Bumps-in-the-road and out-for-a-joy-ride.  Smooth-sailing and rough-seas-ahead. Yin and yang. That’s been life, at least for me, since Covid-19 took over in March 2020. A mix of good and the not-so-good. My favorite good was going from three days a week to five days of watching my youngest grandchild, Jack. That really brought me a lot of joy and fun! Another good were all the Zoom programs on fiber arts offered by museums and quilt/fiber organizations. I learned a lot and was so thankful to stay connected to the fiber arts community.

The really not-so-good were severe illnesses for some loved ones and me. We have all come through and are doing well. And with my favorite good of watching Jack came a not-so-good of not having the time to work on my fiber art projects. This was followed by my son, daughter-in-law and Jack moving almost five hours away this summer (a definite not-so-good from my perspective). But that brought the joy of having much more time for creating fiber art!

Much of this recent creative time has been occupied making art quilts. One of those quilts was in a prestigious quilt exhibit, which you can read about below. My inventory of every day items had dwindled significantly, but I am now in the process of building it back up. My first priority was getting items back in area gift shops. Yet, I have put together an ornament kit and am offering that first to readers. Also new are two patterns – one for making coiled fabric bowls the other for bits & pieces scarves, both would make great gifts for the upcoming holidays! I’m not ready to announce a Sew and Sew Retreat, but I am booking workshops for 2022 and am offering a few new workshops. See more info about that further down the email too.

It's Thanksgiving next week. And in keeping with this yin and yang, I'm thankful for pumpkin spice latte's, but not thankful for limited menus as restaurants begin to re-open. While I'm not thankful for the global supply chain nightmare, I'm very thankful that I have everything a person really needs - health, love, family, friends!

 Ugly Sweater Ornament Kit

Now Available!

Order your kit today!

Make TWO festive ornaments -

one red and one green ugly sweater!

Create delightful felt ornaments and get in the holiday spirit!

Felt ornaments make great gifts and add a personal touch to any tree.

Kit includes one piece of red and one piece of green wool-felt, embroidery floss, hangers, needles, instructions and pattern. Plus plenty of sequins and beads to create your own design!!

Check Out the Patterns!

Patterns are available in PDF format and are emailed to you quickly.

Communities of Color Quilt

Selected for Exhibit at the

International Quilt Festival Houston 2021

The Together in Unity exhibit, one of many at the International Quilt Festival Houston 2021, encouraged artists to “express in a creative work what brings us together and illustrates how listening to change and reaching out can open doors for all people. Art not only illustrates change but can also influence it."  I thought I had a perfect quilt for this exhibit.

A few years ago, I invited people to come to an event and make fabric beads with me. I featured the activity as a community art project. Later those beads became the focus of a quilt I made - Communities of Color. The concept of “community” grew in my mind as I placed the fabric beads in clusters of four, making up small “communities.” Each community is a mix of purples and yellows co-existing in harmony. Also, the quilting stitches change from one colored thread to another colored thread to another, mixing and blending together. What if people were like that – mixing and co-existing in harmony. Now is a time where the color of one’s skin hinders many from having harmonious communities. Maybe we should be yellow or purple? Probably not. But I hope we can exist peacefully in communities of color, like the quilt.

After the first word - "Congratulations," exhibit coordinators stated in the acceptance letter that, "This year we received many beautiful quilt entries, much more than usual, so that makes your selection even more special, and is a credit to the quality of work you are presenting." I was so very honored to be included in the International Quilt Festival Houston 2021 exhibition, I told everyone I was over-the-moon!

The exhibit was sponsored by eQuilter.com

Workshop Offerings for 2022

Are you planning 2022 textile programs for your group, guild or meet-up?

 I would love to discuss arranging a hands-on workshop with you!

Featured below are two workshops being offered -

Tactile Textile and Coiled Fabric Bowl.

There are more including

Crazy Quilting, Sashiko, Modern Chenille

and others - eight in all.

Click the link below for all the offered workshops plus details.

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