Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, Jack Frost Nipping at Your Nose……

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.

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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.

I am like a turtle overjoyed with the new spring weather!

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.  

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)

Here Comes Peter Cottontail, Hoppin’ Down the Bunny Trail….

Why is it every time a major holiday rolls around, snippets of silly songs from my childhood pop in my head? I think of Christmas and all of sudden I’m humming “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”.  Halloween brings to mind the scary drumbeat soundtrack from The Wizard of Oz when the witch says, “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!”.

Today I was deciding the title for this Easter blog post and, naturally, I started singing the Peter Cottontail song. So, my Easter gift to you are old TV memories. In the classic words of Porky Pig, “That’s all folks”.

Are you looking for a sweet spring quilt to make or give? Here’s one with pretty flowers and Peter Cottontail:

This is a very fun quilt to make. It goes together fast, is full of colorful fabric and, best of all, it’s guaranteed to look great! Here is the pattern and here is the quilt .

Christmas Can Be Ghastlie, Too.

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

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 .

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

Falling Off the Wagon, Again….

A couple weeks ago I said that I was done sewing Halloween quilts for this year. Then last week I made another one. Then I fell off the wagon again and made one more. This quilt began innocently enough with a yard of Alexander Henry’s Ghastlie Garden (This is the flower print on the top of the quilt). It isn’t really Halloween because it’s just gray and flowers, right? But I wanted more and I happened to have some of this really cool Ghastlie Grounds print which has interesting rows of ghastlie pictures, Sebastian the cat, and gothic garden stuff. Since flowers grow in gardens and the fabrics went together so well, I just had to make yet another ghastlie quilt. So here it is:

Here is a detail of part of the bottom of the quilt with a handmade black fringe:

I make no more guarantees that I’m done with Halloween until November, then I’ll be done. The quilt is available in the shop, here