My 3 "girls" and our dog Belle  Had all my girls home this past weekend for my oldest daughter's baby shower (Audrey, on the right above, wearing a wool cowl I crocheted). Hilary came in from Pittsburgh, PA (on the left, daughter #2) and Valery (in the center, the youngest) came from Atlanta, GA. The dog just had to sneak her way into the photo and then refused to smile. What did mom make for her favorite oldest daughter? Paper Dolls Collection ( Windham Fabrics 2007, I think) Audrey saw a set of these dolls at an Etsy shop and immediately asked me about them. I recognized the fabric and went sleuthing to find it for less than the asking price of $25 a yard of another Etsy seller (gasp!) I emailed about 100 quilt shops around the USA (found a list at the Windham Fabrics site) and while most (of course) had none remaining, a few did and I also bought a yard of the doll clothes. 3 little stuffed dolls with vintage ribbon from my stash Let's see the fa...

Bella's House   I made this quilt last year and finally got it quilted. I put the binding, rod pocket and label on Sunday and then photographed it in the sunshine on my deck. Yes, that pot of flowers is huge. Bought by my husband who is very tall and only does things big and tall. (That's why I have to label certain shelves in the kitchen with: Debby can't reach this shelf!) The quilting was done by Kathy Gray - she did an awesome job! Another quilt I got quilted recently is what I call Stars and Hexagons. No set-in seams. I love how wonderful a simple two color quilt looks. I'm hoping one or both of these get picked up by a magazine sometime soon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Stars and Hexagons While I am home for 2 weeks between shows, I am so busy with getting all my patterns and kits ready for my last two cities. I have family things going on and am trying to enjoy the last of the autumn sunshine. I really want to sew some new ideas. Of cours...

Nothing scary here for my grandson Miles As a parent of 3 little girls (in the 1980s), I did not want to create nightmares for them - and sleepless nights for me and my husband - so we banished anything remotely related to frightening, scary or wicked when they were young. Hard to do with our Halloween-crazy culture. I feel the same way for my little grandsons. Hence, I searched high and low for a Halloween print that didn't have scary images - only cute ones. Love this fabric with dogs and cats (and yes, bats). What did I do with it? Why, a little pillowcase! But I only had a fat quarter, but it's not enough; what to do? Front of simple pillowcase; notice the orange rick rack Found another piece of fabric (no scary images) and extended the animal print around to the back: Notice how the front fabric peeks around to the back. I used EVERY SINGLE INCH of both. I decided to make another pillowcase for Halloween. This uses a cat applique I had in one of my box cale...

Knitty Kitty Collection by Kanvas for Benartex Fabrics I've done another tutorial for Benartex for their Sew in Love with Fabric blog. It's all about kitties, but I had to change the theme just slightly. I don't knit! These kitties are wearing knitted sweaters. But I can crochet, and so my theme is all about crocheting. So we have to imagine they are wearing crocheted sweaters. Take a visit to the blog site and see what all the meow-ing is about. Visit their Facebook page (those of you who have Facebook accounts) and let others know what you think of those kitties. Now, you have to know I am a DOG PERSON. But kitties are just fine with me, too. This is Belle, just catching a few winter rays on the back porch. There is a giveaway for those who hop on over to Sew in Love with Fabric and then come back to tell me what you thought. I have a bundle of fat quarters for the giveaway. I used every single inch of the fat quarter of the main kitty print, so I have no...

Blue Plate Special with prairie points between the wedges First, just to let you know, I did have a winner in my Batiks Hop Giveaway last week. Jeanie of Ft. Wayne, IN won the bundle of 20 batik strips (2-1/2"). Congratulations Jeanie! Now to the BIG blocks I've been working on. I super-sized my Dresden Ruler from an 8" height to 12" and cut out these wedges from the new Raj Collection by Windham Fabrics . Raj Collection by Windham Fabrics This makes for a very, very BIG  block. From tip to tip, this circle of 20 wedges measures 24". I appliqued it to a 30" square background fabric. I think it's a WOW block, don't you? What else did I make using my larger ruler? (I only have my prototype; haven't ordered them yet for my classes in the Spring) Flirty 30 Buzz Saw; another 24" center. I set it into a curved background and then added a center circle. There are other rulers on the market that make this sort of wedge shape, but...

Fleur de Lis applique in batiks What's in the Batiks Vault today, the last day of the Twist with the 60s Hop? This pair of pillows (I can only find one of these, btw). They go with the Colorburst Squares quilt that I've been teaching the past year for the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo. Stack squares, make 4 cuts, sew back together to make 4 blocks Beyond the Cobblestone block; these centers float all over the quilt OK. The last bloggers to reveal their blast to the past. Go see the awesome creations they want to show you. October 4 My Quilting Journey More Stars in Comanche Sarah Did It  Read, Quilt, Cook, Pray... BquiltinStudio Sew We Quilt

Hearts on Fire - Cookie Cutter Series What's in my Batiks Vault today? Yes, batiks with black. Half-hearts combine to make mirror image blocks. The first of my Cookie Cutter series. Loved making this quilt. Taught it as a workshop more times than I can remember. Cookie Cutter Leaves. Alas, this quilt was stolen in 2005 I have several other shapes, all done with batiks. Why? Because it's raw edge applique and we don't use fusible webbing. The batiks have a wonderful high threadcount, so they don't ravel like regular quilter's cotton can. Who's on tap for our hop today? October 3 InGa Hill Valley Quilter Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio Sew and Sow Farm Color My World Secretly Stitching