But the quilt! I love that too. It turned out great, if I do say so myself. I already had faith in it as a scrap quilt, but the green and black sashing pushed it way beyond ordinary. I imagine that it will bring such a cozy, joy to someone’s home.
Read MoreFinally I am entering the moving homestretch. I have one week left of “normal life” after which it is time to put everything in boxes, no exceptions. Well, you can imagine then how good it feels that I am totally caught up on quilting customer quilts. Plus, that means that I have some pretty things to share with you!
Read MoreMake Modern magazine has just released a new issue! It’s a beautiful magazine written by quilters for quilters and delivered digitally to creatives across the world. Patterns, interviews + ideas for the modern quilter.
Read MoreDo you ever wonder how many scrap quilts you could sew if you just kept cutting and sewing your scraps? If you dump out a basket of scraps and cut them into a consistent, small shape (such as the 2” x 3” rectangles in my crumb blocks), it’s truly shocking how many blocks they make. And I have literally drawers full of scraps! A catch-all project like my current quilt is just a drop in the bucket.
Read MoreWell, friends, this is going to be my very last Expat Chronicles. I know! Sniff. I will miss it as well. But as of last Thursday, I am an expat no longer. I have officially become a Dutch citizen, and my minor children along with me. I have some ideas to continue writing about my life, as well as my experiences in The Netherlands, but we will talk about that later. For today let’s wrap up this series with a snapshot of my journey to becoming a Nederlander.
Read MoreEver tried to sew a scrappy quilt with all your scraps and ran into trouble? This kind of wild scrap sewing was supposed to be effortless and still look fantastic, but - - hmmm - - it looks a bit like mud? Here are my secrets for All Colors In scrap quilts.
Read MoreCan you guess why I am making teeny tiny 2” finished triangle-in-square blocks? Think happy sashing. Think very happy sashing!
Read MoreI have never hung a quilt in my home before. My ex disliked quilts in general and color in particular. I accepted that it was painfully so, until one day when I realized that disliking someone’s art is rather similar to disliking their soul. In my new life post-divorce, I see how important it is that a lover also loves what I make and how I express myself in color and shape. So, in that context, you can imagine how dear it is that my boyfriend asked me to make quilts for our living room and our bedroom walls. And that hanging this first one up really makes that house my home.
Read MoreWeaving together my life as a maker and other spheres of life: Best of October, experimenting with hanging wallpaper, sharing a nice read, celebrating Nonnie Annie’s coin quilt and anticipating our cocktail party!
Read MoreToday I need to relax from the stress of moving. I am craving something easy and fun. Fooling around with these 2” x 3” cuttings feels right. I have no idea what or if it will become something, but small size + scrappy = good fun.
Read MoreIs it just me, or does quilt-making feel sometimes a bit like stirring molasses? It looks like it should be easy and then the resistance takes you by surprise. Putting together my latest quilt top wasn’t all that dramatic, but it did go slower than I expected because I didn’t have the right fabrics on hand.
Read MoreI always feel so grateful to collaborate in the quilting stage on someone’s special project. Each quilt that comes through my studio reminds me again of all the possibilities that quilt-making offers. There is so much yet to discover. Shall we have a little quilt show?
Read MoreThis stack from Fresh Modern Fabric is my last batch of fabric stash enhancements sourced during my trip to America. As you can see, it’s a right rainbow of basics or, as I like to call them, helpful fabrics. Helpful fabrics are those one-color wonders which work like solids but with more added interest. They’re endlessly versatile and make great scrap quilts too.
Read MoreThis month in the Dutch circle of the do. Good Stitches quilting bee, we are sewing string blocks for our collaborative charity quilt. The block style comes from the book Why We Quilt by Thomas Knauer. Fun, straightforward and definitely scrap-friendly!
Read MoreBefore I arrange my hexagons on the design wall, I sew on the triangle bits so that the background fabric can play its roll. This pattern is entirely machine sewn without any tricky y-seams! Come see my progress and process for color and value.
Read MoreHere are two different palette stacks. Fun, fun! In each I have combined showy Quilt Sandwich fabrics with helpful fabrics from my stash. That’s how I often start a quilt. I use a colorful inspiration print to anchor the palette and then pull supporting prints from my stash for variety of color tones and style.
Read MoreAfter so much planning, it is fantastic to actually cut into cloth. Here I have arranged my hexagons over the blues, and the fabrics are singing to me! I am sure I will tweak some things (maybe less red), but this feels like the right direction after all.
Read MoreA diploma for swimming? You might be asked if your child has one if you take her swimming in The Netherlands! Why all the fuss, and what does this mean to Dutch people? Let’s take a stab at this rite of passage for Dutch children.
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