I love this fabric and I had to make a skirt using it. It screamed summer skirt! My daughter probably could use one. Hmmm….I made it for her and then decided that I have to make another one for myself. It is just such great fabric. The fabric is by Luke for Moda fabrics and we have it in the shop. There are a lot of different ways to make

Being an author can be lonely business. While everyone is posting their Saturday afternoon sewing projects on instagram, I am sewing in complete seclusion. When you’re making something for a book, you can’t be flashing it all over the internet, because what publisher will want you to do that? This time it was my daughter. She’s a working mom–a managing attorney for the firm she works for and she also

I think it’s wonderful that all these young people are learning to sew. Unfortunately so many schools have dropped their home ec courses. It leaves a lot of young people high and dry when it comes to sewing skills. I have seen many young quilters that are self taught making a lot of mistakes that can be prevented with some basic sewing knowledge. It is up to us older quilters

Emma was so excited to learn to sew. Her Grandma brought her in for lessons. She’s a 4-H member, and needed help to finish her sewing project before the Winnebago County Fair. She’s making a pillowcase. She picked out some cat fabric by Ink and Arrow for Quilting Treasures. She did the first part of it, and next week when she comes back she will finish the band. Her Grandma

I have been trying to pound out these blocks. I have made a whole bunch of them, but only have them sketched and the instructions done. I have to sew each one before I publish it and try and sell it. The reason for that is I want to make sure that it is free of mistakes or glitches. So, today I finished the State of Oklahoma. There is no

My original love is garment sewing. I started sewing in 4-H. In fact, this time of year always reminds me of crunch time. We were always hurrying to get our fair items done. We would sew all winter long, but it never failed. As soon as it was getting close to fair time there was a flurry of sewing. I still love to go through the 4-H buildings at the

Well I can’t believe that my book was selected for the Fresh Picks section of McCall’s Quilting Magazine. It’s the July/August edition 2016. After the book came out I was just waiting to see if it would make it into any magazines, and it’s already been in many different ones. It has been in Pretty Patches Magazine, it’s been in Modern Patchwork, reviewed in “Good Reads” in that one, it’s

So many people vacation in Florida. Especially snowbirds! People in Wisconsin and many northern states go to Florida for the entire winter, so they are probably looking for home dec ideas. I, personally, would die if I had to miss all the snow and the beautiful winter days. The snow just sparkles when it’s new on the ground. But, I digress. I made a paper pieced version of Florida. It

Well, yesterday was the Summer Solstice. How does a quilter celebrate the Summer Solstice? By sewing something, of course. While I was away at Spring Market this year, my dog ran across the invisible fence and bit the neighbor. He was a beautiful, graceful, well mannered Standard Poodle. He would come with me to the shop. He was always very polite to all the customers. He never barked and never

I have decided to create a paper pieced pattern for all 50 states. What started this? Well, Row by Row Experience inspired me. I had the idea to create our row out of Wisconsin blocks. That’s because the theme for the row is supposed to be “Home Sweet Home” this year. I was so excited when the idea came to me. However, I don’t enjoy applique, unless it’s by machine.