Ciao Bella

While Obsession is at the printer, I am running amok in Italy with two girlfriends. What a great place to burn off a little steam. The scenery is gorgeous and the art and architecture are glorious. Perhaps I could lie and say that I am here to study textiles - but that would truly be a lie as I am here just to have fun.

We have seen the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, St Peter's Basilica and countless churches. By the time we return home, my once new walking shoes will need to be thrown away. If only we had thought to bring a pedometer!

This picture is of an apartment at the east side of the Piazza Navona in Rome. Flower boxes of this nature are not an uncommon sight along the streets and alleys of Rome.

Strip Therapy 3 ~ Bali Pop Obsession is at the printer!

The quilts are bound, the photos are shot and the book has been sent to the printer! I am so excited. I love the projects in this book.
I will email when it does arrive. Pre-order the book and it will ship as soon as it hits the warehouse. Obsession is my favorite of the Strip Therapy series to date! I had a lot of fun putting this collection together. The work will soon begin on Strip Therapy 4 ~ Bali Pop™ Frenzy.

Once again, I chose to add bags to the mix of quilts. Why leave scraps on the table when I can make something fun and useful? Obsession includes the patterns to make 3 unusual bags that will utilize scraps and house your quilting toys.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Bali Pops™, they are sets of 40 strips of batik fabric cut 2 1/2" wide, available from Hoffman Fabrics. I have a long standing love for Hoffman Batiks and now that they are available as pre-cut strip sets, I cannot seem to get enough of them.

On The Road Again!

I was able to dodge the ash plume from Mt Redoubt and fly out to Colorado for a few days of classes in Grand Junction and Montrose, CO.

The ladies in Montrose enjoyed two classes. Thursday the ladies constructed Hunter Star quilts. Friday, they got a good start on Fireworks quilts.

Why is it that quilt classes often look like sweat shops?


























Saturday brought two classes at the Quilter's Corner in Grand Junction. What a day! Awesome quilts were the reward for a day of class. Gorgeous!















Thank you ladies for allowing me to take your photograph. Yes, I did ask if any were in the witness protection program before taking their picture.

After much angst, I did arrive home in Anchorage on my scheduled flight. Mt Redoubt has been sporadically erupting and the airlines have been canceling flights as necessary to avoid the ash cloud which can destroy jet engines.

They're Here!!

I am so psyched! My book was sent off to Steve at the print shop and he got it turned around in no time at all!! Confession time again. The books have been delivered to my warehouse in Minnesota. I hope to see the first box on my doorstep in Alaska tomorrow. That FedEx dude is always welcome at my house, it's like Christmas when books arrive. Rather like a new baby without the physical pain!

The books were delivered late this afternoon. If you have pre-ordered books, they will start leaving the warehouse tomorrow.

The projects in this book differ from the first Strip Therapy book in that a larger yardage of accent fabric was used when constructing each of the quilts, resulting in larger quilts.

The bags introduced were so fun and so fast! Strip Therapy 3 ~ Bali Pop Obsession will also contain a couple of bag patterns.

The first two quilts from Obsession are being bound. Progress is made. I am hoping for delivery of Obsession May 1.

Eye Candy

It is time to take a break an look at something beautiful! This gorgeous color fan is from Hoffman Fabrics and contains all of the current 1895 batiks. What an awesome tool to use when selecting and color matching fabric. Mine is on order and in the mail. I can't wait to play with it.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I stole the picture (with permission) from Cookie at Batiks Plus. Click on the picture above and you will be linked to Cookie's website where you can purchase one of your very own.

Strip Therapy 3 Bali Pop™ Obsession

My beloved husband says that I am obsessive! Can you believe that? Okay, he's probably right, after 26 years of wedded bliss he knows me better than my own mother. I seem to be eating and sleeping Bali Pops™. They have taken over my quilting hours. The quilts for Obsession are in the trusty hands of my favorite machine quilter. I am planning for a May release date of this book.

If you are hoping that the fabrics above are the second generation of Hoffman's Bali Pops - NO they are not! But, boy aren't they pretty!

Burning the Candle at Both Ends!!!

Strip Therapy 2 is at the printer! WooHoo! I am expecting the book to be delivered to my warehouse March 10.

I will post when it does arrive. In the mean time, you are welcome to view the projects in the book. Pre-order the book and it will ship as soon as it hits the warehouse.


Click on the book cover and you will be taken to my website where you can view all the projects in this book.

Strip Therapy 2 contains 6 quilt patterns and 2 bag patterns. Yes, I am branching out. Bags are a girl's best friend and I just couldn't help myself, I had to make a couple bags with the leftover fabric bits and pieces. I had so much fun making the bags that I expect there are more in my future!