Classic Modern Quilts Blog Tour!

I'm so excited to be in the company of all these really talented (and fun) quilters! The blog tour kicks off on Monday, starting with my new friend, Lisa Calle. This is going to be a great tour, with books and other goodies to give away. Follow along every day, and be sure to come back right here on Thursday, November 14, which is my day! You can also follow along on the My Stars Blog. Hope you win!!

Nov. 11: Lisa Calle, www.vintagemodernquilts.com
Nov. 12: Lynne Goldsworthy, www.lilysquilts.blogspot.com
Nov. 13: Lauren Hunt, www.myauntjune.blogspot.com
Nov. 14: Heather Kojan, www.heatherkojan.blogspot.com  That's me!
Nov. 15: John Kubiniec, www.bigrigquilting.blogspot.com
Nov. 18: Adrianne Ove, www.littlebluebell.com
Nov. 19: Trisch Price, www.hadleystreetquilts.com
Nov. 20: Tammie Schaffer, www.craftytammie.com  Tia Curtis, tiacurtisquilts.blogspot.com
Nov. 21: Amy Smart, www.diaryofaquilter.com
Nov. 22: Susan Strong, www.strongstitches.wordpress.com

Quilt Market

Yes! I went! All because of this little beauty:

Quilt market was exhilarating, exciting and exhausting. And I only had a tiny role in the whole thing. I can't imagine what it was like for the vendors.

Here's a few pictures. Stay tuned for more about the book, an upcoming blog tour and GIVEAWAY!

Here's my quilt from the book. I named it Happy Camper. It's made with S'more Love by Cosmo Cricket ~ a fun, quirky camping themed fabric. Perfect for me!

Here's what my spread looks like in the book. Love the photography. The whole book is rich in color.

Here's me with John Kubiniec and Tammie Shaffer, two of my co-authors. More about these two later!

Our booth at Quilt Market! (Thanks Kansas City Star for making us look so good!)

The Modern Quilting display at the United Notions booth. Notice which book is prominently displayed!!

That's it for now. Stay tuned!

Dog Walking: What Not to Wear

I'm an early riser. Usually by 5:30 or so. I'm also the first shift dog walker in our family. 6:30 AM is my designated dog walking time. I really don't mind it. But lately, it's a little dark. My lovely sunrises of the summer have given way to blackness. And it's because of this blackness that I decided to try a little something different yesterday. I decided, because it's so dark, that there's really no point in changing out of my jammies into something more respectable, like, say, yoga pants or sweats. It's not like I see anyone on these morning walks. In fact, it's been weeks since we've seen anyone. And I know you can see where this is heading.

We start our walk, and immediately run into my friend's husband, and their dog Sammy. Sammy and Chase have a nice little romp, I make small talk with the husband, and I just know he's thinking, sheesh, couldn't bother to get dressed this morning? We finish up with them, and then I see another neighbor walking her dog. Don't they know that this is MY time? Hi, good morning and I know she's silently judging me and thinking nice jammies.  And I'm thinking, well, it's not like I'm in Target or anything. I'm walking my dog, here.

And here we are this morning.
Dare I risk it again?
Sure, why not.
We start out, and immediately Chase is charging at something. Of course, it's still pitch black, so I can't see what's got him agitated. And then it comes into view. A red fox, about 20 feet away. And all I can think is oh, great, I'm going to get bit by a rapid fox and have to go to the hospital in my jammies. Awesome. Thankfully, Chase, my protector,  barked the fox away.

Tomorrow, it's back to yoga pants.

good dog

Living that iphone life

About a month ago I finally said goodbye to my Barbie doll cell phone and got an iphone. Not a tricked out 5s or anything crazy like that. Just a simple old 4 (with my 99 cent upgrade!) It's taken me a while, but I'm slowly finding my way around. Most recently, I've found Instagram! Oh, my what a time suck fun diversion. I'm mostly following quilts. And cats. Clearly, I need to branch out. So, what are your favorite things to follow in Instagram? Oh, and if you feel like it, you can follow me (click on that little red button on the right ~ I promise I'll follow you right back!)

Swoon Top Finished!

I started this quilt over a year ago. No problem. Piece of cake. It's only nine blocks, right? I'll have it finished in no time.

Or, a year.

Anyway, I'm really happy with it. I used a Amy Butler Soul Blossoms and Moda cross weaves for the centers. Now, off to the quilter. (I sent my quilt for the book to a long arm quilter, and got spoiled! With a quilt this large, no way I'm going to tackle it myself.) As for quilting, any ideas? Maybe I should ask Karen. I think she's made 5 of these!

This quilt has always been for Katie. At first for her (July) birthday. Christmas present? Speaking of Christmas, I think this would make an awesome Christmas quilt. I'm hoarding a stack of Blitzen fat quarters. For Christmas 2014, of course.

A Tale of Two Cabins, Final Chapter

You may have read this post, about two log cabins that I just wasn't feeling.

As I suspected, I just need to keep going. And I'm feeling them now!

For the vintage sheet quilt, when I put all the blocks together, it just looked like a whole lot of mush. Pretty, vintage mush, but mush all the same. I tried the gray sashing but it wasn't doing it for me. So I pawed through my stash and found the pink heart herringbone from BasicGrey. Perfect! I find sashing to be so tedious, (and don’t even mention corner stones)but I really didn’t mind with this quilt. It really perked things up and I love the final quilt. I’m so happy that a sweet little girl will cuddle up in it very soon.

For my modern log improv, I just kept plugging along, making more blocks. The more I made, the better I liked it. For someone like me who doesn't do a lot of improv, I think I could actually see my improv improve (my spell check is going crazy over that last phrase!) Whenever  I would see improv quilting classes I would think, “how do you teach improv?” but I do think there is a method to it. Or at least, for me, I found what I liked and didn't like. Another thing I liked about this quilt was the restricted color palette, and the fact that they were all scraps from other projects. I will definitely revisit the grey/red/black/neutral scheme again.  And in the end, I don’t think it’s too modern for a little boy. I think it will be just right for a very cool little dude.

All told, the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild made 21 log cabin quilts for the kids of the South East Early Head Start program! The quilts will hang in the gallery of the Kennedy Kreiger Family Center before going to their permanent home in the arms of the babies and toddlers of the center. Way to go, guild!

Um, I'm in a Book!

Not much blogging these days. I wish I had a great excuse: on safari, building schools for underprivileged children, working on my novel.  Alas, I just run out of time.

“Ah” they say, “if it was important to you, you’d make time for it.” So, here’s me, making time for it!

And I actually have something very exciting to share! Way back in the spring, I was invited to participate in a new venture by the Kansas City Star people. It’s their new modern quilt offshoot, My Stars. I’m one of ten quilters who will have projects featured in their first book, Classic Modern Quilts! I’m so excited about this, and in such awesome company. Just look at the other quilters (oh, and look, my name is right there with them!)

The whole process was a bit surreal: designing a quilt, actually turning a sketch into a real life quilt, writing a pattern ~ all with the requisite deadlines.  My editor, Jenifer Dick, is great to work with and an awesome guide for a newbie like me. (I giggle every time I say “my editor”!) She kept me on track and provided endless encouragement.

The book is due out in time for Quilt Market.  Oh, yeah, and I’m going to quilt market! I can’t believe it. Another thing to cross off the Quilting Bucket List (which is so long, it needs its own bucket list!) Going to room with my friend Tammie, who got me involved in the project to start with.

So, here’s the My Stars Blog. Here’s my interview on theblog. And here’s a picture from the photo shoot from the book. See that quilt on top? That’s mine!