What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

How is Halloween already this weekend?! October has flown by, and we’ve got a busy few days ahead with costume parties, trick or treating and everything else we have going on here.

I’m trying to squeeze in all the things I want to get done while keeping up with the things that actually have to get done. read more

It’s finally starting to feel a little cooler in the mornings around here, and I LOVE it! I feel alive with the Florida heat but some breezy cool Fall temps are amazing too!

Been keeping busy with a little bit of everything lately. I’m back to quilting, squeezing in a few days of pickleball each week, lots of cooking and cleaning and watching my Netflix novelas while I work. 

Between all that and everything else happening around here, there’s never a shortage of things to do!

Let me catch you up on what’s been going on ...

You already know that I’ve been making more time for fun stuff. That also includes hanging out with my friends!

When the kids were little, so much of my time and energy revolved around them and their homeschool lessons and play dates. And now, little by little, they don’t need me quite as much. The house is quieter. Everyone has their own schedules, their own activities, their own lives happening.

And I’m realizing that this leaves a little more room for my people, too.

I’ve been having lunch with one friend every other week, playing pickleball ...

I feel like I’m getting better at figuring out what I actually want more of in my life… and what I could stand to live without. 

I’m slowly letting go of some of the things that feel heavy and forced and adding more of the things that make me happy.

Sometimes it’s something big. And sometimes it’s as simple as cleaning the house with the music BLASTING when nobody else is home. read more

Last week, my husband and the kids went to New Orleans to attend his grandmother’s funeral, and it’s one of those things that makes you stop and think about just how short this life really is. 

We’re all here for a little while and none of us get to know exactly how long that “little while” will be.

We might as well make the most of it.

The good days. The hard days. The ordinary Tuesday afternoons. The celebrations, the disappointments, the belly laughs, the tears, the mess, and all the stuff in between.

It’s all ...

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is how important it is to try new things.

I’ll be honest I have never really had a problem in that department. lol. I’ve always been down for trying something new. But I’ve noticed that raising teenagers requires me to push a little more on this idea than I used to when they were younger. Pre-puberty they were ready to try anything! Now, not so much. 

As they get older they aren’t as easy to sign up for new adventures and experiences as they were when they were ...

Yup. I know. I missed last week’s newsletter. It was bound to happen. 

My husband left town for 5 days, life got a little extra busy around here, and by the time I came up for air, the week was over. Sigh. 

I could’ve spent a bunch of time feeling guilty about it, but instead I decided to just pick up where I left off… and feel just a little bit guilty about it. read more

My son turns 17 tomorrow.

SEVENTEEN, y’all. 

I remember when I was 17 like it was a few years ago. HA! But now I feel like I blinked and somehow the little guy who used to show up in my videos is now almost 6’3″ tall. read more

This week, my 16-year-old son drove himself and his younger sister to high school.

Alone.

It’s his senior year and I can hardly believe it. But the even bigger shock is that the “baby” of the house is in high school now, too.

I was not ready for this. 

There’s something strange about watching your kids grow up because you can feel two things at once. I’m excited to see who they’re becoming. But there’s also a part of me that’s grieving.

I miss the little boy who loved to sew with me and ...

The last post on our Christmas in July event brings a few more ideas for crafting and sewing fun. Read on for holiday inspiration you can start now.

Make adorable sewing ornaments by wrapping empty thread spools with glittery trim, and adding some cute embellishments to the top and bottom.

See the tutorial on the ornaments above along with the cookie cutter button ornaments below on my post Handmade Christmas Ornaments.

Use your embroidery machine to stitch out small motifs or holiday words. Then use a large covered button kit to mount the stitchery, adding trims and a ribbon hanger ...

Today we’re officially launching my brand new Sewing with Cotton Rope: Second Edition course! read more

In this video I want to share a sublimation demo with you! I teach a monthly arts & crafts class locally to senior citizens and this project was a hit with them.

If you have a sublimation printer and heat press and are looking for new ways to use it this is a fun one! We’ve made these towels with kids and seniors and everyone really enjoys picking out a design, choosing where they want to put it and seeing it come to life with a quick press!

• Kitchen Towels (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/43Cp1Yt

• Sublimation Design- Have a ...

Today we’re officially launching my brand new Sewing with Cotton Rope: First Edition course! read more

Vanessa has been playing around with different ropes/clotheslines and making a few bowls. Join the livestream today and learn a few more rope bowl making tips that you can use on your next rope project!

Vanessa will also share the rope projects she’s been working on. If you rarely use your sewing machine’s zig zag stitch this is a super fun project to work on.

• How to make a coiled rope bowl tutorial: https://youtu.be/Bpz6VTFS0Zo?si=pQB02DBK7CVyoSMi

• Scout Mini Satchel Bag: https://craftygemini.com/shop/scout-mini-satchel-video-course/

Join our email list: https://craftygemini.com/newsletter/

Ask ...

Vanessa has been playing around with different ropes/clotheslines and making a few bowls. Join the livestream today and learn how to make a simple coiled bowl using a zig zag stitch! If you rarely use your sewing machine’s zig zag stitch this is a super fun project to work on.

• Slanted Zipper Pouch: https://craftygemini.com/shop/slanted-zipper-pouch-video-course/

• How to make a coiled rope bowl tutorial: https://youtu.be/Bpz6VTFS0Zo?si=pQB02DBK7CVyoSMi

• Gypsy Quilter cotton rope (100ft) (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/4mHrucy

• The Mountain Thread Company Cotton Rope: https://www.themountainthreadcompany.com/shop/p/316-100-cotton-rope-by-the-yard-made-in-america

Join our ...

Help us celebrate our 200th episode of WIP Wednesday today with a Q&A Chat, LIVE Giveaways and a sitewide sale!

In this episode of WIP Wednesday Vanessa is answering some questions from the Q&A submission form that viewers have filled out.

We had LIVE we will have giveaways availble only to LIVE viewers. So, tune in for some fun!

We are also running a 24-HOUR FLASH SALE to celebrate our 200th WIP WEDNESDAY episode. Sale ends on Jan. 29, 2026 at 11:59pm EST. The sale is for 15% OFF everything on https://craftygemini.com/shop (excluding: sewing ...

It has been a wonderful holiday week, with a slower pace, more time with friends, and the last of the shopping. Settle in with a cuppa for a long and picture heavy post. The gifts are under the tree, and the stocking stuffers are hidden for when Santa comes on Christmas eve. Handmade cards were sent, and Christmas cookies baked and frosted to enjoy at leisure. Tuesday night, we had dinner with friends and went to the Lake Julian Festival of Lights show.

This is a small show, in comparison to others. But we love it simply because it is ...

For the Mountain State Fair this past September, I wanted to enter the Twisted Snowflake that we made last year during a guild program. I thought I did a tutorial for it then, but it seems I didn’t. When I dug out the snowflake from the Christmas stuff, it was crushed due to my poor attention to packing it up. So, time to make another one. I started by fusing two pieces of fabric wrong sides together with Heat and Bond. I used a high contrast combination with one side black with gold stars, and the other a bright ...

Join me today to unbox and setup the new HTVront A200 auto tumbler heat press! If you already have a sublimation printer this would be a great way to whip up a bunch of custom tumblers to gift this holiday season!

• HTVront A200 Auto Tumbler Heat Press (affiliate link): https://tidd.ly/4pndhBP
*** SAVE $70 off with discount code: TU70

• HTVront A200 if ordering from Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/4oQcHwI
*** Use this code to save: W4D9J4EF

• ALL MY FAVORITE SUBLIMATION SUPPLIES (affiliate links): https://www.amazon.com/shop/thecraftygemini/list/

• Sublimation Printer I use (affiliate link): https://amzn ...

The NC Mountain State Fair this year has been as much fun as ever. I worked the quilt take-in table for a shift on Labor Day, then back to the Expo building on Wednesday to work as a judge for the Professional Crafts Division. Both days were fun, and so inspirational to see the wonderful projects and quilts coming through. Back to the fair on Friday evening for the first cooking competition, I had a chance to look around the exhibits to see how my entries fared. I was so excited to see Koi Pond with a First Place ribbon ...