Stop and Smell the Flowers

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.

Do You Know Where You’re Going Next?

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.

Giving Away a Rabbit, a Raccoon, and a Snail.

I feel a bit guilty about the last blog post. All I gave you were old TV memories. Today I will make it up to you.  I chose yesterday’s three most popular free downloads from my Craftsy pattern store to share with you.

You can download this rabbit for free on Craftsy right here.

You can find this raccoon for free on Craftsy right here.

Here is the link to the free snail pattern on Craftsy.

There are 101 patterns in my Craftsy pattern shop. Come check them out on Craftsy. (Search Marylandquilter)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  In honor of the patron saint of Ireland, here are a few green items available at Maryland Quilter:

The dragon above reminds me of another famous saint, St. George, who slayed the dragon and rescued the princess. My green dragon is part of a quilt, the pattern and quilt are available in the shop, here.

Wouldn’t a green kitchen set of 2 pot holders and 2 tea towels be the perfect way to welcome spring in your home? You can find them here

What a lucky baby or grownup if they get a blanket like this one! Beautiful green and so so soft. It’s available at Maryland Quilter.

All You Need is Love

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 🙂

Fear Is a Liar

It’s bitter cold this morning in Maryland, wayyyy below average. I looked out my window and the birds are slow to come to the feeder because of the cold. For an instant I was afraid for them, that they would freeze on the branches. But then common sense took hold. They have been cold before and will be fine. God takes care of them.

What are you afraid of?  Whatever you fear, it probably won’t happen. Fear is a liar. I tell myself that and have a poster to remind me.

Here is a quilt and pattern I made awhile back. It features some of the chilly animals I care about:

The quilt and the pattern are available in the shop here .

Secret Squirrel

Fall is the season of squirrels. Everywhere I look, there they are running up and down the tree trunks. I love them all, even the ones that figure out how to raid my bird feeders. It’s amazing to me how the animals have a complex society in my backyard. They live, fight, love and die right outside my window, whether I notice or not.

So here I am, sewing virtual squirrels on baby quilts, while the real squirrels carry on outside my window.

This baby quilt is available in my shop, here

Free shipping on everything for the holidays!

Frog and Toad and Bats

What is the best size for a baby blanket or quilt?  I’ve been asking myself that question for a couple years and I have the answer:  Babies need some of every size. When they are newborn and need swaddling, bigger is better so their feet don’t stick out.  When they are in the stroller, smaller is better so it doesn’t drag on the floor. When they start to crawl, any size works.

I have many large baby blankets in the shop. Now I’m stocking the virtual shelves with smaller stroller quilt blankets. Here is one of the newest and cutest, with Frog and Toad fabric:

And since I’m still stuck on Halloween, here is a bats quilt:

Frog and Toad is available here

Halloween bats quilt and the pattern are in the shop here

The Poky Little Puppy and Trick or Treat

I only know one person who likes to read more than I do. That’s my sister, Lois. Not only do we both share a love of reading, but we both love books– we love to hold them, flip through them, display them on shelves, and read them.

My sister has found a new creative outlet for her love of children’s books. She brings the story characters to life by creating play sets from Little Golden Books. Children can read the books and play with the characters in their own setting. She just opened an Etsy shop, Tuscaroraarts, to sell her books and playsets. Here is my favorite, The Poky Little Puppy:

You should go visit and see her other amazing, creative playsets.

Here is one of my newest projects, a trick or treat quilt. The triangle at the end of the stripe kinda reminds me of candy corn. This was a subliminal addition to the quilt, a product of my unconscious desire for Halloween candy 🙂

The quilt is available in the shop here.

Fairy Lights Baby Quilt

I love Sarah Jane’s new fabric line, Wee Wander. It has such a sweet, innocent magic! There are fireflies, tame woodland animals, little children playing and room for imagination. So what did I see when I held a yard of her Tree Lights fabric? I imagined fairy lights up close, so that’s what I put in the quilt, 47 of them.

Here is the quilt:

The quilt and the pattern are available in my shop here.

 

Linking up with:

Do Tell Tuesday  at Maby She Made It

Tuesdays With a Twist at Back to the Basics