Pinwheel Princess

My baby quilt was published this month in McCall's Quilting and it made the cover!! It was a goal of mine to be a cover girl someday (my quilt, that is) and I'm so thrilled with how pretty it looks.

I originally designed this quilt for my grand-daughter, Madelyn. We had to get a few photos with the inspiration baby. If it wasn't for this little one I wouldn't be a cover girl!

I've been piecing backings with left over fabric from my quilts recently. Makes the back look kinda special.

The original quilt in mostly Heather Bailey "Pop Garden". I really like the aqua and reds, which in the right fabrics would make an awesome baby boy quilt.

You can see the article on the McCall's Quilting website.

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May Schnibbles

This month's Schnibbles was "anything goes". I was excited because I wanted to use the Botany charm pack I had. I chose the pattern "Dulcinea", but added a little 1" sashing so the fabrics would stand out more. Not quilted yet (busy month), but it will get a brown print binding to frame it out.

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Quilt Market - final thoughts

One of the most exciting things for me was seeing creativity and new products and fabrics now available. When I first started quilting in 1981 - fabrics were not designed by quilters. There wasn't much variety available, so everything seemed to look the same. Times have changed! Now there is something for everyone and almost too much to choose from. I feel blessed to still be excited and passionate about the latest trends. I think our grandmothers would be proud!

Amy Butler's awesome flowers. Made with her new line which is beautiful!

One of the highlights of Market for me was doing a book signing of my newest book "Flowers All Around" in the Martingale and Company booth. I met some great shop owners - all excited and passionate about bringing the latest products to their customers. What a great time to be a quilter!

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Quilt Market - Part 2

One of the best things about going to quilt market is meeting the designers and seeing their quilts "in person". Here are a few of my favorites.

Joanna from Fig Tree Quilts. Her booth is always spectacular!

We met Camille from Thimbleblossoms. Her new line "Bliss" is one of my all time favorites. I even talked Pat from the Hickory Stick into getting the whole line. Some new patterns may emerge from this one!

I'm a big fan of Anka's Treasures and it was great meeting Heather and seeing her work up close.

Barb Jones from Quilt Soup continues to come out with fun, fresh patterns and fabrics. Sorry about the closed eyes, Barb, but I couldn't not show this new line and pattern!

Next up - my favorite modern designers!

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Quilt Market - Part 1

Lucky me! I attended Quilt Market this year in the lovely city of Minneapolis! Amazing!! I've been quilting for a while and it's so good to see the fresh, fun and colorful direction that quilt design is traveling.

I know there are lots of blogs with lots of pictures from Market, but for the next few days I'll share mine.

Always colorful - Taylor Made Designs. This slice of cake pin cushion is now available in a pattern. It had been previously printed in a magazine. I was lucky enough to have some friends make one for me - it's just adorable and makes me smile!

Awesome bags everywhere...

I loved this applique - fresh, bright and cheerful...

Pillow and Maxfield's new line for Michael Miller called "Pretty Bird". I loved the colors, and the large graphic prints...

Patty Young's new collection, perfect for a little girl...

Sandi Henderson's new book "Sewing Bits and Pieces" is filled with great projects that use leftover bits of fabric. I picked up a signed copy for my daughter...

What a great city! The weather was perfect and all the locals had to comment on it. I guess you really appreciate good weather when your winters are long and cold. I snapped a picture of this parking garage - the local people were so friendly I'm thinking they painted it just for us!
More to come!

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Busy Month...

You haven't seen many quilts or heard much from me because I've been hanging with my girlfriends.

Today I'm off to Minneapolis for Quilt Market. I'll be showing the quilts from my new book and looking for some of these new fabrics. My camera is packed - so look for pictures next week!

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Sneak Peek...

You might think from my recent posts that I haven't been doing any sewing. Me? Not a chance. I've been working on some projects for publcation - so can't show them yet. But here's a little peak...

A very French table runner for the Moda Bake Shop

A "groovy" lap quilt for a quilt magazine

And I've started my May Schnibbles quilt. The theme is anything goes in terms of patterns and I was thrilled I got to choose something for this awesome "Botany" line. I'm using "Dulcinea". I love pinwheels!!

So you see I have been busy! I'm off to see the grand babies this week and then to Spring Quilt Market the following week. Stay tuned! I hope to have a lot of fun new things to show!

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Garage Sale!

Saturday, May 8th, Bindings, Borders and Squares Quilt Shop, 325 Droste Rd., St. Charles, MO

8am to 2pm

Be there... early

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Evolving...

When you've been quilting for over 29 years, things have to change. The move from my old blog, due to technical difficulties over there, made me want to make some changes and create a whole new look. I love traditional quilts, and will always love them. But lately I'm attracted to the more modern looking designs and fabrics.

So along came Jenna from qadesigns. She created a new header for me, some buttons, and changed the font to match. What do you think? She does simple, graphic designs that I was drawn to. She was awesome to work with and I highly recommend her if you're looking for some design work at a really reasonable price!

So for a while, you'll see me working on simple modern designs, like this.

Playing with colorful fabrics.

Inspired by modern designs. (This one from Ikea.)

I've started adding some of my favorite bloggers to the side bar. Be sure to visit them and you'll notice some modern quilting going on!

For those of you who are local to St. Louis, Bindings, Borders and Squares Quilt Shop is having a garage sale on Saturday. I have a table and will be selling some really nice, fairly new traditional fabrics. Fat quarters will be $1 and yardage will be $3. I'll even have a few finished tops to sell.

Gotta keep evolving, you know...

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A little Jelly Girl...

Remember when I made my fun, bright Jelly Girl quilt? Well, I also used up the leftovers of a Hushabye jelly roll to make little Madelyn one. It's all quilted and washed and ready for a baby to sleep, play or do whatever she wants on it!

I guess now we're Jelly Girl friends since we have matching quilts.You gotta admit you're pretty cool when you can twist your tongue at 6 months old. You think she looks like her Dad? Check it out here: Katolin family

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Fabric designers...

Are showing up in some new places. I bought these plates at Crate and Barrel and found out they were designed by Kate Spain!

You know her! The designer of the wonderful Verna line for Moda.

I also found Denise Schmidt is now designing quilts for Pottery Barn. I remember looking at "Flea Market Fancy" and "Kate's Jump Rope" when they were out years ago. I actually have one piece from each of the lines on my shelf. Since I never bought any more and now wish I did...

Her newest line "Hope Valley" has now been added to my collection of fabric. Not sure what I'm going to do with it. I know it will be something modern!

If you miss Flea Market Fancy - there is a petition going to get Free Spirit to reprint it. You'll find that here.

The quilts she designed for Pottery Barn. Click on the link and watch the "Modern Quilt Design" video. It's great!

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