I can't believe we're almost halfway through our first month of the new year and I'm just now telling you Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas, too!  It seems the whole of 2015 has been one big wonderful blur as the New Year rolls over and One Sister finds she's made it throughout her first year in business and is looking forward another great year!  You've all been such a blessing and I've so enjoyed my first year as One Sister! Thank you all so much for making it possible with your continued friendship and support!


My fingers have been itching to get to stitching! Although we had a great Christmas break, December  was a bit hectic with the waterfall in the kitchen courtesy of a leaky roof, and no mail service (so no shipping!) because the post office had no roof, intermittent internet service due to the storm, fabric deadlines, and a nearly missed magazine submission, I just wanted, no needed, to sew!  But first, I promised myself I'd tidy up my work area. You see, I was so use to picking fabric for my quilts at the shop and being able to see it all at once, that I still want to see it all at once, and so yes, I usually have a terrible mess around here!  After this past year I realize how much easier it is to store fabric on bolts rather than have to refold and neatly put it away into a tidily stacked color pile!  And then there's the issue of scraps...just how big (or tiny) does the piece of fabric have to be before you can throw it away?  And how do you store all those scraps? Mine are in a basket at the end of my cutting table and it was making me "crazy"!  

But no more!  Now look how tidy they are because they're all cut up and half-way stitched into a quilt!  I've wanted to do something different with the hexies from the "Note to Self" line and this pineapple version fit right into  my need to use up my scraps!  I've got plans for some appliqué on the cream blocks and will keep you posted as it comes along.  But don't you agree this is a great way to wrap up all of my projects from 2015?

Applique class project

I got side tracked from my piecing and have been working on fabric this past week, color correcting Harvest Blessings and Hip to be Square, the next two One Sister lines that will be in stores in April (yeah! I can hardly wait!), working on a new flannel line, and starting a couple of small appliqué projects for my upcoming appliqué classes in either Moses Lake or Deer Park.  And yes, with all of this appliqué in the works, I do have a new appliqué book planned!  

I'm not the only one who's been stitching like crazy! Sister Kathy is expecting another grand baby and so its time for a quilt! 

Her kids picked the "Big Dipper" quilt from the cover of the  Stir Crazy book.  

 This is a great book with this flying Santas and the Christmas tree skirt as well as Bunny Trail and Winter Blooms. This is Ron and Sarah's first child and they picked a way easier quilt this time around! You might remember the wedding quilt Kathy was talked into making for those two...what we don't do for our children!

Folk Art Blooms hung very briefly on my wall for Christmas before it was sent out on a trunk show to Prickly Pear Quilts in Helena, Mt.  I believe Connie was going to be making kits so if anyone is interested, give her a call! I can guarantee it makes a beautiful wedding quilt!  And it's going to be wedding season before we know it! And that means lake season! Warm, sunny weather season!   New fabric season!  Henry Glass just released my two newest fabric lines from One Sister:  "Better at the Lake" and "Linen Closet".  Better at the Lake is a fun, whimsical line that has a fun background piece with kids and dogs running and jumping in the lake!  It turned out really cute!  The panel makes up into a cute quilt or pillows that are calling for an Adirondack chair!  This line is set to deliver this summer around the same time as my very first book with Martingale, "Crazy at the Lake Cabin" (I think that's what was decided!) The Linen Closet has great new backgrounds-I'm really please with the new prints and hope you will be, too!  Your local shops should be seeing and purchasing these lines now so be sure to let them know to look for these lines!  OK, that's it for now!  Everybody back to stitching!