It’s been a while since I have written here, but it doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy in my quilt studio. I confess I suffered a bit of burnout after my wonderful year as a Benartex Ambassador. I wanted to take the time to complete two projects that have long been on the back burner. You may realize that I have an affinity for quilt designs with optical illusions. It took me half a year to complete piecing this top called Singularity. Soon it will be off to my quilter, Beth Godderidge to see what magic she can spin.

My son came up with the name for this quilt because it reminded him of a black hole. A black hole is a single point in space of infinite density that is called a Singularity. This project consumed my time for the first half of the hear. I do most of my designing on a program called Electric Quilt 8. The beauty of this program is that you can design the most amazing projects you could ever think of. The problem is, then you have to figure out a way to the the darn things together! I love the challenge and love to see the designs go from computer to finished project.

My husband and I have also been preoccupied with raising and training two new Beagle puppies, Rosie and Daisy. They have taken an enormous amount of time but it has all been worth it. They are sisters from the same litter, but are very different from each other in size and temperament.

I’m in a bit of a NOW WHAT state of mind because I have been laser focused on Singularity and another project called Spinning Song. Now it is time to come up for air and see what other possibilities I can conger up. Something simpler perhaps that I can actually turn into a pattern for my website. Singularity and Spinning Song are not destined to become patterns as I can’t think of a way to make them viable. When I look at Singularity, I can see that it works, but I can’t see how it works: It blows my mind when I try to figure it out. And there are way too many moving parts in Spinning Song t even consider making it into a pattern.

In the meantime, here we are on the first day of summer. We have been blessed with moderate temperatures this spring, but triple digits are just around the corner. We took a week in May to travel to the East Coast to see a naval warship that is in dry dock. My son said this was the last opportunity in his lifetime to experience this. We also spent some time in DC to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Along the way, we took a tour of the Martin Guitar Company factory. My husband is a luthier, so this was definitely a highlight for him.

In October, my husband, daughter and I will be going to the International Quilt Festival in Houston to see my quilt, Spinning Song proudly hanging there. It is such an honor to have a quilt accepted to hang, and I don’t take it lightly. Every quilt hanging there takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to create. It is always fun to see what quilters come up with. There is so much imagination it is mind boggling.

I hope you have grand plans for the summer and can spend lots of time with family and friends. As always, thank you for reading my blog. Until next time!