I think it's funny that I find so many great images on a site called Weird Friends. It is true that I sift through a lot to find the images that make me smile, but I think it's worth it. Seriously, does this not make you smile out loud…

And this… I'm not a dog person but if I was, I would want this headboard. It looks appliqued.

And then there are these quilts that make me very happy. They look like quilts made without rulers which is very much what we are doing in our book, Applique Outside the Lines.

Those of you on our eNewsletter list know this already – we are about to ship our newest pattern pack!

My Whimsical Quilt Garden is packaged like Aunt Millie's Garden – it is not exactly a book but it's more than a regular pattern. MWQG has twenty, 10" blocks that you can use to make a big quilt, or a smaller quilt, or in any other way you can think of.

We also have a fabric kit for the 20-block quilt. Linda is the one doing the work on this (think you, Linda!) and she matched the fabrics in her quilt as closely as possible.  

Do you remember the block contest we had last year? Photos of the winning projects are in MWQG. Congrats to Sarah Crumly, Carrie Pippins, Rebecca Bishop, and Barbara Annn Lambrecht.

As I was walking around the classroom I noticed Janey's pin cushion. It was in what looked like a tiny Nantucket basket. It wasn't one, it was an inexpensive imitation and I wish I had one of my own! I love the colors and textures of the pin heads next to the blue scissor handles.

Even better close up…

Once I noticed Janey's pin cushion, I noticed other little still lifes…

I'm going to try to remember to take more of this sort of photo in the future.

I shopped – of course I shopped – when I was in California! I visited Back Porch quilt shop in Pacific Grove and bought fabric and books. I washed and dried the fabric yesterday and was struck by my choices. I seem to be loving neutrals and green right now – go figure.

Gail has a wonderful selection of books you just don't see anywhere else. I"m looking forward to looking at these soon. Notice I didn't say 'read'. I'm going to look at the pretty pictures and be inspired!

Kathy came back from Carmel with this lovely card that she found at Findings. Findings has ribbon and cards and I don't know what else because I didn't get there. They don't have a web site which is too bad!

The flowers on the card (top, right) and envelope were cut from wallpaper. The measuring tape is real (or copied, I can't remember). The detail below shows the zigzag stitching and the buttons with string ties on the back of the envelope.

I'm home from teaching an independent study class to 17 lovely women at the most recent Empty Spools seminar. Everyone worked on something different – with the exception of Christy and Kathy who were both working on double wedding ring quilts. Carolyn, below, was coloring blocks from Kim McLean's Lolipop Trees.

Janie was preparing applique pieces for a quilt featuring eagles and flags. 

Marcella was working on an applique block of her own design.

Lynda (from Great American Quilt Factory in Denver) was sewing foundation paper blocks from books that she and Nancy Smith (who was also there) have written.

There were other piecing and applique projects going on and I should have gotten more photos. But in my defense I was as busy as they were! As a teacher I found it very fulfilling to be able to add a bit of information or advice that was helpful.

I'll tell you more about it tomorrow…

I find myself to be strangely attracted to all things orange these days. I don't remember loving it back in the 70s – perhaps I was just too young for it then. At any rate, this small orange flower caught my eye on my morning walk a couple of days ago. I'm still at Asilomar – this flower was growing next to the boardwalk…

It's more fun close up…