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Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Ever since I was a girl the approach of the holidays has meant crafting. I mean crafting in high gear, not the relaxed now and then crafting that goes on year round. I’m talking assembly line, 10 or 12 at a time kind of crafting. We would make ornaments for the tree, wreaths for the doors, and gifts for everybody-neighbors, friends, teachers, the mailman, etc., etc., etc. I still approach the holidays with the same crafty spirit. It’s part of the fun for me-the making of the craft as much as the giving. Right now I’m looking for pre-made muslin bags for some homemade lavender sachet. I’ll have to decorate the bags in some way…I suppose I could make my own bags as well, but there is a limit! I like to make my own Christmas cards too.  Here’s a clever idea for using some […]

Hi everyone, as I wonder around cyber-space and blogosphere, everything still buzzes about the recent Quilt Market in Houston – what was most popular, what was fun, eye-candy…anything. So I thought you would want to know too! Here is one from Moda fabric, they talk about how it all comes together for the big show – see it HERE . But keep scrolling down, there is more in previous posts! One of the leading modern quilters, Victoria Findley-Wolfe gives a simple slide show from the Festival (eye-candy!) HERE Speaking of eye-candy, I was so taken by this wonderful video, made by Alex Anderson, about the special exhibit of Libby Lehman’s quilts. Many of you know Libby’s work and hopefully you even took a class with Libby when she was our Seminar teacher (that was my second time and loved it all!). She is an amazing artist and a very good […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Do you have quilts that you only use at certain times of the year, or for certain special days? I’m talking about not just bed quilts, but any type of quilted project–table toppers, pillow covers, place mats, wall hangings, … I have more quilts that are wall hangings than anything else. I do make bed sized quilts, but not nearly in the numbers as my other types of projects. Why? Mostly for the fact of having the project finished sooner, I guess. A bed quilt is a long-term project in my book. Often I have one underway that I work on in between my other things. My favorite way is to have the pieces going as leaders and enders (see Bonnie Hunter’s site for this idea. She’s our seminar national teacher for 2014; I learned this idea from Bonnie.) I’ve been getting out a few […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Heading out to the museum to set up for our fall seminar. Classes begin tomorrow with a lecture by our national guest, Pat Sloan, in the evening. All of the preparation is finishing up, and in the morning the fun starts!! Still not too late to join us–come on, you’ll like it! I was checking out Pat Sloan’s blog this morning and she shared a link to a wonderfully redesigned sewing machine. Not only does it have great new features, but it is a beautifully designed piece as well. Almost looks like structural art. Have a look and watch the video. Click here.

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Still cogitating on those modern quilt ideas. Got an e-mail today from Craftsy.com about a Joe Cunningham class called Pattern Free Quiltmaking. Hmm… Went over to have a look. Signed up for it. I have always been a rule bender. Not so much a rule breaker, just a bender. I never, even as a kid, wanted to blindly follow rules unless I could see the point. (I have a terrible time with speed limits!) I think this is caused by the other hemisphere of my mathematical, analytical brain wanting equal time. This appears in my quilting from time to time, as it does in all of the other parts of my life. Sometimes the perfectionist geometer is in charge wanting perfect points, symmetrical layouts, and precision in the measurements. Other times not so much. Love to create with random width selvage strips, like to make […]