Celebrate International Craft Month with Giveaways and a Quilted Cross Body Bag Tutorial

Pink Doxies Quilted Cross Body Bag

What's the big buzz about?

March is International Craft Month,

and that means it's time to Bee Creative!

Mrs. Bannister's Star Finish and a Y-Seam Link Party

More Design On the Fly

Winter light makes it tough to get the shot just right.

Tokyo Train Ride Out to the Borders: Design On the Fly

You might call this busy.
I say it's happy.
I like happy!


Design On the Fly

I like not knowing exactly where a  quilt will wind up. Also, I'm honest to a fault about my work, and believe wholeheartedly in showing you the process. It makes me feel very human when someone else shows their me their struggle to design, and I assume I'm not alone. Unless you're following a well tested pattern, there are lots of little roadblocks to work through. Rarely it works like you planned it, but the whole creative process with changes and all is very liberating. It's not really improvisational quilting, or improv. It's more 'design on the fly'. 

Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life! Winners

Pardon our one day delay, but we're 

here with the official list.

Drum roll, please...

Woohoo!

Kaleidoscope Blocks with Tokyo Train Ride by Sarah Watts

Kaleidoscope Blocks

Last week I gave you my impression of the Craftsy class, "Color Play" with Joen Wolfrom. (Today is the last day to sign up for the Craftsy Giveaway, and winners will be announced here and on mmm! quilts tomorrow.) I showed you how it had changed my perspective of color, and in turn how I now picked out fabrics for a quilt. I really felt it would be incomplete if I stopped there, so I've started the actual quilt. Pop back to the "Color Play" post for fabric details, etc.

Hand Quilting Mrs. Bannister's Stars

Mrs. Bannister's Stars secondary pattern

Lessons in Quilting with Perle Cotton & Advice from Jen Kingwell About It

All quilters make mistakes.

I make mistakes.

Therefore, I am a quilter.

Don't you love syllogisms? Or not. It's funny the things you think about when your hands are busy, and your mind is free to wander. 

I started out hand quilting in the 1980's, and looked forward to the evenings sitting with a quilt in my lap while we watched a tv together. My lap was soon overtaken by one baby after the next, and I didn't get back to hand quilting until a few years ago. But the draw of FMQ with a domestic led me to try that, and as most of you know, ultimately longarming, which I love. Knowing I can finish a quilt that afternoon is delightful, but there is a seductive pull toward having something available to slow stitch if you crave it.