What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 I am making progress again on my Crimson Tweed project.

Yesterday I released a new Youtube Video with the same title. Go check it out! There are a few other key factors to interpretive hand stitching, improvisational hand stitching, expressionist hand stitching or whatever else you might want to call it.  I think all of these are good descriptors of my process when taking a […]

Yesterday I released a new YouTube Video: My Top Ten Favorite Threads For Hand Stitching. As a follow up to that video, I’m adding my favorite materials to use, as well. Click on any highlighted text for more information. Fabrics: Pat Pauly’s gorgeous hand dyed linens.  My absolute favorite thing to stitch on is 100% […]

 My ornaments for this year are done!

I completed two sets of these adorable felted wool ornaments. I had a bag full of these little wooden "handmade" tags so I add one to the back of each ornament.

I wrote my initials and the year on each little wooden tag before sewing it to the back.

Ms. Spooky Boo is not impressed.

This is how she likes to lay on me now. Her paws are right at the base of my neck. It's really hard to sew anything with a cat sitting on your chest! Being photographed was not ...

So here’s the thing…  I feel a whole lot better when I show up even when I feel awful, even when I feel things are rough and I’m tired, even when I don’t want to.  I’ve also learned that showing up anyway is the single best remedy for not continuing to feel that way. Except […]

Stitch, put on the design wall, evaluate, consider, take down, add a new element, stitch, put back up on the design wall, take a photograph, consider, have an idea, take down, thread up a new color, take a chance, take a risk, take a breath, stitch and then the tears arrive.  Not a few drops […]

In 2015 or was it 2016(?) things were in flux. I was re-evaluating what I was doing, where I was headed, what I wanted…  There were a number of things going on that led to this, but it was one of those moments that didn’t seem particularly extraordinary or even interesting, but in hindsight I […]

“We are what we repeatedly do, therefore, excellence is not an act but a habit.” Aristotle I always think about repetition when I’m stitching.  Stitching a few french knots?  How about a few hundred?  And what about some bullion circles?  A whole cluster of them is even better! In nature repetition is a constant and […]

This blog is a reminder of my mother.  She was my biggest supporter and commented over the years more than anyone else. It was through this blog that I often kept in touch with her and towards the end it was the one full proof way I knew I could reach her, especially when my […]

First things first… Pat Pauly!  I just posted my interview with Pat Pauly on my YouTube channel.  For those of you who may not be familiar with Pat, she is a brilliant, multi-talented artist, who also hand paints and dyes fabrics that she sells on her website, is a sought after teacher and does the […]

I just finished editing the final video of our Africa trip. If you’re interested in following along I created a playlist: African Adventures and you can subscribe to get email notifications whenever a new video is posted. The last video of that trip will post on Saturday. A couple of fun things are in the […]

There are moments that feel impossible and others that fly by unnoticed. Mostly I’m exhausted almost constantly, as though a perpetual scrim has enveloped me, making everything feel heavier, cloudier, more difficult to sort through. It’s not terrible, just different. This is grief, I’m told. This morning is one of those heavier moments. Maybe it’s […]

Okay, first things first. My computer crashed on the 3rd day of our trip. As in blank screen, nothing working, enter password, little wheel spins around, weird lights flashing in the upper left corner and then back to asking for my password screen. I don’t know if it’s just run the course of its computer […]

 I can't believe I made this!!

70" wide by 98" long -- dozens and dozens of hexagons handstitched to set off twenty-one dodecagons and four beautiful printed floral motifs all hand stitched together from my bountiful fabric stash!?!

Off we go on our grand adventure to Africa tomorrow! Here is a little recap of the last 24 hours… Yesterday: Wake up to find we have been sent a notification from the airlines that our flight has been cancelled. Wait, what?!??? My heart skips a beat, a precursor to the flood of panic that […]

As it turns out the bobbin winder on my new Bernina is broken. Silly me, thinking I could wind the bobbin upside down, I didn’t realize this until it was too late, and it did us both in. Off to the shop it will go, but in the meantime, I continue to fine tune my […]

There are still spaces left for The Basics Workshop! This workshop is for any and all who want to learn basic design concepts, techniques, stitches and have lots and lots of fun. Hurry and sign up now before it fills up. I did a livestream for my Patrons yesterday using my newly organized space and […]

I’ve been traveling. Though I must say that though this trip to visit my mother and sister is a long one, involving connections and then an hour and a half drive, it was about as flawless and easy as traveling can be during these bizarre times. First off, the La Guardia Airport has done an […]

As I mentioned in my last post, I put my hand stitching aside in order to take a Pat Pauly virtual workshop. It was all about line, setting, composition and boy did she pack a lot into those two days. So much fun! I’m not a quilter. I just have to say that. I mean […]

Wait, what??? I know, I know. You’re wondering if you stumbled upon the wrong blog. You’re thinking – what has she done? Where are all her beautiful threads that I so covet? What’s going on around here? Never fear. My threads, and everything else hand stitching related, are all, somewhat, neatly stacked on the floor […]