A note to my Quilting and Patchwork readers.  When you check out my former blog, you’ll encounter the Blisstree portal, an exciting new venture at b5media with many posts for stimulating reading.

I’m be writing here and still will bring you news about Quilting and Fabric Art, along with other crafts.  I hope you’ll visit often.  Let me know what you’d like to read about and where your interests lie.
Image: sxc.hu

Quilter/writers often plan a series of books, or find their initial book is evolving into a number of them, one leading to the next.  Jennifer Chiaverini has done this with the Elm Creek Quilts series, developing pattern and recipe books in addition to her novels.
I’ve discovered that The Quiltmaker’s Gift is followed by pattern books.
When I wrote an initial post about the children’s story book, The Quiltmaker’s Gift, I didn’t realize the interest it eventually would evoke.  One reader of Quilting and Patchwork asked where she might find fabric with related designs on it, so I sent out her request in …read more

I previously mentioned the Round Robin quilting project my daughter’s Fiber Divas group has decided upon for this year.  They’ve all been working on it, and Beth has posted her first quilt in response to quilter Marilyn’s theme.
Check out Beth’s Meandering Threads New Quilt post to get a look at this very interesting piece of fiber art.  In Circle Doodads, she answers a viewer’s question concerning some of the embellishments.  This may give you an idea of a simple, ordinary object you can use to enhance your projects.

Snowy days often are quilting and project days, especially when school is cancelled and the grandkids and I are home.  (I do substitute teaching so likely as not head off to school with the youngsters.)
Snowy days in March also remind me of a saying in our home when I was growing up, “Remember the Blizzard of ‘88.”  My grandparents lived during the unforgettable blizzard that paralized the east coast area starting March 11, 1888.  Grandpa’s stories of this time were fascinating to me as a child.
If you’d like to learn more about this period in our history, check out my …read more

Tonight we turn our clocks ahead…and get up an hour earlier in the morning.  I enjoy the longer evenings of daylight and somehow find I get so much more done.  Do you find this allows you more time for quilting, or do you find the darker winter evenings more condusive to quilting.
However, until the year approaches its longest day, in June, our mornings remain darker.  If we’re earlier risers, we’ll find it dark or dawn.  But…we may have the glorious adventure of watching the sunrise rather than having it fully daylight when we get up.
Do you find Daylight Savings Time affecting …read more

The other day we discussed the Irish Chain pattern in connection with the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day.  Why not a Double Irish Chain?
Penny Halgren, at How to Quilt has posted the pattern and directions for the Double Irish Chain.  She says that even though it looks complicated, it’s really fairly straight forward since the quilt is made by using only two basic blocks.
(Amazon image)
If you give it a try, let us know how you make out?

Organizing your fabric stash and finding space for storage often challenges many quilters and fabric artists.
There’s an excellent guest post at The Quilting Gallery, Fabric Storage Thoughts by Benita Skinner of Victoriana Quilt Designs.  Benita gives many suggestions for storing your various types and sizes of fabric.
How have you arranged yours?  What works for you?

With St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, coming up, we begin to see information about quilts and fabric art relating to things Irish.
At Penny Halgren’s How to Quilt web site, we discover directions for an Irish Chain Quilt.  Penny says this is a perfect project for a beginner, at least with her instructions.  She also gives you ideas for using colors other than the traditional greens.
(Amazon image)

It’s a good idea to take photos of all your quilting and fabric art projects.  It’s even easier today, with digital cameras, than when I had to get photos developed from negatives.  Sometimes you’re pressed for time and don’t bother.  Then eventually you wish you had documented that particular piece of fabric art.
Why take photos?  Here are 10 of the reasons:
 

To have a record
To remember specific patterns and designs
To document your techniques
To build a portfolio or album
To put on your blog
To show customers
To use for making your own fabric
To play with in photo programs
To enter contests and shows
To have for …read more

As I was writing an article for my Country Kitchen blog, Food Memories in Community Cookbooks, I was swamped with memories of Mother in her pre-Alzheimer’s years. Actually I have two cookbooks published by the church we attended when I was a child, one from my mother-in-law’s church, and another published by the nursing home where Mother resided.
These cookbooks represent different eras in my life and those of my family. They bring back memories of neighbors, Sunday school teachers, family members and several at the nursing home. I recall occasions when many of the recipes were served.
If you have any …read more