Cheeto says, it’s finally time to share the news!

Cheeto and I are sew excited to announce my newest print line of fabrics from Benartex called Cheeto’s World! I’ve been working on this line for months and since it will finally be arriving in shops in a few weeks, I thought you might like to see more about this bold, bright, beautiful line of focus prints and eye-catching blenders: all Cheeto approved, of course!

This new line is all about our sew-special kitty, Cheeto, and his buddies. We have three rescue cats besides Cheeto including Toby, Remy ...

Hello, friends!

You may have already read or heard about the tour group I’ll be leading to Japan with Opulent Quilt Journeys this coming May. Our tour had been sold out, but due some very unfortunate health circumstances, we’ve had three spots open up just recently. This is a very rare and thoroughly exciting opportunity for YOU to join us!  You can bring your husband / sister / mother / friend / significant other, or if you want to join the group as a single, no problem! You’ll be made to feel more than welcome and we’ll personally take great ...

A Personal Invitation

I would like to personally invite you to join me on an
EXCLUSIVE Quilting and Textile Art Studios Tour of Japan in 2023!

Now that borders have opened, all travel restrictions have been dropped, and you can freely travel to and from Japan, who’s ready to plan the most exciting, fun and amazing trip in 2023? I’m absolutely thrilled to announce I will be personally leading a small, intimate group to Japan next year from May 9 – 19, 2023 on the trip of a lifetime! I’ve been working closely with Judy Barry of Opulent ...

Pictured from left to right: Kathi Slee, QLD Sales Educator, Melissa Wilkes, Sales Educator, and Peter Kross.

During our recent trip to Bribane and Surfer’s Paradise in Queensland, we had the wonderful experience to meet some terrific new friends! Kent and I were invited by Peter Kross, Janome QLD State Manager, to visit the Janome headquarters in Brisbane and we were incredibly honored! We spent a few hours with Peter and his amazing team, and they were gracious and so very generous with their time (and some amazing Janome swag, that I plan to gift forward to some Janome-America ...

I felt antsy. Nothing has peaked my interest or seemed really fun to work on lately. Has that ever happened to you? Oh sure…..I have lots of projects-in-progress (in the quilting world, we call those UFO’s — or unfinished objects.) But I was really looking for a challenge. 

with Danielle Ross

Before I moved to Australia a few months ago, my friend, Danielle, and I had cut out all the bits and pieces to create a Tumbleweed Toiletry Tote from Blue Calla Patterns with the intention of making it into a hobby or sewing tote. (You can read about ...

Hello, everyone!

Thought I would pop in here to share an update about a couple of fun things I currently have in the works. 

First, remember those Shoo Fly blocks I requested when we found out we were moving to Australia? I want to sincerely THANK YOU everyone who so generously sent in a block (or blocks!) Many of you also wrote beautiful handwritten notes, or sent small gifts (some even sent handmade gifts for the kitties, which were greatly appreciated!) As the blocks arrived, I carefully stored everything in a bin and shipped it to Australia in April. Well ...

Cheeto popping in to say hello!

It’s been awhile since my last post so I thought I’d take time to share some photos and provide an update. Let’s start with some new quilted wall art I made:

Last Christmas, Kent sent me four aboriginal-inspired fabric art panels he found here in town. At first I wasn’t sure how to use them but I quickly decided to hand embroider blocks of Australian animals I might meet on our travels using variegated floss. I used Solid-ish fabric strips to sash the blocks to the panels. I just love ...

The 2022 BOM Blitz II quilt-along has begun!

This is a FREE program and if you follow along, you’ll have the quilt top finished by early December! I hope you’ll join me on this fun-filled, skill building journey. It’s absolutely not too late to join, and you can work in the comfort of your own sewing space — at your own pace — while I walk you through construction process, step by step!

What you’ll need:

The supplies you need are simple. You’ll need 3 yards of one background fabric (includes the binding), one Jelly Roll with ...

Sometimes we have to put our quilting or crafting on hold while we deal with a big life event or situation. Because we have been moving into a new-to-us home here in Australia — all while scheduling work to be done (electrical, painting, new cabinets, plumbing, etc.), I haven’t had the opportunity to sew anything quilting related in the past six weeks. For me, that’s a long stretch of time without fiber therapy!

Creating is better with a bestie.

However, I did have a wonderful “last creative fling” with a dear friend just before I flew to Australia in ...

This past month has been a whirlwind and I finally feel as if I’m coming up for air. So I invite you to pour yourself something to sip, find a comfy chair, and let’s catch up!

Last views of the Lake Arrowhead area the morning I left.

Saying goodbye to the cabin was more emotional than I thought it would be! A few tears were shed.

Three weeks ago early on a Monday morning, I said goodbye to our cabin and drove to Las Vegas to help launch the fabulous new Janome top-of-the-line, combo sewing machine; the CM17 ...

A quick selfie with Danielle (c) and Anne (r) to kick off our “Janome Girls’ Sewing Retreat!”

Last week, I experienced the restorative power of friendship and laughter with two dear friends who came for a sewing retreat here in my mountain studio. Words are simply inadequate to express how much this gift of time and the safe space to open up, be silly, creative, and truly authentic meant to me. We talked, we laughed, we sewed, and we visited the quilt show, Road2CA for a day in nearby Ontario, CA. 

In the booth at Road2CA, Sam Fung showed off ...

Hello! My goodness, it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to post. The past 8 weeks have truly been a blur. We put our home on the market, sold it, and then went through the arduous process of arranging for and managing three separate household goods shipments. It was a lot of work! We were authorized to ship a small amount by air, 14K pounds of household goods by sea (which isn’t all that much weight, really!) and everything else was either donated or put into a long term storage unit. Kent and I did much of ...

I’ve been away from posting on my blog and and I’ve missed sharing updates. But there has been a good reason for my absence: we’ve been making some life-changing decisions about our future. 

Four years ago, my sweet husband was offered the opportunity to take on a new challenge with a large defense contractor and we moved from Northern Virginia to Southern California. At the time, we hoped we might be able to stay here until it would be time for him to retire (8 years from now) from his full-time career as an IT specialist. We ...

Several months ago, I was invited to participate in an incredible effort to honor and support a very deserving veteran and his family by the television show, Military Makeovers, on behalf of Janome-America. Due to contractual obligations, I wasn’t allowed to share anything publicly until after the episode aired but now that it has been featured on network television, I can share the behind-the-scenes story and some photos with you all! 

Daniel Burgess, his wife, Genette, and their two daughters were the recipients of a complete home makeover by Military Makeovers, hosted by Montel Williams. Dan was severely injured ...

Bon Jour!

A few weeks ago you may have seen a short little video I posted on Social Media about a new line of fabrics from Timeless Treasures called Bon Jour! I paired those pretty prints with several of my Solid-ish fabrics to create a “curated collection.”

Miss Tater graciously decided to “model” the fabrics.

At the time, I promised to show you the project I had planned for those scrumptious fabrics. 

“Maraschino” from my Solid-ish line goes particularly well with Bon Jour…

…as do Mist, Stone and Black (shown from left to right next to Tater, above.)

I’m ...

I’m very excited to share that I’ll be teaching at VQF@HOME — the virtual Vermont Quilt Festival for 2021!

Since we can’t be together in person this year, I was asked to teach four classes for the Vermont Quilt Festival online — and I’m excited to share these special classes with you! Although I’d much rather be together in Vermont in June, meeting via ZOOM does have it’s advantages. So why not choose to look on the bright side with me and sign up for one, two, or all of my workshops (plus a lecture ...

Now that it seems as though COVID and travel restrictions will eventually be in our rearview mirror, who’s ready to begin planning for travel in the future? I’m absolutely thrilled to invite YOU to join me from May 25 – June 4, 2022 as we will journey to Japan for the trip of a lifetime! I’ve been working closely with Judy Berry of Opulent Quilt Journeys to plan a very special, exclusive textile-focused trip with an itinerary that will, quite simply, blow your socks off! 

Opulent Quilt Journeys does everything with the utmost personal focus of the quilter ...

Happy Anniversary!

April 1st is a very meaningful day for a variety of reasons. First and most importantly, it was three years ago today I became the National Spokesperson for Janome-America, Inc. In my 25+ years in this industry this is one of the biggest honors I could ever have dared to dream; and it is a roll I cherish very much! Janome is a company I believe in down to my core for their products manufactured with the highest quality materials and engineering, and for their ease of use and responsiveness — and attention — to their customers.

But it is ...

UPDATE: CLICK HERE to watch MY FAVORITE THINGS!

I’m personally inviting you to join me for a FUN FRIDAY FACEBOOK LIVE event this Friday, March 19th at 3pm ET (noon Pacific) for something just a little different. 

There are so many new Janome Continental M7 owners — and many more considering making this absolutely amazing machine part of their sewing studios — that I thought it would be informative and helpful to share my most favorite presser feet and accessories with you! I’ve put together a FREE list of all these items, complete with the correct part numbers and some ...

Janome is celebrating their 100th Anniversary and in honor of this very special year, they commissioned this beautiful cotton fabric! So, to celebrate this most special occasion, I’m in the process of making some wonderful things for my studio using this special print! If you love this as much as I do, be sure to stop by (or contact) your local Janome dealer to get YOUR own yardage because when it’s gone, it’s GONE!

Last autumn I created a fun, FREE, easy little pattern called Holiday Star. I created holiday-themed quilts with this pattern so I could ...