Half-Square Triangle Love

I needed to add an additional $.42 to my recent Amazon purchase in order to qualify for free shipping, so look what ended up in my cart as a result!  The blizzard delayed its arrival until today, but that's OK.  :)

I love Jeni Baker - she's so cute, and I love her approach to quilting.

You can order her book here.

And, check out her blog here.

A Quilter's Christmas

I LOVE getting quilting books for Christmas.  It's such a wonderful thing....   During the rest of the year if I purchase a quilting book, it feels extravagant and somewhat irresponsible.  But at Christmas, there are no guilty feelings involved whatsover - it's pure joy!!

Here are the books I received/purchased with Christmas money this year:

All Points Patchwork by Diane Gilleland - My sister Renee bought this for me last July at the Quilt Odyssey quilt show in Hershey.  She refused to let me have it until Christmas.  She hauled it home to CO, wrapped it up, then shipped it back to me in December.  I tried to convince it would be cheaper and easier for her to just give it to me then, but she didn't bite.  I've been eagerly waiting to get my hands on this book!  It's an outstanding resource for English Paper Piecing (EPP) which I am becoming more and  more addicted to.

The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt -  I already have the original Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book and love it, so was eager for this 1930's version.  The letters from farm wives are so endearing.

Quilting on the Go by Jessica Alexandrakis - This is a great book on portable quilting projects and is where I first heard the term "quilting in public" - don't you love it?!  In fact, it makes me want to gather some friends together and meet in public to stitch together for the next "World Wide Quilting in Public Day" on June 20 (I think that's the date!).

Sara Feilke's Quilting from Little Things -  I love Sara Fielke....  I love her approach to quilting - to slow down and do more hand stitching, to savor the process vs. rushing through it.  I had the chance to meet her last summer at the Sister's Outdoor Quilt Show and see several of the quilts in person that are featured in the book.  So, this book immediately was placed on my Christmas Wish List when I got home.  :)

Sara was kind enough to let me snap a picture of her at the Stitchin' Post in Sisters.  I celebrity stalked her for a while before I worked up the courage to ask her if I could take a picture of her.  :)

This is one of her quilts that is featured in the book.

Isn't her detail work fabulous?!

Also, my younger sister gave me...

...a gift certificate to The Old Country Store in Intercourse, my favorite local quilt shop.  I love everything about that store!

And last,

... this charm pack of Jen Kingwell's Gardenvale from my dear friend Kathy O. of Stitch by Stitch.  She knows me well enough to know what fabrics I love - that's a dear friend indeed!

Aaaaahhhh, I love this year's Christmas quilting goodies!

 

Quilting with a Modern Slant

What a fabulous read!!  Inspiring, moving....  

(I got my copy from my local library.)

Update, 1/10/15 -  A few quotes:

"If you keep on practicing, you can't help but get better and better."

- Jane Sassaman

Elizabeth Barton - How did you beome grounded and focused?

"I supposed is comes from years of being a psychologist, where you see people trying to fit themselves into categories that other people have created."

"Narrowing down our choices helps us create."

- Denyse Schmidt

318 Patchwork Patterns

I was thrilled to learn that Kumiko Fujita's "318 Patchwork Patterns" has finally been released in English!

Ever since viewing a picture of this quilt on Pinterest, I have been searching in vain for a copy of the book.  It was in Japanese and out of print, and was nowhere to be found - not on eBay, not from the library (I even had my local library search for it - there is not a single library in the United States that has it in their possession!) - nowhere!  The only copy I could locate was from Amazon Japan; the webpage was in Japanese, and it was way out of my price range!

I have been collecting patterns and pinning images to my "Alphabet Quilt" Pinterest board, eager to make my own version, but I wasn't sure how I would pull it off without the book, especially when it came to the letters.

This will be a huge help!!

I ordered my copy from Pink Castle Fabrics.

Of course, who knows when I'll get to this project, as there are currently 71 quilts on my "Quilts-To-Do" List!!

:)

Sunday Morning Quilts LOVE

I was tickled to find these little zip bags at the Quilt Odyssey quilt show today in Hershey, PA.  

These two quilts were featured in the book Sunday Morning Quilts, the book that forever changed my approach to quilting exactly two years ago when I purchased it at the same show.

As a result of reading the book, I fell in love with the fresh, modern approach to quilting and fabric stewardship embraced by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison, I started using clearer, brighter colors in my quilting, and I was introduced to the amazing online community of quilters.

THANK YOU Amanda Jean and Cheryl for impacting my quilting world!!