I have to interrupt the regularly scheduled quilt blog to share an amazing thing I saw on my walk today. A bald eagle! It was standing in the field, right next to the road! (Eating carrion, but that’s okay) It lifted its head, looked at me and my dog, Sandy, and went right back to eating. Cars went by and I pointed to share the cool event. Some slowed to take photos. I took this picture:
In the photo it looks far away, but really it was very close.
Imagine spending Christmas in the peace and quiet of the country. You are in the fresh air, with good company, a roaring fire, and a bright star overhead. A hammock swings gently in the evening breeze. A lantern lights the words in your favorite book. If only life were so easy!
Here is a Christmas card from the Campground, in quilt form, to make and hang in your home.
The pattern should be ready by next week and available at Maryland Quilter.
It is 90 degrees in Maryland today. The only ice and snow I can imagine is in a snow cone with grape syrup squirted on top.
But the calendar says Labor Day is over, so pack up the swim suits and dig out the sewing machine. You know where it is, under the beach towels. Clear the sea shells and glue off the craft table, plug the machine in, stretch your fingers and start sewing!
If you start today, you will have those cozy quilts made for Suzie and Jill and Billy and Mike. Work hard and you might even get around to Great Aunt Betty!
I’ve done my part, I made the first quilt. I even made a pattern of it, just for you.
This quilt is so easy and fast to make, you really do have time to make one for everyone on your list. Here is the pattern: Christmas Argyle Quilt Pattern . Here is the quilt, also for sale at Maryland Quilter: Christmas Argyle Quilt.
The Maryland Quilter blog has been MIA this summer. The season was full of the usual dilemma of kids home from school, how in the world can I get any work done…. Then this summer we also moved into a sweet old farmhouse– which I love but, oh my, did I seriously underestimate how much stuff I had to move! In July, I took a sabbatical from quilting to help my sister install flooring in a log cabin. It didn’t feel like a retreat or a vacation, but it was surprisingly therapeutic.
Now, this morning, the girls are happily off to school, the house is quiet, and I’m so glad to be back to work!
In honor of a great summer, here is a fun art quilt to make or buy:
The quilt is available here: Rebecca and Jake quilt
The pattern is available here: Rebecca and Jake pattern
Living here in Maryland the weather is often exasperating. Like Goldilocks’ porridge, the weather is either too hot or too cold. If the temperature is okay, then it is windy or rainy or just cloudy. Then there are those few days that are amazing. Perfect humidity, clear skies, chirping birds. You want to tell nature, “You got it right, now don’t stop”. Alas, nature has it’s own agenda.
So, what can a person do? I have decided to forget about the weather. I will instead enjoy the flowers. They are more predictably beautiful. In fact, if you create your own fabric flower garden it will bloom in perpetuity. Here is a flower quilt to enjoy every day, regardless of the weather.
The quilt has been sold, but the pattern is available at Maryland Quilter.
Sometimes I look too closely at the individual stitches in a quilt and forget to consider the design I’m creating. A good quilter keeps her eye on the details but always considers the entire tapestry. That’s not bad advice for living life, either. I don’t want the consideration of small tasks to keep me from seeing the big world around me.
Do you want help remembering the big world? Here is a quilt to remind you to look at the world from a bigger perspective:
The mini quilt will fit on a counter top or hang on a wall. The completed quilt is available here The pattern is available here.
Spring is breaking out here in Maryland. The leaves are unfurling so fast, I think I can almost hear them if I listen closely. All of nature seems to have jumped out of winter’s sleepy bed and into spring’s lively exercise. I am so inspired that I, too, will rush from my cozy sewing room where I quilt all winter. I will run (slowly) to my lovely rocking chair on the porch, where I will quilt all summer. Hey, it may not sound exciting, but I am like a turtle overjoyed with the new spring weather.
Do you want to feel like a tree growing it’s spring leaves? When you sew these, your own leaves can take form while the real ones around you open up. So you will feel even more a part of nature!
This pattern is called Elizabeth’s Tree. I named it for my daughter, who loves to sit under trees and read books. Here is the pattern available in my shop.
Sometimes life is really hard. It’s cold winter here in Maryland. Not a lot of daylight. The bad news seems to overshadow the good. But spring will come. Flowers will bloom. As Taylor Swift says, “Shake it off”. And when you shake off the bad, don’t forget to put love in its place. Because, really, all you need is love.
Want to send this message on a quilt? Buy any Maryland Quilter quilt or baby blanket and I’ll applique “I Love You”. Just tell me you need love and I’ll put it there, for free 🙂
Most people have two times of the year when they stop and reflect on their lives; these are New Year’s and their birthday. Well, New Year’s Eve is also my birthday so I do a marathon of reflection this time of year. Looking back at the business side of my life, Maryland Quilter grew over 10% in revenues this year. Expenses were a whopping 50% less than in 2013.
Now the fun part begins– planning the future growth for 2015! I am going to sort through the myriad of possibilities using the good, better, best method. I’ll take all the ideas for projects, expansion, marketing, etc., evaluate each one and label them good, better, best. The best ones will then be prioritized. Then the work begins 🙂
Here is a quilt in the shop called Seize the Day, appropriate for a New Year and a birthday:
The quilt is available for sale in the shop here
The top and bottom of this Christmas quilt has a border in my favorite fabric design,The Ghastlies, by Alexander Henry. The Ghastlies remind me of the Adams Family or the Muensters. Remember those shows? Kinda funny, kinda scary, weird. That’s the Ghastlies. The particular Ghastlie design used in this quilt is “a ghastlie holiday” in red.
This holiday quilt will make you smile instead of stress:
The quilt is available in the shop here
Maryland Quilter 