Showing posts with label my book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my book. Show all posts

Monday making

Today Cheryl and I are making an appearance on Pat Sloan's Radio show. Tune in here to listen to what we have to say about our new book Sunday Morning Quilts. (I was extrememly nervous when we recorded it. I'll be over here listening and cringing the whole time, I'm sure. I'm so shy about things like this!)
Another thing I'm making today is home made laundry soap. Have you ever tried it? It's super duper easy. Take one bar fels naptha soap, finely shred it. Add one cup borax and one cup Arm and Hammer super washing soda. Mix well and use. My hubby found this recipe on a blog somewhere, which I think is hilarious, because he is NOT a blog reader. He wanted to try it. I was very skeptical. I'll admit, he was right! I LOVE it! I only use a scant quarter cup per load for my washer size, so it goes a long way. It's "h e" friendly, too. I haven't calculated the exact cost per load, but it's very reasonable. We buy all the ingredients at our local Mills Fleet Farm store, which seems so "farm wife-ish". I love it. :)
Also, I'm making Anadama bread. Tara turned me on to this type of bread. I had never heard of it before, but it's mighty tasty! I'm hoping my bread turns out half as good as hers. I thought it would be good to serve with my sausage corn chowder I'm making tonight. The weather has turned chilly again, so I'm ready for some baking and comfort food.

What are YOU making today?

Happy Monday to you!

spring break

My kids are on spring break this week. The fantastic thing is that it actually feels like spring! Usually we seem to get a snowstorm during this week, so we've really been enjoying the warmth! All the while, I'm still trying to get things done. About the time I find my groove, the week will be over.
Yesterday we had a play date with some friends. The play date involved sewing machines for the mamas, which is the best kind of play date! I made this log cabin block. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I should turn it into a pillow or go for a full sized baby quilt? I waffle back and forth.

Today I'm trying to tie up loose ends for the fab little quilt swap.
I have the mini quilt almost done. I just need to add the label. It measures 21" x 24". About. :)
I made a little wonky cross pin cushion to go in with it. I LOVE it! I'm not going to have any cohesive color scheme going on, but I think it's ok. (I can over think ANYthing!!! It drives me crazy!)
I also made a quilt block for a community quilt. The color scheme requested was yellow, gray and aqua/turquoise. I really like this color combo...I could have kept going! This one was made and mailed in the same day. New record!

So, lots of little patchwork stuff going on here. Just like I like it! I'm being highly ambitious and hoping to get two quilt tops made during the rest of the week. Are you laughing with me yet??? ;)

One more thing....over on the Stash Books blog they are giving away a copy of Sunday Morning Quilts! There is a fun little background story about the book, too. You may want to check it out!

Hope you are having a terrific Tuesday!

finish it up Friday, week 18

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

Today I'm delighted to share a very special finish.
After two plus years in the making....the books (plural!!!) JUST arrived at my doorstep! It's a very happy finish indeed.

I'm not sure that the Fed Ex delivery woman cared that I'm an author, but she knows now. Actually, she was very gracious and kind and congratulated me. Hey! It's not every day your new book (!!!) gets shipped. I'm going to celebrate this for all it's worth!

I'm selling signed copies in my shop. For those of you who pre-ordered them, thank you! I'll be working my way though the orders soon!

Now it's your turn! You know the drill. Link away with your finishes! And a very happy Friday to you!!!

so much to celebrate!

I feel like things have been pretty darn crazy around here. There is a lot of self imposed stress going on, but it's stress nonetheless. But...if I take a step back, even for a minute, I can see that there is SO much to celebrate and so much to be thankful for!

-Amazon keeps sending me emails recommending Sunday Morning Quilts to me. It's highly entertaining and it makes me giddy every single time. Also on the recommendation list are new books written by Denyse Schmidt and Weeks Ringle/Bill Kerr, the 3 major influential people in my quilting journey. We are on the same list? Really?? Somebody pinch me!
-Cheryl's and my book comes out next month. After working on it for over two years, it feels so good to be this close. (It's also completely nerve wracking!) I received post cards to help promote the book just this weekend. They look so good! We got the quilts back a few weeks ago, which is fantastic as well. I have been choosing different ones to sleep under and rotating them around the house. (This is after they sat in a pretty stack in the corner for a few weeks.) It's so good to have the quilts home! By the way, Cheryl has a fun little contest going on over on her blog. Which comes first, the baby or the book? You should check it out! :)
-Moda developed a pattern sheet for a zig zag quilt using the no triangle method that I first shared here. How cool is that??? I received a lovely box from Lissa, which is always an ABSOLUTE day brightener. Thank you Lissa! 
On the back of the pattern sheets, a little blurb, right next to the moda logo, with my name on it. That feels pretty fabulous!
-Melinda and I have been working together to plan a quilt retreat right here in Wisconsin over Mother's Day weekend. Woo-hoo!!! I'm very excited that I'll be teaching my machine quilting sampler class again. The weekend should be a lot of fun! You can find more details about the retreat here. There is a link to the registration form there, too. We hope you can join us!

-On the home front...my kids got their report cards on Friday and they. were. fabulous. I'm so proud of each of my kids and I'm so very thankful for them. It's fun to watch them grow up and develop into their own little individual selves, even though it tugs at my heart strings...every single day. I'm so thankful that they are doing so well in school! And I'm thankful for the most wonderful husband ever. He's quite a guy.

-I took Tara to the airport today. Sad as it was to see her go back home, I've got a whole bunch of new memories with my dear friend. What a delight to be able to spend the weekend with her. I feel so incredibly blessed!

Hope you have a lot to be thankful for today, too.

Happy Monday to you!

a few things

I've heard from several of you who have used my "one way to machine bind a quilt" tutorial and loved it. I'm so happy to hear it! Since reading all your wonderful comments on that post (thank you!) I've learned a thing or two. I've tweaked my method just a bit, so I've added an edit to the end of the tutorial. Just wanted to give you a heads up. 
Also! My and Cheryl's book is available for pre-order on Amazon!!! (That feels ALL kinds of crazy.)

thank you!

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your excitement about Cheryl's and my upcoming book! It feels so very good to finally be able to tell you about it! I am a terrible secret keeper and I have a little story to prove it. A few years back I went shopping for my husband's birthday. I came home and he and I were talking and at one point in the conversation he simply asked "so, what did you get me?" (Yes, he is a stinker!) I opened my mouth and was just about to tell him. I managed to stop one second before I spilled the beans. I almost told him right then and there! It's pretty pathetic, I know. So can you imagine how hard keeping this secret was? It was a doozey!!!

Sunday Morning Quilts was a true joint effort right from the beginning. Cheryl and I both brought different things to the table and combined, we worked (very, very hard) on writing a book that we, personally, would love to read, study and make all the quilts from. We hope that you will, too! So start (or keep) collecting those scraps!

We do have just a few more details to share. It's being published by Stash Books and will be released sometime next spring. I know, I know, that's a long time to wait. (Trust me, I'm anxious, too!!!) It isn't available on amazon.com yet for pre-order, but we will let you know when it is.

Tomorrow, back to regular programming. :)

no longer a secret

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