• Embroidery becomes applique

    I’ve never thought about taking an embroidery pattern and doing it in applique. But, after seeing these blocks from @sew_serenakim, I can’t imagine why I haven’t! Serena took the “I Believe in Snowmen” embroidery blocks and made them in applique!  Just look how cute these are… This is one of those moments where you say, why didn’t I think of that?  She’s made me want to make this quilt one more time, or maybe a smaller version of *I Believe in Snowmen”.   This pattern was discontinued, but I just found two boxes of patterns, so I’ve added them back to our website.  There’s still time if you’re feeling creative! Great…

  • I Believe

    I’ve believed in Santa, Snowmen and fairy tales since my earliest memories.  Where would the world be without Frosty the Snowman or stories of Santa at the North Pole?  Children believe, and are more than willing to share that innocence with us.  It’s a wonderful, whimsical feeling that makes us smile and feel young again. I hope you’ll feel a bit of that magic when you look at “I Believe in Snowmen”! You’ll find snowmen everywhere you look, and they’re ready to help you celebrate Christmas.  All it takes is a little monthly stitching and a touch of applique and you’ll have this quilt ready to share by December! The…

  • When the husband becomes a designer

    My husband’s a car nut.  A real honest to goodness car nut, because he says he’s owned and sold about 75 old cars over his lifetime (I picture him at the age of 7 buying and selling).  I tell him I wish we had the money he’s put into restoring all those cars, and he tells me he wishes we had all the money I’ve spent on fabric.  Some things are best left unsaid. I don’t give him much input on a quilt, because it can lead us down dangerous paths.  But, when I needed a car expert for “Christmas Wheels” I turned to him.  He spent days working on…

  • Packing my suitcase

    Thought you might enjoy a peek at what’s going in my suitcase when I leave for Houston this Thursday! I Believe in Snowmen is my newest block of the month,  and it’s flying with me to market. With pieced blocks, redwork embroidery and applique combined, this quilt is really fun to make! I’ll be telling you all about it at Quilt Market and sharing some embroidery tips. New things are always so much fun! Back soon with more, Anne

  • Finishing up 2011

    Redwork Raining Cats & Dogs This week we finally finished the new Redwork Raining Cats and Dogs pattern.   What a great end to 2011.   Say hello to redwork in 2012!   Just look at the fabulous quilting!    Have you ever wondered how to quilt a redwork quilt?  You quilt right through the embroidery!  Most of the stitching will sink into the quilt and you’ll never see it.   You’ll find this pattern available now on my website but you might want to wait until January 5th if you’re thinking about buying it because… A sale is coming! And you get advance notice because you read my blog!  …

  • First week of December!

    I started December off at our local hospital early on the morning of December 1st.  My husband had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder because of a torn rotator cuff.  We had to arrive by 5:45AM. I had envisioned just “us” arriving at that time of the morning, but to my surprise there was a waiting room filled with patients all scheduled for different surgeries.  He was assigned a number and from that point on he could be tracked on the surgery tracker board in the waiting room.  It’s an amazing, color coded, automated system that lets you see where the patient is at all times…in the preop room, in surgery,…