I dreamt a dream and so.....I played for 15 minutes!

Christmas was a time of celebrating in my home and I am still making my yummy noises and smiling as I recant memories of the past week. Favorites include the candlelight ceremony at the Christmas Eve service, Porsche anxious with all of our hooting and hollering over the incredible Seahawks Sunday night game and family time of games, laughter, pranks and moments of quiet and tears of humility for my blessings. Amazingly....this year was a year of fewer gifts and yet as I always say, "This was the best one yet......" I dreamt that I was piecing with Victoria and a couple of other women in New York and then awoke with the desire to choose a quilt from the 15 Minutes Play of Victoria's....below is my interp of my fav of hers, the charcoal gray with made fabric insets...Mod Style. I LOVE HER BOOK!!!!!!!!

This made fabric rainbow is a celebration for my friend who is having a birthday this week. Seemed like a young and whimsy idea to portray her as the Gold at the End of the Rainbow......she is my gem of a friend since moving here and spending many many soccer games together. Ever wished you could swing from a rainbow and watch the world below wonder at the miracle of prisms in rain?

And a treasure for my Chirstmas......Mom gifted me this quilt and I was taken aback with surprise!!!!! It is a favorite of mine that she has created and a special time in our lives when she pieced this. Most of the tiny scraps are from my stash. She created it while staying with me and Noah as Sean worked in Seattle last fall and as we were making the decision to start a new chapter in our lives.......How ironic that I would be gifted it our first Christmas in the Northwest! And through all of the joy of this season, my heart has missed Harley Dog whose dying anniversary was this Christmas season and the homesickness that often ailed my soul as I missed our dear friends and family in Utah. Life can be so bittersweet! Love, Em

Cuanto Cuesta?.........paws up if you love a furry friend

I have had a quilt in mind for a very long time and last night the first block took shape. As many of you know, my Harley dog was a love of my life. I will never forget our times and near daily still recant memories...in a healthy way of course. In the spirit of my Muertos Vllage, I have begun "Cuanto Cuesta".....How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?....a favorite childhood song of mine and a weekly singalong in our family during Family Home Evening. I will post each block on the blog and would love to know if you choose to create one of your own as a sort of sew-a-long....instead of doggies maybe you insert kitties or princesses or a little bit of whatever is in the stash. My next house is going to be a HOT DOG......with Unruly letters of course :). Here goes the bow wow! Em

Faith and Courage are Cornerstones

I cannot put in to words the grief I have experienced with this school shooting this week. I find myself distracted and crying at times I least expect and wanting to hide from the media. I have worked in psych for 25 years and my current job is the first time I have seen adult mental illness to this extreme and it scares me.....scares me that people have ill brains that can lead them to do horrible things that scar people for life......and to help me work through my grief I created this piece one night and so many tears stained the fabric. I used the text fabric for the message, Faith and Courage Cornerstones. I dedicate this piece to hope and healing and wish that I could do more......

Ooh LA LA! Fa LA LA LA LA! I love SELVAGES!!!!!!

A facebook post of the wine openers inspired the below......They remind me of ballerinas from the Nutcracker or little wispy angels. How does the creating brain work is my question for tonight.....because this photo above led to the below creative exercise tonight.

2 Selvages.....and text. Gotta love quilting and all of its fun and silliness! Merry Christmas season!!!! Em

Up up and Away with the holidays....Who do you relate to in the City Scape, "The Human Experience"?

Hold on to your hats, Ladies! The above quilt is a pattern from Sunday Morning Quilts from start to finish! My corner barista is due to have a son anyday and I wanted to whip up a little surprise for her babe. This is a great stashbuster! and a quickie is you are in a time crunch.

I cannot seem to get my fill of playing with my people fabric and Seattle theme. I have wanted to create a quilt that includes random people and this is a work in progress. Don't you love the dapper gent and the frugal homemaker?

Ever been fed up and said, "To hell with it!"......in this case, it was better to throw out the fish than the baby with bathwater....

And a small quilt to celebrate the love I have for the Southern Utah desert memories and my life in the NW.....Oh how I love quilting with Roxy on these little ditties. Roxy and I are busy getting on top of the stack of pieced quilts. With a day off and boys at work and school, we may just get something accomplished! And you? Love, Em

CELEBRATING the small.......small stitches, small quilt, small scraps, small babies...

I thank my mom and dad for teaching me from an early age the value and delight of the little things in life and compassion for others....May Day baskets on doorknobs, Secret Santa Helper for a friend in need of love at Christmas, homemade cookies that look like pizza in a deliver box and crafting while watching tennis and Cheers on tv......And with this love for the process of living and being present with those you are with..

CELEBRATING this beauty of mom's.....the colors are yummy but do you see? They line up perfectly and are all hand pieced. She calls it her picnic blanket and such a fun quilt it is! An amazing quilter and so versatile!

Do you recall the quilt posted below.....I have looked and looked for the fabric to create a second quilt and come up with no luck. My Aunt JoAnn is a ball of fire and when one is in her presence, her laugh is contagious and her spice is SPICY! Mom had told me that she enjoyed my Poppy quilt and I wanted to gift her a surprise. The above art quilt is a Bonsai. Used my tiny poppies to attempt to mimick aspects of the original. And of course, the text could not be more fitting! There is something so fun about finding just the right details for the recipient. Merry Christmas, JoAnn!

This quilt resides in Michigan and has yet to meet her owner. Jen is working in Costa Rica and had me mail the quilt to her parents' home. The stories that the blooms will soak up are kinda fun to think of. Some people come in to my life and there is an automatic click like 2 puzzle pieces that interlock....Maybe it was Jen's smile or her cowgirl boots, or just that she is an awesome inspiring woman. Hope to hug her again someday.

I was asked to create a baby quilt for a friend's granddaughter. There is something very fun about receiving a voicemail or email inquiring of a commissioned project....pays for those shop hops :).....As I have been perusing blogs, I was drawn to Victoria's recent challenge of made fabric from lights. With her ideas I created this filler and of course used the old fav, LOVE block. All from my stash and that is a good feeling! Roxy is ready to quilt her and then off to play with the stork.

Wishing you all a TOOsday with a little TOO much of something in it TOOday! Love, Em

One lady's trash is another's STASH......2 more for my Seattle series

Ok, ok, ok......Fabric could never be TRASH...but it rhymed, he he. Last weekend while playing with Nifty, she brought out bags of fabric to sift through. You can imagine the delight when I found a rainy sky remnant. And POOF! Seattle #something in the works. I am partial to the little bird with its own umbrella resting on the girl's foot. Oh how I love and CELEBRATE little details. And the lit up Needle....that too is a remnant. When we were moving to Seattle, 99% of people where aghast that we would move to a rainy climate.....I CELEBRATE its beauty and as I tell my patients, "It is all in how you spin it".

Oh the interesting texts I have gotten from people since pot became legal in my new homeland.......My favorite Godwink was when I passed by the pattiserie shop in West Seattle titled, BAKE, and then my phone buzzed with a friend asking if I was a stoner yet......NOPE! Never touched it and never will. When we owned a turtle top VW bus I was stereotyped by my coworkers. It was kinda fun in a silly way.....And so I open this Christmas season from my little neighborhood in the burbs of Seattle with this classic van and of course.....VW and Woodstock are like bacon and eggs! They just go together. Happy Thursday! With these 3 days off in a row I am on fire and boy does it feel good. How about you? Love, Em

Santa in Seattle #3 in my Seattle Series

#3 in my Seattle series....A little Santa ho ho ho and a grinch. This will be the quilt for Noah's school teacher. I had made a wonky text quilt but didn't fit her personality and Noah thought that a quilt with lines and symmetry would be more up her alley. Voila. So much fun creating the craters on the moon an swirly winter sky with Roxy. May this bring some Merry to your Christmas.

And speaking of Merry.....A favorite blog friend of mine, sent me some "support"! How adorable is this coin purse?!!!!! Gotta love Duff at http://bacontheneggs.blogspot.com. I can still remember the moment we connected in Blogland and hundreds of emails later, I smile just typing her name! Hoping that your Thanksgiving was delightFULL and that the season of JOY is upon you with open arms. Love, Em

Minutes..... 15 exactly.........

Until I play with Nifty and Victoria and other inspiring women. I awoke early as though Santa had visited......

VeloCITY....#2 in my Seattle Series and Ideas Germinating!

Some fabrics just beg for play and my cityscapes are just that! If I were to be asked what 2 concepts do I use most in my quilting recently.....Selvages and made-fabric. I CELEBRATE my dear friend, Ryan Axford, who lived with us last year in St. George then moved up here to Seattle soon before we did. He traded his car in for a bike and this silhouette is him to a tee....all 6' 6" of him.

I have decided that fusible web projects and broderie perse allow for me to create quilts while spending time with the family watching tv. Last night's project as we watched a James Bond movie. This may very well be my most favorite color combos I have ever played with. Whimsy, fairy, fantastical......kinda fun to find the text, One is Not Born a Woman, One Becomes One....much like a flower that blossoms. CELEBRATING the woman, a creative mind and the idea that design for us quilters is always germinating!!!!! A smile and a giggle as I count down the 5 days until I am playing with Victoria and LeeAnn....What a dream that after years in planning is coning to my reality! Love, Em

Footloose and Fancy Free.....

Ahhhhhhh the joys of piecing and finishing quilts! You know the feeing, don't you? I visited a favorite stationary store a week ago and saw some marvellous holiday cards with the focus around Seattle skyline. I thought how fun to create my own for family's Christmas cards and to use fabric in my stash. Above is my first play with the idea and it was so fun to create. I posted on Facebook and its reception was so encouraging and made me feel so good. A yummy feeling when someone outside of my heart and brain likes what I had envisioned....

This puppy is so long that I have a hard time capturing it on photo. Many different fabrics for the border and ready for quilting. What a riot of a quilt to create. Victoria's made-fabric concept has become my everyday go to and I am grateful for her influence on my work. Next week.....I get to thank her in person and I cannot stop dancing and shouting it from the rooftops, kinda like the girl in the Seattle quilt! So much love and joy I share in this part with you, Em

Love and Seattle Sky......A day off and I was able to piece!

Outer borders to go.....I have never created such a long skinny wall quilt and am having fun with this whimsical piece. I wish all the tiny scraps that create this big quilt showed up on the photo. In the mood to get Victoria's book as I use her technic for these letters and the border.

I have decided this fall to recreate my favorite quilts I have designed and keep for my trunk show....not that they travel but fun to see them hanging in my quilt room. I was tickled to find a grey sky fabric that mimicks my NW clouds. The clouds are 3D and I am excited. She is a little big in the bust arena but I am committed to her figure since fusible web is just that...... Hope you are well as you read this and that the upcoming holiday season is a blessed. Love, Em

Ahoy! Celebrating Coulson!

My dear nephew, Coulson, turns 4 soon and I could not pass up an oppurtunity to celebrate his love for Piracy!!!! This was a riot to create and I finished it a little differently. I used fleece on the back without batting and it was very drapey mimicking a throw moreso than a quilt. Hoping it will be a fun little celebration of his 4 years of fun. Sean thinks it will do nicely as cape also......

A window to a woman's sOul....CELEBRATING Home by Toni Morrison

It was fun to see Victoria giddy and holding her new book soon to be release. I eagerly await its arrival and thank her for the concept of "Made Fabric".....hence my letter O below. Played with my yellow scrap bag the other eve as the boys carved pumpkins. Scraps are fun!

"As she healed, the women changed tactics and stopped their nurse berating. Now they brought their embroidery and crocheting, and finally they used Ethel Fordham's house as their quilting center. Ignoring those who preferred new, soft blankets, they practiced what they had been taught by their mothers during the period that rich people called the Depression and they called life....You couldn't learn age, but adulthood was there for all....Somewhere inside you is that free person I'm talking about. Locate her and let her do some good in the world." Toni Morrison's HOME

L is for.....Love, lollipops and LISTERINE. And LeeAnn the Nifty quilter! This is the back of a small LOVE card I am sending to a dear friend. Oh how fun letters are and seem to be my current trend. May you have LOTS of LOVE LOITERING in your LIFE!

And the yellow card.....from the soccer game last night where I finished binding this piece. I like to think of it as a sign of Sunshine.......caution.....HEY! Slow this bus down......what would you you use it for today? Off to my favorite mailing store..... LOVE, Em PS: Aunt JoAnn, If you read this post, know that we send love and I am smiling big hearing your chuckle as you read this!

Quilting can become a game of Scrabble.......

Christmas is coming and a whole lot of JOY is bubbling up in the sewing room. Gotta love a good selvage and Unruly Lettering!!!....

And fall is upon us in the NW....So beautiful to have seasons once more and what a gift this fall season has been. I am seeing Raindrops Falling on my Head this morning as it sprinkles..... Love, Em

Tula Pink......IS FAB!!!!!

I am so excited to have figured out my pattern design for this Tula Pink line of fabric. It has been a process for sure! This end product is a compilation of a Ricky Tims' Haunted Tree design from his mag last fall, a greeting card for Halloween and a quilt highlighted in the recent Quiltmania Mag of a Magical Forest beauty from the Australian quilt show. I am excited to purchase a back tomorrow morning and then let Roxy embellish. Oh how excited I am that the holidays are here!!!!!!!! Happy October, friends. Em

Where does the time FLY?

I have never had so much fun at a mail drop than at my FedEx. The gentleman is so upbeat when I arrive with my quilts to be mailed and reminds me of how much I love seeking out a Mom and Pops establishment. Do you have a fav mail carrier or mail person? Hope you have fun with my September doings pictured below.

A little ditty that I whipped up Sunday morning to CELEBRATE Heather and Larry's outdoor wedding. Two wonderful people I worked with at 2N Entrada and oh how I miss them. Isn't it fun to have a design or quilt idea that is a comfortable GO TO when you want to create but also want immediate gratification?

Enjoyed binding on the dock of Lake Washington yesterday morning. A bagel picnic and pleasant conversation with passerbys. One man commented, "How Intricate" while another commented on my Facebook, "How Cute!" Interesting how different people interpret and respond.

These houses belong to a very special Prayer quilt I am creating for a young woman who is going on an LDS Mission in Novemeber. I have gotten a lot more done but will post in the next while. Her favorite song is a Child's Prayer. A reverent project and it is interesting my state of being while I am working on it. As though it is a meditation.

Having so much fun CELEBRATING a nature wedding, new baby, a requested British flag and so much family time. Loving my new schedule that has me off many days at a time. I am 2 days into it but could not be more grateful! This past weekend we played on the Chuckanut Drive and oh how breathtaking!!!! Would you not agree when you see the pic below?

Off to play with the postal man and sending you love and a hug. Em

CELEBRATING the 2nd Trimester........

I hope that you enjoy this funky post of my current process of how I am creating a quilt for niece who is newly pregnant. I have the pics posted from most current step to origin. I title this the 2nd Trimester because there is still a lot of work with this piece. I have fallen in love with making quilts of the woman silhouette and see a future of quilts in this trend. May have found a niche for myself.

My pregnancy with Noah changed my life and I fell in love with the maternity phase of my 20's. I have longed for those 9 moths so often since his birth........While creating this quilt I have experienced emotions both in my heart and viscerally that I have never felt during other quilts. Shaping the breast gave me goosebumps and as I saw the fetus in my camera I was brought to near tears. I wondered how God felt while he was creating man and woman.......What a journey this quilt has become.

Happy TOOsday, Em

The SELVAGE sums it up! What SPARKS the human heart and soul?

My current work in progress. Nearly quilted for a baby boy that is soon to arrive! I had so much fun playing in my scraps to make these stars. I love the selvage and hope that the babe comes out with a little spice!

My niece is expecting a baby and I am having fun with this photo I saw in a baby book. I have never created a quilt celebrating the mother....always the baby. This time I am going to create a quilt with this lithograph as the inspiration. I bought the fabrics and cannot wait to begin the project. I hope that it will turn out.......Tonya's Wordplay will accompnay the pic of course :).

CELEBRATING the spectrum of life and the SPARK that lights in our souls!