I’ve been inspired by some over-the-top quilts recently and I’d like to share them with you. My local guild met this week and the show-and-tell lasted for an hour. I asked for permission to show you some of the quilts my friends made. This quilt was made by Carol, who started it during the Olympics when Temecula Quilt Co. offered the pattern as a freebie. Read More »

I realized this week that the upcoming total solar eclipse should be commemorated with a quilt. I designed an easy small quilt that goes together quickly. Maybe you’d like to make one, too. I’m calling it Moonshadow. It’s 15″ x 25″. Here’s a printable version. Here’s what you’ll need for a 15″ x 25″ quilt: Read More »

I’m a big fan of Fat Quarter Shop for their great fabric selection and fast shipping. Their publishing arm is called Just Sew Emma, and they recently sent me a review copy of Lori Holt’s new book, Spelling Bee. If you’re not familiar with Lori Holt, I’d like to introduce you. She is the creator behind Bee in My Bonnet, a blog where she shares her quilt-related ideas along with thoughts on family and faith. She often hosts sew-along events where you can enjoy making progress on one of her quilt designs along with other quilters. Read More »

About two years ago, I began an interesting journey. Now the trip is almost over and I’m feeling a variety of emotions. Let me tell you about a quilt called Scarlet Sampler. Late in the summer of 2015, the president-elect of Nebraska State Quilt Guild asked if I’d be interesting in helping out with the guild’s raffle quilt for 2017. The raffle quilt is a major fund raising tool for NSQG, and they usually sell all 4999 tickets, Read More »

I’m excited about my latest venture. The good folks at Wagner’s Quilts and Conversation in Arapahoe, Nebraska and I are partnering up to present a String Piecing Quilt Retreat! You’re invited to join us for two and a half days of fun and relaxation at the beautiful lodge owned and operated by Hunt Nebraska in Arapahoe, Nebraska, Sept. 24 to 27, 2017. It’s a lovely space—clean and comfortable, and you can just relax and sew to your heart’s content. Read More »

I used to manage something called the Quiltmaker Scrap Squad, and that’s where I met Beth Helfter. As part of a team that made scrappy quilts from QM patterns, she was consistently enthusiastic and funny. She made wonderful quilts! A few years back she started a swap to help raise funds for research into ovarian cancer, which took the life of Beth’s mom way too soon. The swap has grown and flourished. I’ve joined in a couple of times and it’s always fun and interesting. Read More »

I needed to produce a program on short notice for my local quilt group recently, and I’d like to share what I came up with. This is good for those times when your guild’s speaker has to cancel late in the game. These are 3.5″ patches I played with while making a baby quilt about a year ago. I had a good time arranging and rearranging them until I came up with a combination I liked. Read More »

I had a new experience this week: judging quilts and textile arts at a county fair about 70 miles from home, somewhere in Nebraska. These were open class entries, that is, not 4-H entries which are judged by an established set of standards. Which may have been why it was so difficult, even though it was a small show. There was nothing to guide me—no established judging criteria. I had to rely on 50 years of sewing experience and 30+ years of quilt making. Read More »

There’s a new magazine out, and it contains my favorite pumpkin quilt. Try and spot Quiltmaker Reader Favorites on the newsstand, because it’s chock-full of great stuff. I was pleased to open it up and spot one of my designs inside. Pumpkins and Patches is as friendly and happy now as it was when first published in 2014. Here is one of the original diagrams I created for Quiltmaker. They made a good decision to pattern it as a throw rather than as this 77″ Read More »

Some three decades ago, Jo Morton was just beginning to teach in our home state of Nebraska. She came to our fledgling guild and taught us to make Log Cabin blocks with strips that finished at 1/2″. There weren’t any reproduction fabrics in those days, so Jo was inventing ways to make new fabrics look old. One of the secrets she shared with us was this: Read More »