What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 Hello Everyone,

One week ago, my friend Judy packed up her rotary cutter and headed off to the great quilting studio in the sky. I’m sure she’s already reorganizing fat quarters and telling the angels their seam allowances are too generous. At my Sew’n Wild Oaks retreat last November, she surprised me with this adorable pincushion which she made from one of her extra little houses from Calico Cottages. Leave it to Judy to turn leftovers into something charming. Even now, her creativity is still sitting right beside me, holding pins and memories in equal measure.

Here ...

 Hello Everyone,

In my last post I showed you my friend's Calico Cottages quilt she entered into the Independence Hall Quilt Show......Diane won a well-deserved Viewer's Choice ribbon!

 Hello Everyone,

Since the quilt show, I've been busy decompressing after the show then ramping it back up to get ready for my last Sew'n Wild Oaks Retreat for the year.  I wanted to share my friend's Calico Cottages quilt which she entered in the show.

Hello Everyone,

My Gentry's Mill quilt has been out traveling around the country for months and she's finally returned home to stay for a bit.

I also use a sled to display my Americana collectibles and patriotic quilt.  Mr. Joe had ...

 Hello Everyone,

I always encourage you to make the quilt your own—add your unique touch, reinterpret the pattern, and let it reflect your creativity. A pattern is just a starting point, not a rulebook! I was thrilled to receive these photos: one from a wonderful follower and another from a dear friend. Both quilts are beautiful reflections of their personal style and thoughtful craftsmanship.

This is my Calico Cottages pattern made by my friend, Judy.  She named the quilt English Cottages since she used the English Garden line by Laundry Basket Quilts. I'm so glad she's coming ...

 Hello Everyone,

My friend Diane came over yesterday and she brought her incredible Calico Cottages quilt for me to see.

 Hello Everyone,

Since I haven't been able to do any quilting in the past couple of weeks, I asked my sister if she would send me pictures of her finished Calico Cottages quilt. 

 Hello Everyone,

My sister, Gail, has a beautiful Calico Cottages flimsy ready to send off to be machine quilted.

This quilt is truly a scrappy quilt and it's amazing just how much fabric you use while making it.  It feels so good to put all of those scraps to work and showcase them.

 Hello Everyone,

I'll be at three events this week, so I've been busy preparing for them.  First up is a lecture for the Golden Valley Quilt Guild at St. Marks Lutheran Church 7869 Kingswood Dr. Citrus Heights, Ca. tomorrow night.

 Hello Everyone,

In between making pumpkins, I've been working on a large Calico Cottage quilt which has been on my design wall for a few weeks now.

 Hello Everyone,

I spent my week preparing a few quilting projects for a retreat that I'm attending this week with my guild members at Zephyr Point at beautiful Lake Tahoe. 

 Hello Everyone,

I've been busy here under the pines at Sew'n Wild Oaks.  My first retreat of the year begins on Sunday.  The project for all of the retreats this year is my Calico Cottages pattern. I've been making more of these addicting cottages using my fabric collection called HEARTHSTONE by Marcus Fabrics.  The line will be out this summer.

I put a new tutorial together which you can download and print.  You can find the tutorial by clicking HERE. The tutorial walks you through the assembly of the roof section of the cottage.  Once you 'nail ...

 Hello Everyone,

My post today is totally dedicated to my Calico Cottages pattern the quilters constructed at the Pieceful Gathering quilt retreat last week.  I'll warn you now the little cottages become addicting.

The dark background also makes an interesting cottage asleep in the night.

Cindy put a woman's face in the center of her window.  The possibilities are endless.

Here's Sandy with her precious block.  The ...

 Hello Everyone,

While we still have power during the great snowpocalypse of 2023, I've been preparing all of my teaching materials for the retreat hosted by Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop in Fox River Grove, IL.  I'm teaching Calico Cottages during the 3-day retreat.

I have all of my teaching materials created and nicely organized in a binder.  I've sent boxes of quilts and tutorials back to Illinois, and hopefully everything will arrive on time and in one piece.

I've been using my own fabric collection called Hearthstone for teaching.  I'm just having way too much ...

It seems as though this quilt was on the machine forever since the machine had a mental breakdown.....which made me close to breaking down. Elk Grove Sew and Vac had me back up and running within a week.  My long arm is in my garage, and I nearly froze to death in the 30 degree temps outside.  The warmest I was ...

 Hello Everyone,

You quilters are keeping me busy shipping orders for Calico Cottages!

 Hello Everyone,

I just listed Calico Cottages in my Etsy shop.  This is the quilt that I'm teaching at the Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop Retreat in March in Fox River Grove, IL.  You can purchase the pattern HERE.

The quilt isn't quilted yet since my machine is spending some time at the spa at the Elk Grove Sew and Vac for a little R & R and an overhaul.  I guess I've been working her too hard.  I hope to get her back this week and I can finish what I started.

 Hello Everyone,

There I was, just zipping along on my long arm when it started acting up like a petulant little kid.  All progress on machine quilting Calico Cottage came to a stop as my thread started to shred.

I bought my HandiQuilter in 2006 and it has been a reliable workhorse.....until yesterday.  I performed every maintenance procedure I could think of from changing the needle, the bobbin, and the spool of thread.  I cleaned her bobbin case, oiled her, and patted her on the head a few times, and she still persisted in thread shredding.  Say that 3 ...

 Hello Everyone,

This week I've turned my attention to marking and machine quilting Calico Cottages.  I hope to release the pattern at the end of the week.  I decided to do crosshatching around the cottage for an old-fashioned look and feel.