While making all those clothesline hotpads, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could adapt the technique for use in art quilts.  What if I wrapped the fabric strips around wire or pipecleaners?  I had to try both.  The fabric wrappe

I’ve been thinking………  Sometimes when I’m looking at quilts in books or magazines, I’ll see one that has me thinking, “That is one ugly quilt”.  Then a few weeks later I’ll see the sa

I planned to post about some aspect of creativity, but the day job left me too drained to string meaningful thoughts together.  Creative inspiration will wait until another time.            

Lots of sewing and listening going on, but not much to share yet.             Change has come, whether welcome or not.  New challenges bring new joys and new opportunities.    I of

Last night my quilt group met to make table favors.  The group is one of three quilt groups that have a joint meeting every September with a potluck and a paid speaker.  The groups rotate different duties, such as set-up and programs, so no

I finished the journal cover last night.  It doesn’t look much like it did in-process.              The blue section contains buttons, beads, bits of fabric, and rug yarn cut into

Back in January I rearranged my sewing room and couldn’t decide what to do for a cutting table.  I tried using what I had, but after cutting a few quilts by kneeling on the floor over a child’s play table, I broke down and bought a r

I picked up a couple books at the library last weekend because they contained some attention grabbing ideas.  The first book is Portraits From Nature by Jean Wells.  She developed a technique of mounting small nature quilts on larger backgr

In my never-ending quest to squeeze more creative time into my day, my attention has turned to work habits.  What drives the decision to start one project over another?  Why do some ideas linger like a mild headache?  Why do some proje

  Reclaiming Your Dreams by Jonathan Mead is an ebook designed to help you become self-employed doing what you love.  I want to say up front that in exchange for a review and link on my blog, he gave me the book.  It normally sells for

I visited the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild yesterday to hear Sue Beevers talk about her fabric design inspirations and how she translates those ideas to cloth.  She projected slides of her photos onto a large screen then showed the fabric the p

No more after this – I promise!  We had a chance to chat with Pat Sloan about her Death by Quilting game when she had a break in foot traffic at the APQS booth.  Since then a winner has emerged!  If you’re interested in pla

I brought home some interesting ideas from the Chicago quilt show.  For all the quilts I’ll mention here, the show prohibited photos.  Nancy Erickson had some animal pieces hanging in one exhibit.  If you haven’t seen her w

It seems like every other blog I follow has pictures of a reorganized or rearranged workspace this week.  I rearranged my sewing room too, but I didn’t get the idea from other bloggers.  When mom visited over Christmas I watched hours

Wow!  Does every year pass faster than the last for you too?  This year circumstances set many new paths in motion.  I look forward to seeing how it all plays out.  One of my main focuses this year was changing my diet to eliminat

I’ve almost finished the book Fearless Creating by Eric Maisel.  I picked up several good ideas and learned some things about the creative process and myself.  The author makes a few points worth repeating.    In the chapter

One of the members of my Art Quilt Group shared a link to Rob Gonsalves’ paintings.  Here’s the best site I found for viewing his art without lots of clicking and back tracking.  I had not come across this artist before.  I

I came across a couple new websites the other day.  Well, new to me anyway.  The first is Creative Textile and Quilting Arts.  You can browse through articles, class offerings, ezines, quilt galleries and a related blog.  You&rsqu

Lori asked for instructions on how to make fabric beads like the one in the last blog post.  I found this wonderful tutorial that shows step by step what the lady at the guild show taught me.  You can view the tutorial here.  While loo

Tonight, I sewI haven’t touched my sewing machine in two and a half weeks except to unplug it.  In that time I’ve helped my son with schoolwork, cleaned the house, worked in the yard, visited my mother and cooked for my family. 

 I never know what will inspire me.  Inspiration often comes out of nowhere, like a soft breeze on a calm summer day, swirling around me and bringing me a smile.  The most unusual things will catch my attention and have me muttering &l

In January I listed some new habits I wanted to adopt during 2008.  It’s time to review where I’m at so I can plan how to use all that free time I’ll have this summer.  First, I wanted to get out once a month for inspirati

I finished another book at lunch today.  If I got through my quilting to do list as fast as I get through books I’d be one prolific quilter.  This week’s book was Making Work Work by Julie Morgenstern.  It has since been re

I read an article in Quilting Arts Magazine at lunch Friday called The Creative Journey by Linda and Laura Kemshall.  You can find the article in the December/January issue on page 17.  They comment on questions about what they do and how l

First I want to thank everyone who has left comments on my blog.  I love hearing from you!  Comments and feedback are always welcome and appreciated.  At work this week I’ve gathered information for an insurance claim on a buildi