Holly Blog

My Favorite Things...129...Pink, Pink and More Pink!

In blogs gone by, I've told you all how much I love BLUE, and this is not to the exclusion of PINK.  It's high on my list too.

Our NEW Little Lady collection is a "riot of colors", but with a emphasis on Pinks...Soft Baby, aka "Petal" Pinks...Cherry Pinks that are almost reds...Hot Pinks, Magentas, Corals (I can't say enough nice things about Coral, in any form...dark, light, you name it, if it's Coral, I LOVE IT!   

So what better way to use all of our LakeHouse Pinks than with the Little Lady collection?

Here's some quilt tops I designed that we introduced in our LakeHouse sales support booklet at Spring Market...You'll notice that I used similar design layouts with different fabric combinations...(To inspire you to make several versions of the same pattern?!)

Here's Pinwheels & Polka Dots again in Pink & Brights...

And Black & Brights...

Gonzo Gingham...in Pinks

Firecracker...in Black & Brights

And Pink & Brights...

I also have a third installment of new quilt designs to show and tell, so come back again next week and we'll be all caught up...(and ready to move on to our next collection of quilts and fabrics!)

Back in two shakes...H2  ;º)

 

My Favorite Things...90...Give me an "A"

Our next guest bear is Alex, sporting a smashing bib & quilt ensemble designed by the talented Tammy Tadd, and made by her mom, the marvelous Velda Grubbs...(big hug Velda!) Thanks to both of you for your contribution to our colorful cavalcade of quilts!

The pinks in the quilt bring out the rosy undertone in Alex's fur, don't you think...?

I just love Tammy's unusual mix of colors, don't you?
Let's all cast a vote for your favorite ensemble at the end of this event...I'm always curious to hear your thoughts...

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...89...For A Good Cause!

As promised, we are starting off our little charity* Show & Tell:  "12 Bears For Christmas" with one of my favorite designers, and a cute little bunny herself...Miss Anne Sutton.

Here's Anne's bear "Lenya" with a little-bear-sized 2 piece Bib & Quilt ensemble...

Below is a closer look at Anne's precious little quilt...

We've got oodles of beguiling bears, scads of guest quilters (with their little creations), lots more tricks up our sleeves...and we'll go all the way 'til the 24th...so join us as we celebrate the holiday spirit, won't you? 

Back in two shakes...H2

*Details announced on Christmas Eve!

My Favorite Things...88...Cherries Jubilee

Remember my Cherry Baby quilt from Fall '07 market?  Some people like shoes (think Imelda), some people collect cars (like Paton, whose motto "he who dies with the most race cars & trophies wins") me, I am besot with sewing notions, or as most of you know by now...covered buttons & ric rac to be specific.  (Besot, you say?...I don't know why I like this word so much...I guess it's from being a junkie for those Word-A-Day Calenders...) 

I could have sold that quilt over and over again...I'd committed to our distributors to have the pattern for Cherry Baby available, so when Beth Hayes from McCall's came by our booth and went "coo coo" over that quilt, I had to reinvent it for her...I might like this version even better...

The working name for this quilt is "Black Cherry", it's a similar idea, but actually very different.  The thing I really love about this quilt (besides the curved front buttons that make up the cherries) is the way so many of the 2007 LakeHouse fabrics (both old and new) go together...I used little vines, lattices, dots and even little rosebuds (which look like cherries on a quilt!)in the background areas. I am crazy for using plaids and dots and stripes on the leaves, and the cherries too, but those of your who know me already know that.

Here's a sneak peak of the quilt that is scheduled to be in the McCall's Quilting June 2008 edition...

Now if I only had a clean room to put this in here at "Sawdust-Central",  :0)

It's official, "12 Bears for Christmas" starts on Tuesday...Have your kidlets and grandkidlets watch along with you!

Back in two Shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...87...Bearly There!

This is a bit of a shaggy dog story about a bunch of little bears.  The story really started out as a kitty story...Some of you will remember my post..."Who Wants to Lick the Beaters?"...you know, "Noodle Pudding" and "Vickie Dixie", who wore the little cat-sized bibs?  That little incident turned into a display idea, for the LakeHouse booth at Fall Quilt Market in Houston.  Which in turn prompted a discussion at our bloggers dinner.  Brenda said that I should take the bear around market and go visiting ...my first thought after that was "photo ops with quilt luminaries"! And my next thought after that was to share those pictures with all of you, "my little bloggettes"...Our first stop was at Elizabeth Scott's booth.  She had the most precious & sentimental decorations, I just had to take Bearlina's picture...She looks so cute, and right at home, don't you think?  Oh and BTW, we were both absolutely smitten with Elizabeth's Hen & Egg Basket quilt, called Petaluma...perfect name, BTW!  But I digress...

So all over market, Bearlina and I, we frolicked...got lots of great snaphots with some of our favorite people.  That's what prompted the new flickr album on the side column (lots more Bearlina pics there!)...(more on this later!) After spending so much time with B(earlina), I got to thinking how sad it was that she really didn't have a good home to go to after market, what with the construction and the other critters at our house.  And not only B, but we had 11 other bears that needed good homes in time for the "HollyDaze"... This brings our little saga to an end (for today), as I announce "12 Bears for Christmas"...Starting soon, we'll be having another "Dazzling Dozen Delightful"...this time with some surprise guests and lots of holiday cheer. So stay tuned, it's going to be a lot of fun here at HollyBlog in the weeks to come.

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...85...Working on a Chain Gang!

In the midst of all of the other post-market things to do, I've designed a new bedroom ensemble (quilt, accent pillow, shams, etc.) for Amercian Patchwork & Quilting's June 2008 issue (newsstand April).  Here's a little sneak peak at a couple of the items that we'll be sending out tomorrow...Kathleen Nitzsche and Cheryl Winslow did the lion's share of the work (thanks gals), but I managed to find the time over the Thanksgiving weekend to piece the little checkerboard pillowtop below...It's a bit of a "Charlie Brown Xmas tree" compared to the quilt...If I do say so myself,the quilttop is "supercalafrajalisticexpealidocious" (which is to say, something about it reminds me of the beds in Mary Poppins!)

Lots more to show and tell in the weeks ahead:  be there, be square, see the bears, see the bee...now ten times fast!

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...84...Tiny Bears All in a Row & Kitty Cats All Aglow?

In case I haven't mentioned it, things have been absolutely nuts around "The LakeHouse" here since market.  I came into my studio this morning, and the bears were all waiting to see me.  They wanted to remind me to tell you about a "Bearly There Special Event" that we have planned for Xmas.  I will be covering this fun new project in HOLLYBLOG really soon.  But I'm not quite ready to tell you the details yet, so you'll all just have to stay tuned...and keep a watchful eye  ;)

It the midst of all of the excitement here with the bears, Di & Shirley & Jackie found the new Feb 2008 McCall's magazine...

Not one of you mentioned seeing the quilt that I designed that was supposed to be in there too...and since I have yet to actually lay eyes on the magazine, I am wondering if it's even in this issue?...

Meanwhile Sandy Kitty, part of Pam Kitty's posse in the Bay area photoshopped her way into the fray...I am guessing this was originally part of an internet ad (for naughty behavior?...LOL), but I have talking bears in my office, so who am I to judge?

So much more to show and tell, I can hardly contain myself!

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...80...Little Acorns!

While I anxiously await delivery of my new McCall's Quilting magazine, I thought I'd add a bit of "Willy Wonka" to our wait...First person who spots a McCall's February 2008 Quilting magazine and sends me a picture of themselves holding it, wins a prize!

In the meantime, let's get back to more pictures from FQM, shall we?  I just can't say enough nice things about Brenda...or as I like to say, "the big ideas behind Little Acorns"...Here's a few pictures of the utterly delicious new quilts she did for our booth.

Next to her Cuddle's quilt on the end, is Brenda's Baby Picnic Quilt. The blue and white hydrangea quilt called Piccadilly is made out of the NEW LH 03007:  Heron ...

Dover Gardens is the name of the pink & green rose quilt in the middle, made with our NEW LH 06052:  Pearl fabric...These pictures just don't do her quilts any justice.  The huge stadium lighting overhead made the quilts and the fabrics look a lot more washed out in these photos than they looked in real life...

That's Brenda's adult sized Picnic quilt on the bench, made with a whole cloth in the middle and a combination of our best-selling blue and yellow Hydrangea LH 03007:  Heather fabric that has been freshened up with a pretty new assortment of new Hydrangea coordinates and some new Library fabrics too...isn't that the cutest border ever? 

The darker pink & green quilt on the right is called Notting Hill.  Peeking out on the right is a new version of Brenda's adorable Emma quilt that uses the NEW Petal Cherry Baby collection.

Oh, and if you haven't heard by now, all of these quilts will be in Brenda's new book "Simple Things & Small Joys" which is due out in December.

I still have LOTS more pictures from market and some really fun new Xmas projects are coming too.

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...79...More from Fall Quilt Market

Remember the sketch of the blue & white quilt that I put up way back in September?  If not, take a peak  here.  Remember, I asked for your help naming it?...And Becky came up with "Around the Block"...Becky, you wrote to claim your prize, but when I tried to email you back for your mailing address, your email came back as "unknown"...Becky please contact me again before the Charm Squares are ALL GONE!

Anyhoo, here's the "quilt in question"...didn't Cheryl  do a lovely job with the quilting?  I just love the border, it reminds me of so many garden-like things...the detail on an English Garden Folly, the wire trim work at a garden's edge...and I Just adore circles quilted over squares, too.

From the left, that's Pam Kitty's "A Little Purse", Penny's Charm Party Bag, and some of Tammy Tadd's  "Etc., Etc." traveller's accessories.  That's another bag by Pam called "Market Bag", Jan Lutz's  Flirty Skirty Half Apron & Tammy's Girly Girl Bag.

Here's my vote for the cutest darn "Pinwheel Anything" at the show! It's "Our Fair Brenda's" Cuddles Quilt!  Is it just me, or is it just PRECIOUS?

Also in this shot, another one of Jan Lutz's aprons on the wire form done in the Hydrangea Petals, Elizabeth Scott's Simple Spring Rosebuds Quilt, Penny's Charm Party bag in all yellow patches, Pooh Bandit, Penny's Pocket Parade & Desk Deli in the new Cherry Baby Petal fabrics, and another one of Penny's Sweet Dreams Pillowcases for her granddaughter Taylor.

That's all for today gals...there is so much more to show and tell, at this rate we won't be finished until 2008!

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...78...Quilting Blogs!

You may have noticed that there is a new H2 icon under my "what's new" sidebar...It's there because I just wrote my first magazine article ever, and it is just about to hit the newsstands.  The subject of the article is "blogs I love"...hence the little heart icon.  And as of today, there is a list of all of the bloggers that are mentioned in the article under it in the sidebar.  You can see all of their blogs with the click of your mouse.  The article is in the McCall's Feb 2008 issue which is coming out any day now...

I was told that I had 2 pages and 750 words to tell my story...Thank goodness they weren't counting, because I managed to squeeze in over a thousand words (but don't tell) and a picture, an anecdote or both on about 20 different quilting bloggers.  It wasn't easy, let me tell you; so many choices, and so little space to blather on about my newest blogging friends and my favorite new pastime...I really tried to get a good cross-section of our little quilting community...Designers, sales reps, prolific quilters, etc.

I can't wait to see it all in print...Many thanks to Beth Hayes, the editor-in-chief of McCall's Quilting magazine for all of the encouragement & support.  Extra big hugs and "shout-outs" to Kathy Patterson for editorial guidance & Ellie Brown, McCall's art director for helping me with McCall's first article ever where the graphics and the story were done by an "outsider". (Yep, that outsider would be me!)

I'll post some more on this subject when I actually have the magazine in my sweaty little hands...they told me that nothing drastic changed in the format or content once they got it, so I am keeping my fingers crossed...

Back in two shakes...H2

PS...I just had to show you this picture, because it cracks me up.

I asked someone to take a picture of the prairie points on the Alphabet Soup quilt...If you can guess whose toe-ringed foot that is, you win a prize!  HINT:  it's NOT my foot!

 

My Favorite Things...76...Let the Show Begin!

And without further ado...Our first baby line.  I'm not sure what was more fun, the fabric or the reactions to it!  It seemed that something about this line touched the little girl in all of us.

With all of the comings & goings, packing & unpacking, I managed to misplace the little kitty bibs that I made for Kammie and Vickie...(you remember..."who wants to lick the beaters?") that was going to be my little inside joke with all of you. Thankfully, M2 loaned us her lightweight Janome, and Penny (yep! those are all her tote bags) helped me stitch up some new bibs for our two little mascots...Boo & Honey.  The little E-M-M-A garland was made for Kimberly Jolly's little girl...The Alphabet Soup quilt was pieced by Patchwork Maven Martha Hall and quilted by Cheryl Winslow...they were a huge help to me getting ready for market...thanks girls!

Here's a view of the booth taken from the left...too bad about the patriotic color scheme at the George Brown Convention Center, eh?  Also, the color in these photos is more "washed out" than the colors are in reality...I'll make sure to show you some fabric swatches sometime soon that gives you a much better representation...(Meanwhile, if anyone out there has better pictures...do not hesitate...I seem to go through this every market!)

And another view from the right...

The kitties in bibs inspired the Bears...they spelled out L-A-K-E-H-O-U-S-E

I invited some of my favorite designers to make a bib...more on them and the Bears & Bibs project next time.

Still napping every day trying to catch up on lost sleep....lots of pictures & lots more to tell!
Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...74...Precious Details!

Ladies, I just got this back from Cheryl, and I just couldn't resist a little sneak peak..  The quilting on this little thing is so cute it hurts!  The block with the pink bunny fabric has a little rabbit quilted into it.

The rest of this quilt is equally adorable.  It's a sort of sampler style quilt...with a bunch of different types of quilted motifs in the different "controlled scrappy" blocks. 

I can't wait to show you more after market...Wish me luck!

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...70...Pink & Green!

I imagine that by now a few of you are wondering about my little "Name This Quilt" contest, remember?  If not look here, where asked for your help and I showed you the blue and white version of this quilt.  I also did a second quilt in a pastel version, here.

This is a sketch of the third version of my "square in a square" quilt...it's almost there, but that lower right hand block keeps screaming out at me "fix me, fix me"...I'll re-work it when we get to the design wall phase, at Cheryl's. Cheryl Winslow has been my faithful quilt-maker, long-armer, and all around "things made of fabric" guru ever since we met just before our Pittsburgh market back in 2004. 

The quilt name that I chose was "Around the Block" submitted by Becky on October 3rd.  Becky, please contact me so that I can send you your prize...(when we get back from market, pls!).

Thanks so much to everyone who offered a suggestion.  You all turned a normally torturous process into a really fun event!

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...69...Three Wishes Quilt

Some of you will remember this quilt from May market, in several different colorways, if not look here.

I just really liked this little quilt, (you've just got to trust me, they all looked oh-so much better in real life) and I thought that it would look good with the new blue and white version of the Hydrangeas & Raspberries and the La Belle Rose.  I have always had a thing for blue roses, don't ask me why...In cold weather climates, people just don't really decorate with blue very much...(it's more of a Greek Isles thing) but I have always loved a periwinkle blue room with white trim and a white ceiling.  At some point, I'll drag out pictures from my lake house...(the only house I've ever owned).  It was a humble farmhouse style.  A center hall "4 square" layout...I actually made a rather dramatic statement in the center hallway with blue paint...which also became the perfect area to show off some of my antique quilt collection...sometime soon I'll share a little bit of that house with you all. I actually sold that house to someone I later saw as a guest on Project Runway...sort of like my brush with someone who had 15 minutes of fame!

Anyway, lest you think that I am on a blue and white jag (and I am)...I'll have some pink and white (and other color) quilts to show you really soon...

Clock's running out on fall market...

Back in two shakes (that's of a lamb's tail, right?)...H2

My Favorite Things...62...Blue & White

Hello my Lovelies,

Lately, this blog has felt like a bit of a "quilt-tease", or as I sometime call it, "fabric porn"...Forgive me, won't you?  Right now there is so much to do and so many details to follow up on...But I don't want to go into a complete "Quilt-Market-Blog-Free-Dry-Spell"...so I'll just have to give you a peak at some of the design development studies that I am working on...

Do you remember the simple pastel quilt top using some of the new Fall 07 intro fabrics that I showed you recently? If not,click here.  Here's another version of the same quilt:

I am just crazy about blue and white...Blue Willow dishes, ginghams & tea towel plaids, my old VW Beetle convertible in Periwinkle blue with a white rag top.

At present, the working name for this quilt is "A Square in A Square"...as you might have noticed, I am not terrific at this...me trying to be clever with names usually ends me up in the "bad pun zone".

So if you can help me out, and come up with a great name for this quilt top (oh, and it can't be used in our little "quilt community" by anyone else), I'd be most grateful and I'll also send you a Charm Square Pack in this blue & white palette.

Back in two shakes...H2

Oh, and remember, we are still voting on Best Dessert blog and Best Comment during the Dazzling Dozen Delicious Desserts event.  Please remember to cast your ballot here.

 

My Favorite Things...61...Finding Amanda!

Blog-able Feast Post Script

Good news on several fronts today...

Number One...We sent out the search party, and WE'VE FOUND AMANDA...Most of you didn't know she was missing, but behind the scenes at HOLLYCAKES, there was a panic going on a week ago tonight!
Amanda's back from her quilt retreat..with lots of stories.  She's going to tell us all about her retreat...the teachers, a local barbecue hot spot near her, and her divine dessert recipe too.

So here she is our last, but not our least...Amanda!

Number Two...It's a miracle, after three long weeks of waiting, poof! my Typepad comments area is now working again!  (Maybe all my whining is a winning tactic after all!?)  It looks like I can't go back and answer those of you who commented during the "black-out period"  But I can pick up where we are today...so forgive my lack of blog etiquette, and let's move forward, yippee!

Number Three...Contest & FREE STUFF
In the spirit of a little friendly competition, I thought we'd do a little contest, as an off shoot of our Blog-able Feast...

Here are the basic contest guidelines.

Two categories:

1.  Best Comment, by an attendee/visitor.  Who can nominate for this?  a) Blog-able Feast participants and b) the non-nominated Blog-able Feast guest.  As in...Most thoughtful or thought-provoking, poignant, FUNNY, etc.

2.  Best Blog-able Feast Guest Blogger. Who can nominate for this?  Blog-able Feast attendees OR Blog-able Feast participants who are not nominating themselves!  As in...Best Recipe, "Style Points", Most Interesting, Most Creative...whatever and whomever amused you the most during this event. Megan is excusing herself, since she wouldn't want her little quilt give-away to influence your better nature! And hey, I am giving out the prizes, so we are back to a regular dozen to vote for, including tonight's "post script guest - Amanda!"

Prizes will be given out in both categories:  A $25.00 gift certificate from Williams Sonoma, a pattern for our "Big Pocket Apron", the LakeHouse fabric of your choice & rick rack embellishment (from my private stash) to make it.

How do you do this?

Starting NOW, Leave your nomination/comment on THIS POST ONLY.  On Friday October 5th, I will pick a winner in both categories.

If it's not readily apparent who the winners are in each category, (I'll be the  judge of that!) we'll leave it up to Kammie & Vickie (my bib wearing, whip cream eating, beater-licking kitties) to pick two names "out of the hat".

Sooner we accomplish this, the sooner we can start a new give-away, I say...With so many new things, tis better to give than receive, I always say...aren't I a tease?

Thanks so much to all the participants on both sides of the event.  I for one, had so much fun.  Some of you made me laugh, and other's tugged at my heart strings.

It's all good  ;)

Back in two shakes...H2

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My Favorite Things...39...Star Garden Quilt

Design Studies Part 2...

I added a bit of a pregnant pause with the announcement about the article that I am due to write...just watch, Aunt Blabby will get writer's block...

Anyhoo, keep your suggestions coming in gals, I am hunting for the best quilting blogs...diversity, creativity and joie de vivre:  that's what my article will be all about. 

Meanwhile, I wanted to finish up the Star Garden studies that I started on Monday...

As I was saying, I study every quilt top that we make.  They all start in photoshop, and then we go to the design wall after that.  Since I work everything out "to scale", there usually aren't too many surprises.

Here's a third version...IMHO, the larger flowers in the border were too overpowering, so this version was put aside.

The Fourth version was interesting to me, but it seemed a little busy, with a few too many places to look, and no resting place for my eyes...the darker green diamonds needed to be toned down too.

This one looked a little bit better...

And here's where I stopped...I liked that the stars stood out the most, since they were the focal points of the quilt. I guess I mostly prefer a quieter border, and the 9 framed roses did the trick for me.  You may have a different opinion...?

More soon on our blog-able feast and a whole host of other little goodies, soon.  Keep those quilt blog suggestions coming in, I want to taste it all!

Back in two shakes...H2

 

My Favorite Things...37...Star Garden Quilt

Hello again Ladies!  A little dose of cute for you, to start off your week with a smile...This is Kammie, aka Kamma-Noodle, aka Noods, & Fattie. She's a sweet, friendly & stubborn little affection junkie.   The best studio mate ever, like my little shadow all day long.  Aren't animals just the best?

Necessity is the mother of invention today.  I seem to be able to go through IMAC's these days like Sherman through Atlanta.  Here at the LHDG studio we have a had a rash of near-misses:  hair-raising, heart pounding & acid refluxing scares with our Apple computers of late...And the Apple telephone and in-store support has been dismal.  My computer guru Jim (we love you Jim!) has told me that in addition to all of my other problems, I have maxed out my storage.  Something like 50% more than what the manufacturer guarantees as safe.  I was warned, "Holly you must start cleaning out some of your old images". To that end, I started going through a lot of files, that in my April pre-market haste were saved in many redundant forms. 

The good news is that I found all sorts of neat things that I had forgotten about...You may remember my  Star Garden Quilt that was front and center in our May '07 booth...(see blog 5 back in early June, darn if I could only figure out how to link that in...(help Mr. Wizard!)

Before I decided on 3 distinct color variations on the quilt for the final printed version of the Star Garden pattern seen above, I did a lot of "studies" on the lightest pastel version to start the ball rolling.

Here are a couple to whet your appetite...

Pastel version "B" above (the "A" version was one of the colorways I put in the final Star Garden pattern)

Pastel version "C" above

I'll have a couple more variations on this quilt next time.  I'll give you my thought process and commentary, too...

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...36...Burst in Bloom Quilt

I just got a couple of quilts back from McCall's Quilting magazine  and thought you all might like to see a few more close-up shots of my "Burst Into Bloom" design...

This is the center of the quilt and a detail of Cheryl Winslow's applique' & machine quilting...She actually did both things at once for this quilt. For those of you with any doubts...there is a reason she is my QOATF-- "Queen of All Things Fabric"...Oh, and yes the magazine is free to write up their version of how to construct something, and frequently it's "way different" from the way it actually was made by Cheryl.  On that note, I have had numerous unsolicited accounts from people who have taken her classes, like "how great Cheryl is at teaching techniques" for a variety different projects, and also how "great she is at understanding fabrics and knowing an easier way to do something" (in fabric)...

Here's a magnified photo so you can see how Cheryl did this...

The left picture is a bit of a funny one...I think it shows a wee bit of the design challenge ahead of me at the Boulders...My white wicker and whitewashed furniture set against the over sized masculinity (the giant boulder patio for example)...Paton's got very masculine taste...except for when it's not, and that's when things seem to get way beyond eclectic...in "what were you thinking?" country...IMHO. My taste is affected by my formal training, so I tend to be way more conservative, and also way more feminine.  I actually do have a plan for how things will look really great, (most of my stuff goes in the little guest cottages!) but at the rate the unfinished projects are piling up around here...it's looking like "not anytime soon" that the "non-construction-grade furniture" aka JUNK that should have been thrown away a long time ago...will be in place!

For those of you wondering about the Blogable-Feast, it's coming right along...It's looking like we may start it in early September, since many of the participants are away in the last two weeks of August and we don't want to have any coordination headaches.  Since we are doing desserts first, the name for this jaunty affair is "a dozen delicious & dazzling desserts".  Some recipes may be more cool whip than dazzling, but we'll have a nice assortment of "from scratch recipes" as well as the ones you can make with 4 ingredients, while talking on the phone, putting in a load of laundry and keeping an eye on the "kidlets" in the backyard...

Oh and B-F participants who are I haven't heard from this week (and you know who you are)---get cracking!  Anyone else who has something sweet & scrumptious to share that I might have forgotten (terrible memory, forgive me) let me know, for the right recipe, we'll work it out, even if you don't have your own blog...Since I read recipes for the fun of it, I can spot a really good one pretty darn quick.  In case you're wondering, I have a three layer chocolate pie that is so sublime it will make your toes curl!

Back in two shakes...H2

 

My Favorite Things...28...A Mid-Summer Night's...Quilt?

Faithful Blog-ettes...here's a little sneak peak at one of my new quilt designs from the La Belle Rose collection.  Make no mistake about it, it's been a long time a comin'...It reminds me of the old fashioned high top shoes with buttons.
    

It took me more than a few late-nights on my laptop propped on pillows in bed, to get this quilt to look like anything. I had designed one small block for the cover of our sales booklet for spring quilt market, and sho-nuf, Beth Hayes of McCall's picked right up on it and wanted me to develop it further...

My ever-diligent, queen-of-all-things-fabric: "QOATF" Cheryl Winslow just dropped off this new quilt...(adorable--if I do say so myself!) Picture this delivery..."QOATF" pulls up on a shiny new retro-style Harley Davidson with a HUGE throughly modern black helmet and large bulging knapsack on her back.  I squealed with delight when I laid this quilt out...promise you this...for those of you who loved Victoria magazine...this quilt will not disappoint.  It's nostalgic and romantic, and yet fresh & new at the same time (she said humbly!)

The piecing is pretty much standard-fare for Cheryl...impeccable! The quilting....sublime. So "up my alley" I can't even tell you!

So here's the scoop on the quilt: It will be in McCall's February '08 issue...newsstand late November early December...And, if you are at all like me, you want it when it comes out...(weeks before it actually hits the newsstand)--get a subscription!

Oh and in case you are wondering (and I am sure many of you are!) why I am not making my own quilts...honestly, the day-to-day demands of this business are just too great, and my eyes frankly are really not great anymore.  I have been severely near-sighted since 2nd grade, (and I have the pictures of me in my brownie uniform and brown coke-bottle-cat's-eye glasses to prove it!) On top of not-so-great eyes, I have been overusing them for 10-12 hours a day for over 30 years...Oh, and most of you know about lasix eye surgery...dozens of my friends have had it with great success...well, let's just say--I'm in that 3% that no one ever really wants to talk about...I am just thankful that I can still see at all.  So I guess what I am saying is, pretty much the last thing I can do for fun & relaxation involves hours of working at a sewing machine! Honestly the best thing I can do for my eyes and to relax is stare into the distance (like across the lake from a deck chair) and focus on something a mile or two away.

That said, I do still love applique and I do think that I will be doing some of that again sometime soon...Also, my excuse for that is that I can take that in a car, and do it while I am waiting for things to happen.  It's generally portable and I I don't have to make a huge fuss to do an applique project.  Megan and I had a lot of fun with the LOVE HOPE FAMILY quilt that we did for Spring 06 market, and it reminded me how much fun applique can be. The pieces in that quilt were ginormous, so I could actually see what I was doing without too much stress!

Meantime, back to my second favorite past-time...eating!  It occurred to me that there were a lot of other people out there in bloggie-ville who also loved to share their recipes and thoughts on food.  I have read some mouth watering descriptions of late...

So I "wrastled up" some fellow quilt-lovers and we are going to do a  "Blog-able Feast"...The fine points of this are not finalized, but it will go something like this:  every day of this event, you'll come to my blog and I will give a little intro about the person, the course that they are doing and something about the recipe, etc. that they will have that day...I will provide a link to them. Then you'll go over to them and have a treat!

I'll have more on this as soon as it's all laid out...so keep checking back and I'll let you know the who, what, when & where within a week or so.

Back in two shakes...H2