, 2009

  A Procrastinator’s Top Ten List

  Sometimes life gets in the way of even the most exciting quilt projects. This past weekend, I finished the top for my baby quilt (yay!), but haven’t gotten up the motivation to work on the other projects for the baby room, even though my due date is fast approaching.  So, in the spirit of my [...]

• 

  January 26, 2009

  Getting the Most From Your Batting

  Dear Quilting Friends: If you are like me, those leftover pieces of batting are too good to toss.  So what can you do with them?  I recently moved and looking for a safe way to transport our dishes the leftover batting provided the perfect solution.  Using my rotary cutter, I quickly cut various size squares [...]

• 

  January 23, 2009

  Show and Tell

  When you finish (or even just make progress) on a quilt, is your first inclination to show it off? I readily admit mine is, so I just have to share the crib quilt I’ve made for my soon-to-be-arriving baby. It’s using Maywood’s Backporch Bouquet collection by Bate & Taylor. I scanned the animal shapes from [...]

• 

  January 16, 2009

  Take Time to Quilt

  With everyone’s busy schedules, it is far too easy for the creative joys in our lives to be squeezed out.  I recently had a conversation with a group of ladies regarding hand quilting.  I must say that my favorite quilts are still those that are hand quilted and unfortunately I feel they are becoming few [...]

• 

  January 15, 2009

  Oh the weather outside is frightful…

  But the fire is so delightful… that’s right, most of the country is getting hit by a bitter cold spell. Which means it’s a perfect opportunity to start a new project! I have Monday off as well, so I’m planning to spend as much of the weekend quilting as possible (and if I don’t leave [...]

• 

  January 8, 2009

  Quilting over the Holidays

    It’s hard to believe the holidays are over, isn’t it? For my husband and me, this year the holidays meant about 2200 miles in the car as we traveled to visit our families. Normally, I start a quilted Christmas gift each year on about Dec. 15th or so, and then stay up much too [...]

• 

  December 16, 2008

  Finding Inspiration

  One of my favorite Christmas gifts was one received from a good friend years ago.  We were both new quilters and young moms with long, busy days taking care of kids.  It  was fun  visiting Sally in her old, drafty farmhouse, looking through quilt magazines over a cup of tea while the children played. She [...]

• 

  December 3, 2008

  Oh Baby!

  I know I promised that my next blog would include pictures of all the wonderful quilts in the Gallery from Quilt Market, but I am too excited about this to wait any longer to write about it!  I am currently six months pregnant with my husband’s and my first child. We’re eagerly anticipating the baby’s [...]

• 

  November 13, 2008

  Coming to You from on Location!

  Here we are on a photo shoot in Corolla, North Carolina…..a lovely place to be no matter what time of the year! We’re using several gorgeous beach houses here as settings for the quilt photos you’ll be seeing in upcoming issues: our photography team is working on the April/May issue of QUILT and the Spring [...]

• 

  November 12, 2008

  Making Memories with a Quilt

  I had a wonderful Thanksgiving gathering this year with all four of our children and their spouses  …and our five sweet grandbabies.  What a feeling of contentment to look around the Thanksgiving table and to count my blessings!   Now that the holiday is over, the house is once again quiet and Christmas is fast [...]

• 

  November 12, 2008

  Market: A Quilter’s Dream

  I’m back from Fall Quilt Market in Houston—a trip that’s always as satisfying as visiting a candy store! Twice each year at Quilt Market (fall and spring) fabric companies, pattern designers, and tool makers get together to show off their latest designs and ideas to quilt shop owners making purchases for their stores. As a [...]

• 

  November 7, 2008

  Quilters Who Give Back

  We are having a beautiful fall in Virginia.  This week I had the privilege of meeting with the Cardinal Quilt Guild. Getting lost to locate the guild meeting wasn’t so bad since the scenery was breathtaking. I love to hear what quilters are doing and there is no better way to find out then to [...]

• 

  November 3, 2008

  Tote Party

  Recently we had a tote party! Talk about fun, this party was like no other with 8 girls from our church youth group!  Some had never sewn on a machine and I’m so proud of the wonderful job they did on their first sewing project.   Using a fusible base for the tote, the girls [...]

• 

  October 30, 2008

  I’m Headed to Houston

  I’m headed to Houston tomorrow for Quilt Market, the quilting industry’s big trade show. My husband, Ed, is making weekend plans with his guy friends. Unfortunately, that seems to conflict with the list I’m leaving him of house projects that need to be finished. I have a feeling who will win that battle (hint: not [...]

• 

  October 21, 2008

  Quilt-in-a-Weekend

  Thirty-three showed up at Farmville, Virginia’s very first Quilt-in-a-Weekend!  I have been holding this free event in the communities I have lived in for the last 18 years.  So after I moved to Virginia in January, I couldn’t wait to meet some of the local women and hold a Quilt-in-a-Weekend in my new little town.  [...]

• 

  October 17, 2008

  My Call to “Duty”

  One of the things I love about my job as a quilt magazine editor is that I feel it’s my ”duty” to quilt. After all, I have to stay up on the latest techniques, tools, and fabrics so that I can share them with you readers, right? Trust me, it’s a real hardship. I was [...]