Getting Out of Dodge

I cannot overstate how important it is to get out of Dodge every once in a while. Sometimes you just need a change of venue to spark your productivity and clear your creative palette.
It’s  been a long year, filled with rough patches and happy surprises. The fact that I’m able to be here, sharing a friend’s [...]

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Artistic Couture: Dressed to a Tea

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could combine the activities we love and then spend time sharing them with friends?
I’m a big fan of tea. No, not drowning a teabag in a mug of hot water; I mean tea in a china cup with delicate munchies and wonderful friends with whom to share it all.
I’m [...]

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Quilts and Cherry Blossoms

What a weekend this has  been!
It started in Williamsburg with the Colonial Piecemakers’ Quilt Guild. I had such a good time with these quilters! On Friday, we spent all day playing with Tsukineko Inks. We used the Fantastix applicators to learn how to control the ink and then we mixed the inks with aloe gel [...]

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Quilters, a Quilt Show, and the Economy

I’m blogging here in Hampton, Virginia, at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. This is a Mancuso show, which means the show is organized and well-run, and everyone knows what to expect. Well, everyone except the vendors.
The quilters expected beautiful quilts, and we weren’t disappointed. But the vendors had to have doubts when they set up their [...]

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When a Quilt Fights Back

I’ve had quilter’s block before. I’ve had dry spells, but I’ve never had a quilt fight me.
Here’s the deal. I have a deadline.  Tomorrow. I’ve been thinking about this quilt and planning it in my head. Trees. Trees in winter. I have this amazing midnight blue batik with irregular white dots that look to me [...]

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Moonlighting Quilts in Pittsburgh

Mother and Daughter Working Together

This week, I drove to Pittsburgh to meet the ladies (and gentlemen!) of the Quilt Company East Quilt Guild. What a great group! They are friendly, cheerful, and talented. On Monday night, I gave one of my favorite lectures, Fabric Acquisition 101. We talked about what fabrics to buy, how much [...]

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Art in the Park Revisited

On Sunday, our neighborhood held its annual Art in the Park, featuring artists from throughout the neighborhood. It was great to see so many people braving the sweltering heat and connecting with their neighbors. It was hot, hot, hot, but everyone was in good spirits.

Our neighbor Ferris Kaplan took this shot of me in my [...]

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It’s Time for Art in the Park!

I just love my neighborhood!
Last year at around this time, I blogged about Art in the Park and it’s time to do it again. This time, I thought I’d give you advance notice in case you’re in Northern Virginia and you want to attend.  This Sunday, there will be 33 vendors setting up their tables [...]

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Speaking to the Tavern Quilt Guild

Today, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Tavern Quilt Guild in Heathsville, Virginia. What a wonderful group of ladies!  They were friendly, welcoming, and full of questions.
I presented a new lecture: It’s Okay to Write on Your Quilts. We explored different ways to add writing to your quilts and I showed them lots [...]

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The Quilt Patch Reopens After Water Damage

Okay, I want you to picture your favorite quilt shop.  Got it? Now, imagine two inches of water on every floor with more cascading down the walls from a broken water pipe.  Awful, right? Well, that’s what happened to the shop where I teach art quilting, the Quilt Patch in Fairfax, Virginia.
I’m thrilled to report [...]

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