My Life

Happy 100th Birthday, Margie!

Although you hear of it more & more,

it’s not every day that you can tell someone,

Happy 100th Birthday!

A friend of ours, Margie, is celebrating today.

Margie+100

She’s a lovely lady & has been the host to countless

4th of July parades & potlucks for our family.

Her shady lawn has brought our family so many fond memories

that I couldn’t help but make her a quilt!

Happy+100th+Margie

Next week you will see the inspiration for this Tiny Dresden Quilt…

We had the pleasure of seeing her just three weeks ago,

& while there she showed me what she was sewing.

Yes, at 100 years old she’s still quilting!!!

Sharp as a tack she is!

How could I not make her a quilt?

Margies+Party

Here’s a photo of us girls with the birthday girl.

During the party she told me it was a shame we live so far away.

She’d like me to come over & quilt the day away with her sometime…

We should all be so fortunate as to want to quilt at 100.

Until next time,

Susan

Applique quilt projects, My Life

Sewing with my Sunglasses!

It’s that time of year again & yeah is all I can say!!!

It’s the time when my north facing sewing room with all its windows is taking in the early morning sunshine.

Suzn+Quilts+Sewing+in+the+SunshineWhen I sit to sew in the 6 a.m. hour,

I need my sunglasses…

Again, yeah!!!

And if I’m sewing at the other end of the day,

I’ll need the sunglasses then too.

The evening sun will come in on my left!

I am not going to complain.

This is the time of year I long for all year!

When it’s cold out, hate it!

Short days of winter, hate them!

Long dark evenings, hate them!

Long, long, dark evenings…

Give me sunshine & heat, ahhhh!

I try not to dwell on the fact that when June 21 rolls around

the days are getting shorter from here on out.

Instead I remind myself the sun is shining & it’s hot outside!

December 21 is a day of celebrating in my mind.

Why?

It’s the shortest day of the year and from there on out,

the days are getting longer!

Today it’s sunshine!

Give me my sunglasses,

I have sewing to do.

I’m working on my second set of my new

Tiny Dresden seasons.

Suzn+Quilts+Dresden+fun

The patterns are getting closer to being printed.

Suzn+Quilts+Tiny+Dresden+12+patterns

I can’t wait to show you these pretties!

Until next time,

Susan

My Life

A “new” Pretty Table Sample

I’ve made a lot of friends in the quilt world these past two+ decades.

One of them is the quilt shop owner, Pat Waelder, from Hannibal, MO.,

Mark Twain’s hometown in case you’re not familiar.

Do you know her & her shop?

If not, you’ve got to go!!!

Hickory+Stick+HannibalMO

With the exception of the past few years,

I’ve taken my mom & our three kids to Hannibal every year

since our youngest was small enough to be wrapped up

in my mom’s coat to tour Mark Twain Cave!

She’s now taller than her grandma…

Besides the cave, there are many things to do around Hannibal.

There’s the Mississippi River which you can take a riverboat cruise on.

They have a museum that encompasses a lot of historic buildings

including Mark Twain’s boyhood home.

I’ve not personally gone on that tour.

When the kids got big enough for that

my mom offered to take them there while I spent time at Hickory Stick!

There’s a lighthouse with lots of steps to tire even the most active of children.

Hannibal+Lighthouse(except mine!)

Not sure why my mom’s not in this one…

There’s lover’s leap park that has a beautiful lookout over the river.

The train runs through town along side the river near a park

where we’ve eaten countless picnic lunches.

Some terribly hot, some a bit too chilly & breezy & others just right!

Antique & other shops line the historic downtown,

and most of our trips ended with the ice cream shop.

Lots to do there, and it’s a pleasant two hour ride for us.

So, as a quilter, I became friends with Pat.

When I started designing & marketing my patterns,

Pat was one of my first shops!

Through the years, she’s sold lots of my Abe Lincoln Tribute patterns.

Suzn+Quilts+Abraham+Lincoln+Tribute+Cover

She liked it so well that she asked me to design a similar pattern for Mark Twain.

Suzn+Quilts+A+Tribute+to+Mark+Twain+Cover

They’re both patterns with full-size, reversed applique sheets.

Lincoln has been so popular that I’ve worked with a

laser-cutting company to make a pre-fused, cut-out!

Suzn+Quilts+Abraham+Lincoln+Tribute+Silhouette+Cover

Just peel, fuse & stitch!

You can find these at Hickory Stick or on my website.

Now back to my original reason for posting today…

When Pat has a pattern sample, she sells!

So, I offered to make her a sample of my new

“A Pretty Table” table runner that I showed you

in conjunction with going to Pittsburgh spring market in May.

SuznQuilts+A+Pretty+Table+Hickory+Stick+sampleHere’s a very quick (& not good) photo with my phone.

To spark your memory, it’s quilt-as-you-go &

it also has place mats included in the pattern.

Suzn+Quilts+A+Pretty+Table+#214+Cover

On my list of things to do, I really need to buy a decent camera & learn to take & edit photos!

I hire a photographer to photograph my pattern samples, but I really need to work getting better for other instances.

Any suggestions???

Hickory Stick will be selling kits of this pattern.

If you’d like to take a trip…

I can highly recommend it!

Until next time,

Susan