Changes are literally in the air as summer turns into autumn. It is a magical time of year when green turns to red, yellow, and brown. Crunchy leaves litter the ground inviting children to pile them up and jump into them. It is the gift of color before the bareness of winter.

My quilt design studio is changing much like the weather. It is littered with finished and future projects, and a few exciting happenings to spice it all up. A new pattern, Cosmic Rainbow is coming to my shop on September 30, 2021. This was an interesting project for me from start to finish. As is typical, I design first and fly by the seat of my pants later as I try to figure out how to put it all together. Cosmic Rainbow was no different. I got to learn a couple new piecing techniques that I will surely use in the future. I also discovered a new product by my quilty friend, Becky Campbell. When using her product you achieve the look of English Paper Piecing (EPP) which requires hand sewing. Her product, EPP Made Modern Sheets, achieves the beautiful look of EPP but is done by machine! This is particularly appealing to quilters like me with clumsy hands or to someone who wants to sew an EPP project but doesn’t have the time to invest in hand sewing. I love how it allowed me to get that fine, hand sewn look!

I have a new project already pieced together waiting to be quilted. It is the easiest quilt I have ever designed by leaps and bounds. (I needed a break from my previous intricate designs.) No triangles, half square triangles or hexagons were allowed in this design. Only squares are used, hence the name Square Headed Boyfriend! Designing using only squares was a fun challenge in itself. I expect the pattern to be out by the end of the year.

I recently entered my quilt, Hypnotica into the Idaho State Fair and it won a Blue Ribbon and Best Visual Impact! It even won some money and quilt batt! Since this was my first entry into a competition, I didn’t know what to expect. Some of my local quilting friends encouraged me to enter and I am grateful for their “kick in the pants.”

You may remember I have a quilt being published in the Jan/Feb 2022 issue of Quiltmaker Magazine. Something else exciting is also happening in that issue. Much to my surprise, I was chosen to be the featured designer! There will be a page in this issue featuring my quilt designing journey and pictures of a few of my other quilts. Alas, I still can’t share any pictures of the quilt being published. Perhaps you can start looking for the issue which will be available on newsstands sometime in November and pick up a copy of your own!

Happy creating!