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In the United States, the world is started to open up again.  My doctor, too, has given me clearance to dip my toe in the shallow end of the "leave the house" pool.  It's so exciting!!!Due to circumstances beyond my control (medications that cause weight gain) and circumstances somewhat within my control (pandemic comfort food), I need new clothes if I'm going to leave the house.  I was shopping online for some clothes when I remembered, "Hey, I know how to sew!" Sew.... I made a new dress! I field tested it at church on Sunday, and it was super...

My mom hand-embroidered quilt blocks for each of her grandchildren and now that I'm no longer traveling for work and my house is (mostly) rebuilt*, I have time to turn those blocks into keepsakes for my niece, nephews, and children. The first quilt I made was rainbow stars: I sewed the blocks together in diagonal stripes of colors in rainbow order.  The orange and yellow sang to me the entire time I quilted it!Using the same feathers I teach in my Quilting Essentials: Machine Quilted Feathers online course. I added feathers in the large blocks formed by the block intersections and also...

Picnic Patch is one of my favorite Cutie Patterns and I'm sad to admit that I didn't design this one.  I've made a few dozen (yes, that many or more) of this quilt and don't see myself stopping any time soon.  It's a pretty quilt and fun to machine quilt because RIBBON CANDY! and FEATHERS (see my online class Machine Quilted Feathers). I made this quilt from a fat quarter pack of Notting Hill from Diary of a Quilter.  I pulled out the 8 low-volume fat quarters and used them for the sashing strips.  I played with the color settings...

I have a secret:  I am an organization and productivity addict.  Seriously, I need an intervention.  I've been hooked on planners and bullet journals and planning systems for decades.  And now it's taken over my quilting life.I've started keeping a planner I'm calling the Pretty Productive Quilt Planner because.... well, it's pretty and productive and helps me plan my quilting! Here are the products I'm using:  Leuchtturm1917 Journal -- I chose this journal because (a) I've always wanted one and (b) it's THE GOLD STANDARD of journals.  I know I'll be able to get this exact one for years to come....

Recently, I took the plunge and started re-arranging, re-organizing, and re-vamping my sewing room.  We've finished rebuilding most of the house after the tree crushed it in September 2019 (darn you, expensive lumber!)  We're mostly moved back in, mostly unpacked, and mostly decorated.  I've put off the sewing room until after the rest of the living areas were finished.  The time has come.  My room is now in the "There appears to have been a struggle" stage, but already I love it.The changes thus far: We moved my  Handi Quilter Forte longarm machine (the largest item in the room) in...