Live, Love Quilt International Quilt Along

 

Hello, Friends!

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and weekend!

 

I'm participating as a guest designer in an international quilting sew along, coordinated by Ellen of Ellie's Quilt Place, to announce her new fabric line, Tomorrow's Heritage. And I'm inviting you to sew along! To participate, just join the Facebook group "Live, Love, Quilt QAL" by clicking this link:

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/livelovequiltqal

 

There are several "mystery designers", who will be introduced periodically, and each has designed one block for the project. The free patterns will be provided soon for the blocks in the Facebook group. A PDF with the fabric requirements was posted on the Live, Love, Quilt Quilt Along Facebook group page on November 24^th, for two different options to use the blocks. The blocks and finishing instructions will be available as free downloads in the 'Files section' as of February 2021.

 

One option to use the blocks would be to make 10 different mini quilts:

 

 The other option would be to use the blocks to make one quilt:

 

You can use the fabrics from the Tomorrow's Heritage collection (available in stores starting January 2021), or use fabrics from your stash.

 

 

 

This is my first time participating in such a project, and I hope you'll join me! I love the block I designed, and I hope you will too!

 

The first mystery designer was announced yesterday:

 

https://www.facebook.com/ElliesQuiltplace/posts/3862286393782699 )

 

Until next time!

 

Martha

 

Prairie Patchwork; Treasured Quilts and Tales of Time

Prairie Patchwork: Treasured Quilts and Tales of Time is my newest book, published by Martingale Publishing, and just released last week! First of all, it was such a pleasure to work with all of the staff at Martingale. It is a very professional bunch, and my book was put together all along the way with the utmost care!

That being said, I'm extremely proud of the result!

 

Prairie Patchwork

You'll find patterns using a variety of techniques for making the quilts in Prairie Patchwork, from hand piecing to machine piecing, foundation piecing to strip piecing. You'll also find a variety of sizes as well: bed quilts, wall quilts and doll size quilts. A pattern for a sweet little wool applique needlebook is also included.

New Pattern! Butterfly Garden

I, like most of you perhaps, have a love for not only fabric, but threads. I especially love working with the beautiful hand dyed threads created by Valdani Threads and Weeks Dye Works. Each company has its own unique palette. In my newest pattern, Butterfly Garden, I use threads by both companies to create the embroidered flowers in blocks, which are then set on point along with pieced scrappy blocks, the "butterflies".

Detail - Butterfly Garden

This little 28" x 32 1/2" quilted "garden" is bordered by a picket fence using a scrappy assortment of cream and beige prints.

I'm offering the pattern as both a printed pattern to be mailed to you, or as an E Pattern for you to download, thus saving you shipping costs. Your choice! I'm going to try to do this from now on with new patterns,
as the cost of shipping can sometimes be cost prohibitive when ordering one pattern, for instance. I use USPS flat rate shipping so that I can track orders to make sure that they arrive to my customers, and it's fairly economical when you think about gas, travel, etc. from me to you (I know there are cheaper ways to ship, but no tracking). But still, I'd like to provide the option.

Here's hoping you're having a beautiful summer, with lots of butterflies!

Until next time,
Martha

Liberty Eagle Wool Appliqué Pattern

After having finished reviewing the edits for my upcoming book at the beginning of the Summer, I decided to tackle finishing up writing patterns for seven other projects needing my attention. I have my Liberty Eagle wool appliqué finished just in time for our upcoming 4^th of July celebration. For Liberty Eagle, I used Aurifil Lana wool thread for the embroidery stitches throughout. You can find those threads on my website.

Liberty Eagle

I have the pattern listed on my website as both a pattern download or mailed to you as a printed pattern. I'm also offering the pattern for FREE to my newsletter subscribers! If you're on my newsletter list, you'll have the pattern in your inbox.

If you aren't on my newsletter list, just sign up between now and July 5^th, and I'll send you the pattern FREE as well! The link to subscribe is on the front page of my website.

Happy 4^th!

Martha

My Absence Explained

Into each life some rain must fall

It was so wonderful to see old friends, and meet new ones at the February 27 -29 Arizona Quilter's Guild Annual Quilt Show, where I had a booth at the show. It's hard to believe that just a few short weeks later, everything changed for all of us, with the various responses to the corona virus pandemic.

My son and daughter-in-law began to work at home the last week of March, and felt the need to have my 3 yr. old grandson, James, stay home as well, from his day care. I left for their home in Colorado the first weekend of April to help out by babysitting James, for as long as they needed me.

I was in my second week of babysitting (and enjoying my time with James!), when I called my brother, Scott, who had been readmitted to the hospital. He had recently been given the good news on March 26^th that he was in full remission from his acute myeloid leukemia. However, when I called him on April 15, his doctor got on the phone with me, and told me that cancer had spread throughout Scott's body. He was told he had a few weeks left to live and was sent home to live out his final days. That weekend, I flew to Kansas City to help out with his care, as did my sister. My brother and Scott's 18 yr. old son (a senior in high school), were already living with Scott, and it was a team effort to take care of him. Scott passed away last week on Tuesday night, April 28^th.

I know so many of you have had Scott in your prayers, and it really means a lot to me. I told him that there were a lot of people he doesn't even know praying for him. Thank you!

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Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

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When you hear from me next, it will hopefully be happier news to share, but I wanted to explain my absence. I will definitely be looking forward to sharing news of my upcoming book with Martingale. Things are progressing rapidly now, ...... and we have a 

And …... we have a cover (which I can't share quite yet) --- more news to come!

I'll leave you with the third stanza of the poem, "The Rainy Day", by the great American author, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

                                                                            ~~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

                                                                              From his poem, "The Rainy Day"

Until next time,

Martha