What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

The definition of cogitate is: “To think deeply about something; meditate or reflect.” 
I’ve been cogitating.

It’s hard to believe the last time I wrote a blog post was in May. The Covid-19 pandemic, turmoil, social unrest, and changes in our world have been truly mind-boggling in the past several months. I must admit, I’ve had to really take time (all while working harder than ever at home to meet deadlines and commitments) to really look inward and think about many things. I’ve challenged myself to examine old beliefs in new ways with a fresh perspective ...

The Southern Pacific Dogwoods which bloom in Lake Arrowhead in spring are spectacular!

Blooms larger than your hand!

How are you doing through this COVID-19 event? I pray you and your loved ones are healthy and well. If you have been affected by this terrible pandemic, I pray things improve quickly and you’re back to feeling as right as rain very soon.

As for me, I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. Several months have gone by in a flash. But it didn’t start out this way. While we were lucky to return from an ...

Have you been tuning into Facebook every day at 3pm to see the LIVE events being hosted by Janome? The talented educators and I have been sharing our favorite features, tips, tricks and all kinds of exciting and fun things every day, Monday – Friday.  

My next event is this coming Monday, April 20th and I’d love for you to join me. You can find these LIVE events on the Janome Sewing Machines page on Facebook.  This Monday, I’m inviting you into my studio to show you all about the awesome Accuspark app, plus I’ll review many 1 ...

I’ve been in the planning process for this Facebook Live event for a couple of weeks. While I love teaching classes or sharing tips and techniques on camera, going LIVE brought with it a whole different set of things for which to plan and prepare. And I was quite nervous leading up to the event. But once we got started, it was truly so much fun and I loved the interaction with all of you watching from across the country and around the world!

Janome initiated these Facebook LIVE events last week. They will appear on Facebook every Monday ...

I’m back after a brief hiatus! I took a few days last week to work on some creative projects and it was a wonderfully refreshing, productive time. Now I’ve got some really fun and clever things to share with you all in the coming days. Starting with……

I’m personally inviting you to join me on Monday, April 6th at 3pm Eastern Standard Time for my first-ever, FACEBOOK LIVE Event! You’ll be able to find this on the Janome Sewing Machines page on Facebook. If you can’t join me for the LIVE EVENT, it will be ...

UPDATE! My PERFECT PINES pattern is now available as a download on my website! My Precision Flying Geese Ruler is required to make this pattern (you’ll need it to squeeze out cutting the little triangles from the leftover bits to make the pieced border trees!)

I’m excited to share a brand new quilt with you! I was inspired to make this quilt by this woodsy, mountain lodge themed fabric and my original Perfect Pines pattern. The blocks are pieced from 10″ x  10″ squares (these fabrics are from a Layer Cake by Deb Strain called Holiday Lodge and ...

Hey there; calling all you Janome lovers! I’m here to tell you about an important and very exciting opportunity! 

Have you ever wanted to take new owner-style classes in the comfort of your own home? Would you like to know more about your Janome sewing and/or embroidery machine(s)? My talented friend, Amy Johnson, is getting ready to start two new, special Janome “video tutorial clubs!” Starting on March 1st, she’ll be offering monthly instructional videos jam-packed with all sorts of interesting, super-helpful, and usable information you can apply right away. 

These videos are a combination of ...

The way things were……

Some changes have been happening in my sewing room lately and it’s finally time for me to share what we’ve been up to! You might remember when we moved into our home almost two years ago and I took over the living room of the house and turned it into my new studio. I blogged about it HERE (Part 1), HERE (Part 2), and HERE.

Late last fall, the impressive, fabulous new Janome Continental M7 came to live in my studio and I have loved using it and really putting her through her paces ...

I visited extended family in Ohio recently and while I was there, I thought it would be fun to visit the local Janome dealer in the area. So on a rather cold, blustery, Ohio morning, I stopped by Pins and Needles in Middleburg.

When I pulled into the spacious parking lot, I was immediately struck by the sheer size of the building. It is huge! I couldn’t wait to walk in the door and discover all the magic waiting inside.

The store is light, bright, and filled with so many beautiful things to see! The super-nice folks at Pins ...

…for Christmas!

I can’t believe I started this festive and fun quilt just a couple of weeks ago. I never dreamed it would be completely finished (with three days left to spare) before Christmas! The design is a variation of my Arrowheads quilt pattern that I debuted in my classes this year. When I taught the class at the Vermont Quilt Festival this past summer, one of my clever students had the idea to turn the arrowheads upside down to make Christmas trees. It was a brilliant idea!

I took the idea one step further and modified the pattern ...

I’ve been on the road teaching for guilds and at industry events a lot lately. One of the benefits of my busy travel schedule is it affords me the unique opportunity to visit Janome dealers around the country, sometimes unexpectedly! Just last week we flew into Dulles airport outside of Washington, DC on our way to visit our sons at their university. I had heard about this incredibly stylish store and that it’s located not far from the airport. so Mr. Kim and I dropped in to visit Precious Lopez at Sew Magarbo in Ashburn, Virginia.

To say ...