A couple of months ago it was my granddaughter Natalie’s turn for some time and undivided attention in the sewing studio. Her wish? – to make a blanket for a new baby cousin on the way (due now in just a week!). The perfect fabric for her project was already in my stash, a coral… Continue reading Baby Love
All the right stars have aligned today and I can finally catch up on some quilt related projects – including writing about them. Lots of blog worthy events have happened in the past several weeks; things like finishing The Princess (woot! woot!), giving a trunk show to a local guild, a day trip to Grand Rapids… Continue reading Renewed, Reviewed, and Reveals!
My grandkids are no strangers to the sewing room and often ask to work on projects when they occasionally spend the night. As they’ve gotten older their project interests are a little more complex and it’s become evident that taking turns for single overnights, in order to have undivided attention and ample work space, is… Continue reading A Parrot(t) Tale
A couple of weeks ago I gave a teaser shot of my grandson Chase’s completed portrait. This quilt was 3 years in the making, due mostly to the extended periods of time it spent hanging on my design wall waiting for attention. It’s completion came about all of a sudden and for two reasons: 1)… Continue reading What Color Would You Be?
There’s no sense beating around the bush, this posting of the latest quilt challenge reveal is quite overdue. Our reveal gathering was a few weeks ago and the theme was Idioms – those expressions whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements. Say what?! In other words, the individual words in a phrase… Continue reading Idioms – The Reveal!
I’ve heard it said that friends are the gifts we give ourselves – and I’ve been lucky enough to have given myself a few treasures along the way. Mostly though, it’s been my good fortune just to have been included in a group of friends, either by circumstance or through shared interests. After all, introverts… Continue reading The Art of Connection, Part Two
Who hasn’t wondered if, in the grander scheme of things, their life and work have any lasting impact? I sometimes have to remind myself that a small life, lived with authenticity, sends out ripples of effect and the impact of gentle ripples over time can be great indeed. This past month I’ve had the privilege… Continue reading The Art of Connection, Part One
Over a year ago, Candace and I signed up for a 5 day fabric collage class at the Woodland Ridge Retreat in Wisconsin. Well known fabric artist Susan Carlson was leading the retreat and teaching her unique method of collage using pins and glue – with no templates allowed! After months of anticipation, weeks of… Continue reading Fabric Collage With Susan Carlson
I’m looking out the window at the falling snow and thinking today’s outside wintery weather mix is telling me to cozy up inside and write a “mix” kind of post. One of the biggest mix it up moves I made this year was to take a break from the quilt challenges – but that doesn’t… Continue reading Forecast: A Wintery Mix
Years ago when I was a painter and my own children had grown out of being my model/muses, a dear friend allowed her two daughters to pose for me as models for potential future paintings. We made an afternoon of it – snapping photos outside in a couple of locations, ordering pizza for lunch, and… Continue reading The Journey Home
Ellen Parrott 