What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

*tip toes in to the room*… Um, hi? It’s, uh, been a while…

But that’s what total burnout will do to you. I’ve barely been in my sewing room, I have had below zero motivation for any BHQ work, and have just kept up with some external obligations like the Scrap Buster Blocks with AccuQuilt Australia, and my Make Modern articles. I haven’t even had the emotional energy to share about the super cool new series I’ve been writing for Make Modern this year!

The only sewing I’ve really done has been slowly working ...

Meet Amy Barickman, founder of Indygo Junction and author of Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion & FUN! Through her YouTube videos, blog, website, and e-newsletter, Amy inspires fabric arts enthusiasts to learn from the past and experiment with new products and techniques for creating in vintage made modern style. Now you have the opportunity to learn more about Amy and her work! Join us on Missouri Star LIVE March 8th, 2022 at 11:00 am cst for a special segment with Amy herself – but in the meantime, get to know her little more with this exclusive ...

The bits and pieces I’ve been making, creating, reading, and doing – stitchy or otherwise… and this month, it’s all “otherwise”.

This past month has been… interesting. To say the least. You might like to grab a cuppa, as there’s a bit of back story that I feel it’s now time to share. We’re gonna get real and raw, but spoiler alert – I’m now in the best place I’ve been in years.

Two years ago this week, I was in Houston for Quilt Market to celebrate the release of my book, Mini Masterpieces. It ...

The bits and pieces I’ve been making, creating, reading, and doing – stitchy or otherwise.

Well, to add to the fun and games that is being a Melburnian this year, we’ve now added a decent earthquake to the mix. Just this morning, we had a 5.8mag (10km deep) earthquake about 200km to the east. I’ve certainly experienced worse while living in Japan, but this was still a decent shake. And my kids don’t really remember having them so they were a bit freaked out. We’re all ok, though!

We’ve also still got at least ...

The bits and pieces I’ve been making, creating, reading, and doing – stitchy or otherwise.

Well, here we are back in lockdown again – number 6 for Melbourne. And Thursday marks the point of 200 days (total) in lockdown – apparently London is the only other place to have been in lockdown for longer. If lockdown ends as currently expected on September 2, that’ll bring the total up to 214 days… It’s a heavy statistic. And I’ve recently found the perfect descriptor for what many of us here are feeling – languishing. This article from the NY Times covers it ...

Joi Mahon, Sewist at Nancy’s Notions

When and how did you first start sewing?
I started sewing somewhere between age 5-7. I would go to my grandma’s farm and read all of her Hershner’s catalogs and I would look at photos and try to figure out how projects and patterns were created. I guess I started teaching myself at an early age how to think creatively  and to figure out how things are put together. I hand sewed a lot for several years and started using a sewing machine around age 11. I think I was the ...

Jenny Fish, Knitter at One Big Happy

When and how did you first start knitting?
Almost 20 years ago, I had a Lucy moment and convinced my best friend Becca to go a knitting class. The class was a disaster.  I don’t think we ever got past the cast on row. Looking back, it was quite hilarious, but at the time I was so frustrated!!! After that we stuck to books from the library and local yarn shops for tips and tricks. 

What advice would you give to someone who just started knitting?
Be Patient and Persistent. Knitting is ...

The bits and pieces I’ve been making, creating, reading, and doing – stitchy or otherwise.

Back in the day, (or as my kids used to say, “Back in the ages”!) I used to write fairly in-depth newsletters, sharing more “behind the scenes” bits and pieces, things I’ve been reading or buying or making or admiring. While I am an introvert, I do love a good quilty chit-chat! But it took quite a while to do that each week, and I had to change how I did things to make it more sustainable as life and work changed. I do ...

When a pondering Instagram caption becomes too long and wordy, and instead, you ponder aloud in a blog post…

In life, in all areas of life, there are a lot of shoulds that swirl around. In parenting, in friendships, in relationships, in faith, in work, in play, in self-care…

You should have a daily routine and schedule.

You should spend time creating before consuming.

You should work harder to grow your business more and more.

You should get up earlier to go to the gym and read the Bible and prepare yourself mentally for the day before the kids get ...

When I first designed the Japanese foundation paper piecing quilt blocks, Hinamatsuri, Kokeshi, Tsuru, and Kimono, it was purely out of a desire to honour an important time my family’s life and our time in Japan. We did not live the stereotypical “expat life” that many people might imagine of living in a foreigner-dominant area and accessing as many English options as possible. We were in the suburbs, my husband worked in a Japanese government institute, our children went to the local Japanese preschool, we went to a Japanese church. It was very immersive. And as such, our time ...

Does your family have football traditions? Here in Hamilton, Missouri we love to celebrate our favorite Kansas City football team and we are so excited to see them bringing more attention to the great state of Missouri once again. Whether your family goes to the backyard to throw around the pig skin or serves up an incredible halftime meal, we hope that you have a chance to enjoy your festivities of choice safely!

For those of us looking to make changes this year and celebrate smaller, there are still ...

In the summer of 2019 I visited the Daruma Yokota thread dyeing factory in Kyoto, Japan. As our wholesale company, Orimono Imports, is a distributor for the brand and our retail shop, Kimonomomo has sold their thread for several years, I was hoping to learn more about the dyeing process and brainstorm some new ideas. In both regards, the visit was a resounding success.

Kyoto is typically hot and humid in summer, so much so that I always get blisters on my feet, no matter what kind of shoes or sandals I wear. With all the walking I do it ...

Hello, friends! Today I’m sharing some A Quilting Life: Behind the Scenes & FAQ’s (frequently asked questions). We have had a lot of new readers over the past several months, and so I thought it was time for a re-introduction here on the blog. Many readers have joined recently from Moda Block Heads and from […]

The post A Quilting Life: Behind the Scenes & FAQ’s appeared first on A Quilting Life.

BLOCK Magazine is an “idea book” designed, produced, and published by Missouri Star Quilt Co. As you flip through each glossy page you’ll find gorgeous photography, fun patterns, brilliant ideas, and one-of-a-kind stories! For seven years – hard work, creativity and pure love has been poured into each issue!

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Go Behind the Scenes

Q: How many people does it take to make an issue of BLOCK Magazine?
A: It takes a team of about forty people!

Here’s how they do it:

Each issue of BLOCK starts with thoughtful planning months in advance. First, the design ...

Happy October! Well, as it’s 2020, I hope it’ll be a happy month… but nevertheless, October is here, and I am back, baby! I have spent the past three months resting, playing, surviving, and sometimes thriving. It has not been an easy year for anyone, but a quick recap of the past three months since I last posted (read that here)…

My state, Victoria, very quickly went from stage 3 lockdown (which included home learning) to stage 4 lockdown which included: mandatory masks; a 5km radius limit on travel except for permitted work, care or health; an 8pm ...