Oftentimes, blog readers make quilts from patterns here on the blog, our book, or quilts that were featured in magazines. The readers send pictures of their finished quilt, and I feature them here on the blog. It is the biggest compliment to me when others make quilts that are from mine and Kelli’s designs. I …
Made by YOU!!! Ariel’s Wedding Quilt Read More »
read moreThe sewing room wasn’t my place of choice this week…Well, I take that back. I always choose the sewing room, but sometimes life has other plans. That was this week. I took a friend to her doctor appointments that were on Thursday, but she wanted to go down on Wednesday. We ended up shooting most …
What I’m Working On… Read More »
read moreI’ve had a Bernina 790Pro for some time — about three years now — and thought it would be a permanent fixture in my sewing room. That is, that’s what I thought until about a month or so ago. As I usually do, I took my Pro to my local tech for its annual cleaning, […]
read moreI’m sure when you read the title of this post, “Date Night”, that you probably thought it meant a blog post about Rick and me. Nope. It’s a post about Karl and me. Pre-Rick, Karl and I got together once a week or so and had supper together, then sat around and chatted for an …
read moreIf you missed it, check out my previous post about our vacation that we took this summer. The kids are finally old enough to go do something fun and actually get something out of it, but at an age where they are pretty content with just a new change of scenery. One of the places …
The Hankens Leave the House–Day Two Read More »
read moreI’ve told you all that I am trying to clean my sewing room. It is going okay. The only problem, it doesn’t look like I’ve done a thing in the sewing room. It’s because I keep saying YES. I know in the current world we are supposed to practice saying NO…but I don’t want to. …
Sewing Room Situation Read More »
read moreThe gallery wall needed another piece of art. Fortunately, I had a rainbow in my sewing studio. I have collected Kona solids for years—decades, really—so there was no shortage of color to choose from. Pulling fabrics for this project was probably my favorite part. There is something very satisfying about watching a pile of individual … … Continue reading
read moreI think my groove for sewing is back and in full swing. I accomplished a few things last week. When I left you last, I had this quilt on the frame. I finished the longarming and got it bound. I’ll get pictures taken of it soon and show it off to you. I continued with …
What I’m Working On… Read More »
read moreIt’s been a bit since I’ve listened to an audiobook. When I was driving to Des Moines to see Wicked, I knew a book would be a great companion, so before I left, I made sure I had an audiobook downloaded. It was easy for me to pick Rage by Linda Castillo. I’ve loved her …
What I’m Reading: Rage Read More »
read moreSorry I’m late with today’s post. I didn’t get a lot of cross stitch in this week. I’ve been busy in the sewing room instead. You’ll see that when you read Monday’s “What I’m Working on” blog post how much I got done, but back to cross stitch. Last week I finally got over my …
Cross Stitch Update: 9-18-2026 Read More »
read moreEvery so often, questions and comments come from readers, and I think others would like to hear my response. That’s when I feature them on the blog. This is one of those days. I got a question the other day from a blog reader. They knew I deal with cancer and had a husband and niece …
Ask Jo: What to do to help someone with an illness Read More »
read moreLong time- no talk, my friends! But no worries, while I may not have spoken to you much myself, Mom has done a good job keeping you up to date on all of the happenings around my house! Georgia turned 7 this spring, and the boys turned 5 about a month later, and we decided …
The Hankens Leave the House–Day One Read More »
read moreEvery so often, questions and comments come from readers, and I think others would like to hear my response. That’s when I feature them on the blog. This is one of those days. I’ve had a few questions related to eating and my diet, along with being diabetic. In the past few weeks, I think I’ve …
read moreI did well this week in the sewing department. Rick and I are getting into more of a schedule so I can plan sewing room time. It’s been a real treat. I got the quilt that was on the longarm finished, and I got the quilt bound. I’ll show off the quilt in an upcoming …
What I’m Working On… Read More »
read moreSorry I’m late this morning with a blog post. I went to a play yesterday with Kayla and got back late. Writing a blog post completely skipped my brain. I wrote on Saturday about my sewing afternoon with Kelli and the kids. It was so fun. If you missed that, you can read about it …
What I’m Working On: September 7th, 2026 Read More »
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