All Tied Up

March 5th, 2011

This week I heard the first Sandhill Crane, a sign that spring is truly in the wings. I also shipped my new fabric designs to Westminster and found the perfect shelves to store fabric in the new studio. The giant work wall is installed and covered with white paper. A little progress occurs every day.

But after so many months of designing exclusively with paper, pencil and computers I am feeling a desperate need to fondle some fabric and sit at the sewing machine. It is always best to warm up with a smaller project, so this week I am showing off these fabulous new bow ties made with Sassaman fabrics past and present.

Oh, that feels better! These are “mood altering” accessories! You can’t be crabby when you wear one of these happy ties. Now I can pull out my Illinois Album quilt, the one with the salamanders, and begin quilting the borders. This week I will also be visiting the Heritage Quilter’s Guild in Lockport, Illinois. It is always a treat to have work so close to home!

Posted in accessoriesies, Wearables | 4 Comments »

All Tied Up

March 5th, 2011

This week I heard the first Sandhill Crane, a sign that spring is truly in the wings. I also shipped my new fabric designs to Westminster and found the perfect shelves to store fabric in the new studio. The giant work wall is installed and covered with white paper. A little progress occurs every day.

But after so many months of designing exclusively with paper, pencil and computers I am feeling a desperate need to fondle some fabric and sit at the sewing machine. It is always best to warm up with a smaller project, so this week I am showing off these fabulous new bow ties made with Sassaman fabrics past and present.

Oh, that feels better! These are “mood altering” accessories! You can’t be crabby when you wear one of these happy ties. Now I can pull out my Illinois Album quilt, the one with the salamanders, and begin quilting the borders. This week I will also be visiting the Heritage Quilter’s Guild in Lockport, Illinois. It is always a treat to have work so close to home!

Posted in accessoriesies, Wearables | 4 Comments »

Back in the Picture

February 25th, 2011

Yes, I will admit it! I have been hibernating in the studio since my return from three delightful classes in Florida! My flight left O’Hare the day of the biggest blizzard of the century. It was a tense day all around. But my flight managed to take off before the worst of it, so the rest of the trip went as planned.

But after three weeks on the road, I was way behind in my fabric designing schedule! So I’ve had to put in some mega concentration to get the new line finished by March 1. I’m very happy with the results and have been printing the designs for shipping on Monday. I seem to measure my life by projects and it is always an exciting time when one goal is completed and another venture begins.

But there has been another project brewing during my absence! My Greg is the energy behind this adventure and I was a willing, but quiet supporter. But now that it’s finished, I’m grinning from ear to ear!

My studio is connected to the garage and a large screened porch. Here you can see the garage is just a door away. Since we don’t have an attic or basement the garage was filled with everything but cars. So Greg moved all the “stuff” into the porch, which we don’t use much anyway, so we could turn the garage into extra studio space!!!!

Here is the cold day the door came down and the new wall was installed.

Windows came next, east and south. Basically, we are replicating the existing studio, but in reverse, as the windows are on opposite walls. Lighting and saffron colored paint made a huge improvement and laminate flooring finished it all off.

The new view looks like this! Pardon the mess, but many displaced objects are being parked in my room as we look for shelves and tables to fill the new work space.

Can you believe it? Now I can spread out!!! Time for a trip to Ikea.

Posted in Studio | 9 Comments »

Back in the Picture

February 25th, 2011

Yes, I will admit it! I have been hibernating in the studio since my return from three delightful classes in Florida! My flight left O’Hare the day of the biggest blizzard of the century. It was a tense day all around. But my flight managed to take off before the worst of it, so the rest of the trip went as planned.

But after three weeks on the road, I was way behind in my fabric designing schedule! So I’ve had to put in some mega concentration to get the new line finished by March 1. I’m very happy with the results and have been printing the designs for shipping on Monday. I seem to measure my life by projects and it is always an exciting time when one goal is completed and another venture begins.

But there has been another project brewing during my absence! My Greg is the energy behind this adventure and I was a willing, but quiet supporter. But now that it’s finished, I’m grinning from ear to ear!

My studio is connected to the garage and a large screened porch. Here you can see the garage is just a door away. Since we don’t have an attic or basement the garage was filled with everything but cars. So Greg moved all the “stuff” into the porch, which we don’t use much anyway, so we could turn the garage into extra studio space!!!!

Here is the cold day the door came down and the new wall was installed.

Windows came next, east and south. Basically, we are replicating the existing studio, but in reverse, as the windows are on opposite walls. Lighting and saffron colored paint made a huge improvement and laminate flooring finished it all off.

The new view looks like this! Pardon the mess, but many displaced objects are being parked in my room as we look for shelves and tables to fill the new work space.

Can you believe it? Now I can spread out!!! Time for a trip to Ikea.

Posted in Studio | 9 Comments »

Quilting in the Desert

January 30th, 2011

My teaching year was launched in an ideal way at Quilting in the Desert last week. It was a gentle way to break from the recent weeks of concentration in the studio. The excitement and sense of anticipation was contagious. I taught three classes and, as always, am delighted with the students willingness to try some new techniques.

The Abstracting from Nature workshop was three days, just long enough to really make some progress. Nature is our theme and I was thrilled that Betty Gilliam decided to use the Venus Fly Trap as her subject.  There have been many Sunflowers and Morning Glories, but this was a first! I’m jealous!!! Her interpretation is quite effective.

Jan Sheets did this very clean and graphic interpretation of a Poppy. Here is a picture at the “cropping” stage. Her plans are to substitute a few areas of background fabric with different black prints to add some depth and interest. Quilting will really be fun in all those big areas of color.

It is interesting how the surrounding environment affects every ones choice of subject. When I taught in Japan, many students chose familiar and traditional Japanese plants for their theme, like the cherry blossom and chrysanthemum.

Here in Phoenix the desert plants were common choices. Sharon Brooks worked on the Bird of Paradise in class. This flower is always a challenge because it is so simple to begin with… Mother Nature has already stylized it.
I enjoy the way she has condensed the orange petals into a single piece and used the unexpected turquoise to improve her composition.

The scale of each project is as variable as their themes. Becky Schroeder’s Shooting Star, below, grew quickly and is at least five foot tall. The gradation of blues in the background works quite nicely. The stem fabric proved to be the toughest challenge and changed throughout the process. Then in the last half hour they changed again to a rusty wine color, which seems to be the winner.

So I’m back at home for a few days before I leave for classes in Florida. As always, my students have encouraged and inspired me, too! I will be full of ideas and energy when I get back into the studio again.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Quilting in the Desert

January 30th, 2011

My teaching year was launched in an ideal way at Quilting in the Desert last week. It was a gentle way to break from the recent weeks of concentration in the studio. The excitement and sense of anticipation was contagious. I taught three classes and, as always, am delighted with the students willingness to try some new techniques.

The Abstracting from Nature workshop was three days, just long enough to really make some progress. Nature is our theme and I was thrilled that Betty Gilliam decided to use the Venus Fly Trap as her subject.  There have been many Sunflowers and Morning Glories, but this was a first! I’m jealous!!! Her interpretation is quite effective.

Jan Sheets did this very clean and graphic interpretation of a Poppy. Here is a picture at the “cropping” stage. Her plans are to substitute a few areas of background fabric with different black prints to add some depth and interest. Quilting will really be fun in all those big areas of color.

It is interesting how the surrounding environment affects every ones choice of subject. When I taught in Japan, many students chose familiar and traditional Japanese plants for their theme, like the cherry blossom and chrysanthemum.

Here in Phoenix the desert plants were common choices. Sharon Brooks worked on the Bird of Paradise in class. This flower is always a challenge because it is so simple to begin with… Mother Nature has already stylized it.
I enjoy the way she has condensed the orange petals into a single piece and used the unexpected turquoise to improve her composition.

The scale of each project is as variable as their themes. Becky Schroeder’s Shooting Star, below, grew quickly and is at least five foot tall. The gradation of blues in the background works quite nicely. The stem fabric proved to be the toughest challenge and changed throughout the process. Then in the last half hour they changed again to a rusty wine color, which seems to be the winner.

So I’m back at home for a few days before I leave for classes in Florida. As always, my students have encouraged and inspired me, too! I will be full of ideas and energy when I get back into the studio again.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Naturescapes Winner!

January 20th, 2011

Wow! Thank you all for your positive response to our first gift give away! It is nice to know who is actually checking into the Idea Book and to know there is a real audience out there. The winner of Noriko Endo’s lovely new book, Naturescapes, is “momto2wasd“! Congratulations!! We are planning to do this every few weeks, so stay tuned.

While you were enjoying Noriko’s work, we were enjoying another snow storm, so now the landscape is white and gray again. But here in the studio the colors are as brilliant as ever. The pastels have been irresistible this season, which is an unusual attraction for me! I was one of those women that rejected the color pink for many years. It seemed like a frivolous and airheaded color. But now I feel differently! Now I see pink as extravagant and heart achingly optimistic.

Pink and green is always a refreshing combination, so here I have teamed two fabrics
( Lively Silhouette, Blush and Dragonfly Moon, Peacock) from the Garden Divas line for the Reversible Party Napkin pattern. The coordinating Button-Down Napkin Ring is made with the Dragonfly Check, as is the old fashioned styled tablecloth. The English Tea Cozy, another of our Pint Size Patterns, teams up the Lively Silhouette, Aqua with a finishing band and yo-yo with the Dragonfly Check again.

Yes, optimism is the mood this week. I think this is a very pretty combination and I really enjoy the mix of critters, too. Perhaps the new seed catalogs have helped to sprout this spring like project.

Our house is trimmed with honey colored oak woodwork, so I am always looking for blonds baskets and accessories. But, of course, we crafters have to add our own touch. This handsome tea tray is from Ikea with a little extra decoupaged lining of Sassaman fabric… perfect for a summer celebration in January!

Posted in accessoriesies, Garden Divas | 3 Comments »

Naturescapes Winner!

January 20th, 2011

Wow! Thank you all for your positive response to our first gift give away! It is nice to know who is actually checking into the Idea Book and to know there is a real audience out there. The winner of Noriko Endo’s lovely new book, Naturescapes, is “momto2wasd“! Congratulations!! We are planning to do this every few weeks, so stay tuned.

While you were enjoying Noriko’s work, we were enjoying another snow storm, so now the landscape is white and gray again. But here in the studio the colors are as brilliant as ever. The pastels have been irresistible this season, which is an unusual attraction for me! I was one of those women that rejected the color pink for many years. It seemed like a frivolous and airheaded color. But now I feel differently! Now I see pink as extravagant and heart achingly optimistic.

Pink and green is always a refreshing combination, so here I have teamed two fabrics
( Lively Silhouette, Blush and Dragonfly Moon, Peacock) from the Garden Divas line for the Reversible Party Napkin pattern. The coordinating Button-Down Napkin Ring is made with the Dragonfly Check, as is the old fashioned styled tablecloth. The English Tea Cozy, another of our Pint Size Patterns, teams up the Lively Silhouette, Aqua with a finishing band and yo-yo with the Dragonfly Check again.

Yes, optimism is the mood this week. I think this is a very pretty combination and I really enjoy the mix of critters, too. Perhaps the new seed catalogs have helped to sprout this spring like project.

Our house is trimmed with honey colored oak woodwork, so I am always looking for blonds baskets and accessories. But, of course, we crafters have to add our own touch. This handsome tea tray is from Ikea with a little extra decoupaged lining of Sassaman fabric… perfect for a summer celebration in January!

Posted in accessoriesies, Garden Divas | 3 Comments »

Noriko Endo Book Give Away!

January 11th, 2011



It is ironic that the latest FreeSpirit fabric line, Garden Divas, is just arriving in stores and I am already deep into designing the next collection! When I am in “the designing zone” all my energy is focused on my pencil and paper, instead of my sewing machine, so this week I have decided to get my “fabric fix” by sharing the work of a new friend and fabulous quilter, Noriko Endo.
Our paths had crossed before, but this year at Houston Market, we really had a chance to talk and get to know each other. She is a very quiet, lovely and gracious woman with a surprising sense of humor and many tales to tell about her quilting adventures.


Noriko was at Market to introduce her lovely new Dragon Threads book, Confetti Naturescapes: Quilting Impressionistic Landscapes. I am always fascinated by work that is so different from my own and this colorful book takes you through her inspirations, explains her collage techniques and gives you a glimpse into her “real life” in the studio and at home 
(I always enjoy seeing where other artists work and live).




This is a wonderful picture of Noriko in her studio. She looks very peaceful and happy working on this giant quilt! I’m afraid my expression would be much different!! But I don’t have a George, either, and I suspect that may help her attitude.

I’m sure this little tour of Noriko’s work has stimulated your crafting instincts this week. It certainly has made me anxious to do some stitching. So to keep the creativity flowing,  Dragon Thread’s has generously donated a copy of Confetti Naturescapes for us to give away! So post a comment below before next Tuesday, January 18, for a chance to win this inspiring book.



























PLUS Dragon Threads is having a reciprocal drawing on their blog!  They are giving 2 pieces of the new Garden Divas fabric, as well as the new Pretty Perfect Pocket Purse Pattern to a lucky reader. 


Posted in Uncategorized | 69 Comments »

Noriko Endo Book Give Away!

January 11th, 2011



It is ironic that the latest FreeSpirit fabric line, Garden Divas, is just arriving in stores and I am already deep into designing the next collection! When I am in “the designing zone” all my energy is focused on my pencil and paper, instead of my sewing machine, so this week I have decided to get my “fabric fix” by sharing the work of a new friend and fabulous quilter, Noriko Endo.
Our paths had crossed before, but this year at Houston Market, we really had a chance to talk and get to know each other. She is a very quiet, lovely and gracious woman with a surprising sense of humor and many tales to tell about her quilting adventures.


Noriko was at Market to introduce her lovely new Dragon Threads book, Confetti Naturescapes: Quilting Impressionistic Landscapes. I am always fascinated by work that is so different from my own and this colorful book takes you through her inspirations, explains her collage techniques and gives you a glimpse into her “real life” in the studio and at home 
(I always enjoy seeing where other artists work and live).




This is a wonderful picture of Noriko in her studio. She looks very peaceful and happy working on this giant quilt! I’m afraid my expression would be much different!! But I don’t have a George, either, and I suspect that may help her attitude.

I’m sure this little tour of Noriko’s work has stimulated your crafting instincts this week. It certainly has made me anxious to do some stitching. So to keep the creativity flowing,  Dragon Thread’s has generously donated a copy of Confetti Naturescapes for us to give away! So post a comment below before next Tuesday, January 18, for a chance to win this inspiring book.



























PLUS Dragon Threads is having a reciprocal drawing on their blog!  They are giving 2 pieces of the new Garden Divas fabric, as well as the new Pretty Perfect Pocket Purse Pattern to a lucky reader. 


Posted in Uncategorized | 69 Comments »

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